Why is literacy so important?

 A study done by The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study showed that eight out of ten Grade 4 learners in our country cannot read for meaning.

This is an alarming fact to learn because according to Reading Rockets, how well learners develop the ability to comprehend what they read has a profound effect on their entire lives. Therefore, in their opinion, comprehension helps develop the knowledge, skills, and experiences they must have if they are to become competent and enthusiastic readers.

To find out more about what teachers and parents can do to remedy this finding, Randburg Sun spoke Newton House Grade 4 Head, Liesl Tamlin who enlightened us on the power of reading and how parents and teachers alike can help make reading to understand fun for children.

Here’s what she had to say:

Q: Why, in your opinion, is it so important that children read?

A: Firstly, the ability to read is an important skill for life. A lot of life’s communication occurs through written forms and a reading ability helps to make one more successful and understand the world around you. It also helps to keep us safe in the world around us, by reading warning signs and rules. Reading is part of the foundation of learning at school. All subjects, even maths, rely on the ability to read. Reading forms the basis of a child’s language development – their vocabulary is expanded through exposure to descriptive words in a text. It also improves their grammar, as they are exposed to proper sentence construction. Reading develops a child’s imagination, as they place themselves in the setting, plot and characters of a book. Reading entertains a child. These are the main points, but I could add more.

Q: How can parents foster a culture of reading in their families?

A: Setting the example is always key. Parents who love reading and expose their children to reading material often develop good reading habits in their children. Reading to your children at bed time is a wonderful time to expose them to books, but also to foster special bonding time with your child. Have books available. Keep plenty of reading material around the home or take your child to the library. Make books part of your gift-giving habits – our affluent children don’t always need the latest gadget or toy (they have plenty), but consider giving a book as a birthday present.

Q: Can reading be made fun? How can this be done?

A: Yes! It’s important to choose the right book for your child. Most children have a natural interest in a particular topic like dinosaurs, mysteries and fairies, so acquire books that facilitate their curiosities. Create a fun reading space in your home or classroom – have a comfy couch with fluffy cushions, open the pop-up tent, build a tent with blankets and the dining-room table, have a shaggy carpet to lie on … Encourage all forms of reading – not just novels. The Guinness Book of Records or comics can be just as beneficial and fun. Have your child read a series of books, to keep the suspense of reading alive.

Q: How can schools remedy the problem of children not being able to read to understand?

A: It is important to know that reading is not just being able to pronounce words correctly, pause at the appropriate punctuation and string words together fluently. It is also the ability to interpret and understand what one is reading. This takes practise, time, maturity and patience. Helping the child to unpack what he has read in bite-size pieces is important. Start by asking the simple literal questions of the text – ‘Who did that? What happened to the..?’ – Help the child to gain the structure of the story, being able to summarise it. Let them relate the story to real life. Then ask the application-type questions, seeking out their own opinions.

Q: What does Newton House do to make sure their children read?

A: We have a library, where the children are able to borrow books. The library is decorated in vibrant colours with cushions, carpets and rainbow curtains and is very inviting to children. Our pupils love visiting the library. There are scheduled lessons, but they are also able to go before/after school and during breaks. Reading is formally part of our English curriculum, where each term the grades read a literature book together. These books are age-appropriate, where the teacher reads to the class or paired reading is done. Mostly, this literature book is for enjoyment and is not assessed, which gives the pupils the freedom to enjoy the reading activity without the anxiety of being assessed. Of course, there are other reading tasks that are assessed. In our fourth term, we focus on ‘plays’ – where we not only read play dialogues, but the children have the opportunity to write their own play, get into groups and present them. They love this, which creates a great love for reading.

Q: What are some of the books that children have taken to through the years?

A: The Roald Dahl books are always a highlight, as the children enjoy the humour of his characters and writing style. Other children’s favourites include Charlotte’s Webb (E.B. White), The Gruffalo (Julia Donaldson), The Wild Rescue Series (Jan Burchett), as well as Dr Seuss books and Richard Scarry books.

Q: Are days like International Literacy Day important?

A: It highlights the importance of world literacy more than just reading for enjoyment. It is important for us to recognise how important it is to provide facilities and a means for the underprivileged to have access to reading material so that we can move towards a more literate society in South Africa and the world. So yes, it is great to use the day to promote reading among our own children, but we should, more so, use the opportunity to educate our children about how they can help to share reading as a skill with others less fortunate, by donating books for example.

Q: What book made you fall in love with reading?

A: A book I always remember from my childhood is The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. I just loved following the journey of everything that this little caterpillar ravished through, yet only the simple leaf would satisfy him in the end. As an adult, I resonate with this truth. We seek out so many pleasures in life to make us happy, yet it is often the simple things that bring us true joy.

Q: What book are you currently reading?

A: With a particular interest in autistic children, I try to get my hands on most books involving this topic. I think this is an area which our society doesn’t fully understand, and children ‘on the spectrum’ are desperate for us to help them navigate the world in their own, different way. My current book is The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida.

Related Article: 

https://www.citizen.co.za/randburg-sun/374144/get-children-interested-reading/