Harry Potter, Tinkerbell, The Big Friendly Giant and Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz were just a few of the story book characters who made their way to Rand Park Primary School on 8 September.
It was a sight to behold when children and teachers all dressed up as their favourite characters from books they had read. As September is literacy month in South Africa the school thought it was important for them to be part of the cause. This initiative is spearheaded by the Department of Basic Education and will be incorporated into government schools as a way to increase reading among the schoolchildren.
Erika Ogle, head of the department at the school, said on the day, children were only allowed to dress up as a character found in either a comic book or novel.
“All language teachers today also spent time reading with the children. Some opted to read the set grade novel with the children but it was all up to the teacher’s preference.”
Ogle added that the children in all the language areas made posters. They made bookmarks in the Afrikaans lessons and some of the grades made posters related to reading in the English department.
Ogle said it is important for children to start reading at a young age because you first learn to read and then you read to learn. “So in that sense, it is important to read …so that we can make sense of something.”
She explained that one could see the difference between children who went home and read for the enjoyment of it all, as opposed to those who read because they had to.
“A fun day like this promotes reading. Once they see someone dressed up as a character, they might feel the urge to find out about that character and read a book about them.”
ALSO READ: Red Nose Day in July
