Varamin

Varamin

Geogrpahical Location: Varamin, Tehran Province
Age Group: Preschool through 6th grade
Number of Children: 650
Number of Tutors: ۲۰
Start Date: Autumn 2017

Khorshid Women’s Society is an NGO that aims to raise Varamin citizens’ awareness of legal, cultural, health and social aspects. In 2017, a member of Khorshid Society who was familiar with “Read with Me” and its effects on children, suggested implementing the program in Varamin with her own financial support. After the necessary coordination, two elementary schools were selected for the program. By implementing “Read with Me” at these schools, more than 650 students from preschool to sixth grade were covered. They can now benefit from the school libraries that provide them with quality books.

Since November 2017, a series of two-day workshops were held. Participants were teachers, volunteers from Khorshid Society, Kousha Empowerment Center and Varamin governor. The topics covered included: Reading Aloud, Children’s Literature, Quality Books, Story Elements, and Illustrations in Children’s Books. Accordingly, more than 1200 books were sent to the two schools based on the age group of the students.

The librarians of these two elementary schools also trained at the specialized workshops of Read with Me experts visited these two schools. They were very pleased with the implementation of the program in Hadis School. The teachers observed that their students are keen on reading books, getting happier and enhancing their passion for education, participation at group works, raising their awareness and understanding through books, and increasing their confidence. Many teachers also talked about the effects of the program on themselves. They are more willing to read books and their relationship with their students has improved.

In the late days of February 2017, complementary Reading Aloud and Dramatic Arts workshops were held for these teachers. They became familiar with mask making, finger and shadow puppetry, scenography, and techniques for performing book-related artistic and dramatic activities.