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Sarah Bradfield

How to Build Connections in Reading Sessions

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Gibbs (2006) states that “Teaching and Learning are about meaningful connections.” One of the most special parts of Book Village is that we get to see the impact on our students of having adults that are completely invested in their learning and success. Most of our students come from classrooms that are oversized and under-resourced. For many of our learners, their interactions in Book Village are their only chance for one-on-one learning. The change in our students ,from when they start on our programme to when they have been reading with us for a while, is immense. Our learners become enthusiastic, motivated and engaged in their own learning and that comes from feeling connected to people that believe in them. 

Santrock (2009) explains the importance of providing young learners with “a supportive environment for them to develop literacy skills.” As part of our safety features, our tutors and students are connected randomly. While there is a chance you might get a student more than once, you will often be connected to a new student. We know that 20 minutes is not a long time to create a safe and trusting environment for our students to thrive and learn – and yet we see it happening every day! 

We do know that this comes with challenges, so here are a few simple ideas to help you to connect with the student in your reading sessions. 

Learn their name
Take a minute at the beginning of each session to introduce yourself, ask their name, and if there is a name they prefer to be called. Some students will have multiple names, in different languages. McGee and Fraser (2008) explain that “names can be sacred or have particular significance in terms of ancestry.” We can listen to how students pronounce their names, listening to intonation, emphasis and cadence. Learning their name and using it throughout the session can be a simple way to help students to feel seen and respected. 

Show an interest 
Students respond positively when they are interacting with someone who shows a “genuine regard for…their progress, their humanity and the essence of who they are.” (McGee and Fraser, 2008). We can demonstrate an interest through 
Asking questions. While we discourage volunteers from asking (or answering) specific personal or locational questions for safety reasons, there are lots of questions that are appropriate and relevant to the books you are reading and can help students to share their ideas and opinions. Questions like, “what is your favourite…. Do you enjoy…. What is a time you felt or did…. “ Can allow students to feel confident to share, and feel like their thoughts matter. 
Connecting to and building on what students share. You can do this by finding common ground or asking follow up questions for clarity or more information. Using phrases like ‘I agree with what you just said, because…” or “I also think…” can help students to feel like you are listening and that what they are saying is important. 
Using humour. This is a great way to connect with students and help them feel engaged. It can also allow students to feel comfortable to share the things they find funny, interesting or meaningful. 

Help them feel successful
Learning, especially learning to read, is hard work. It takes a lot of courage for our students to get on the app and read with a new person each session. A great way to help them feel successful is to show enthusiasm through your session together. This can be through specific praise for their effort, focus, skills or ideas shared, sounding out new words or remembering letter sounds. I also find that expressing my excitement to read with them at the beginning of a session, and my enjoyment of our time together at the end of the session are also easy ways to help them feel successful and noticed. 

We are so grateful for our volunteers and the kind, compassionate interactions they have with our students. We see the difference you are making, and hope these suggestions are helpful in your sessions with the learners in Book Village. 

References
Gibbs, C. (2006) To be a teacher: Journeys towards authenticity. Pearson. 
McGee, C., & Fraser, D. (2008). The professional practice of teaching. Cengage Learning. 
Santrock, J. (2009) Life-span development. McGraw Hill  

By Eva Roding

My Year with Book Village

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I have been reflecting on my time working with Book Village now that I am back in New Zealand and preparing to be a classroom teacher again. Being in South Africa and working with Book Village for most of 2023 has impacted me in so many ways. I am forever changed by the students, our tutors and the Book Village Team. 

The students

I loved spending time with our learners – both at our school in Johannesburg and in Cape Town. They are resilient and brave, funny and delightful. They have had so many barriers and work so hard! Seeing the progress they have made, and the confidence they have developed, from the beginning of the year to now makes me emotional and just so proud. From reading with them on the app, to teaching them in person at the schools and running workshops and fun days for them, I loved the time I was able to spend with these beautiful children. They have such a huge portion of my heart and I think the only reason I was able to leave is because I know I will be able to continue to read with them online. I have countless funny interactions and sweet memories to take back with me. 

The tutors 

The people we have volunteering with Book Village are incredible! They, too, are resilient – dealing with our network and load shedding problems and showing up in the kindest, most supportive way for our learners. I have been able to meet some of you in person, some online and some over the headphones during reading sessions as we troubleshoot together. Thank you for being so invested and involved. Your humour and generosity is noticed, needed and so appreciated. I feel very lucky that I get to keep working as a tutor on the app even now that I am home in New Zealand. 

The Book Village Team 

Anyone who has met Lauren and Sarah knows how committed, passionate and compassionate they are. They love the students and work tirelessly to create the best outcomes for every individual that walks through the Book Village doorway. I have learned so much from working with them as we have trialled and tested new resources, teaching methods, ideas and solutions. We have laughed our way through the multitude of challenges that arise and I have been continually inspired by their seemingly endless tenacity and drive. 

This past year has been so special for me. It was so hard to leave but Book Village will always be a big part of my heart. Whether that’s reading with the children on the app in the New Year, continuing to work with Lauren and Sarah in the background or my future visits to South Africa and our schools, I hope that I always get to be a part of Book Village.

~Eva Roding

Picture: Mpho, Lauren, Eva, Nini, Lerato, Sarah

Looking Back at Some Holiday Reads

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It’s back to school this week and we are reminiscing on the holiday season and all the good reads. We believe that every good Christmas stocking or holiday treat should have had at least one book in it or a reasonably priced tablet to connect to the local digital library. With the holiday season coming to an end we thought we’d give you some ideas of what to read next. We asked around the house to see who’s reading what…

I’ll go first!  I’m reading Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.  It was recommended to me by several people a while ago, and so I approached it cautiously – often cult books are a bit disappointing – but not this, and I’m enjoying it so much I don’t want it to end.  Every woman, feminist, cook, dog- lover, chemist, rower, and just everyone really, will love this book. Before this I read The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak. The book is set in Cyprus and is partly narrated by the fig tree which is original and magical. The book deals with the war that occurred there in the 1970’s, the subsequent uprooting and re-settling of the characters in England and the digging up and proper burying of people killed in the war.

Two other family members are coincidentally both reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman.  So far they both seem to be enjoying it, but then they haven’t finished it yet…  One of the girls just finished Verity by Colleen Hoover – and she’s been pestering me to read it because she really enjoyed it and couldn’t put it down.  Another’s been working her way through The 5am Club by Robin Sharma and has become a complete disciple.

Other books on the go are Bruce Whitfield’s book, The Upside of Down,  John Le Carre’s The Tailor of Panama, and another is reading The Communist Manifesto (with some good pictures to make it interesting).

We hope you’ve all had a good start to the year and have some good reads to recommend (pop them in the comments… sharing is caring)!

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

Holiday Activities for Kids that Promote Literacy Learning

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The holiday period can sometimes be a challenging and boring period depending on who you ask. For parents who are occupied with work, they might not have the time or are uncertain about how to keep their children entertained – besides sticking a TV in front of them or organising the odd playdate. On the other hand, children might not know what fun activities exist nor have the resources to keep themselves entertained. Thus, this blog post is going to offer some inspiration, and hopefully provide some useful ideas that are fun, yet still promote useful literacy skills.

Up first on the list of ideas is… baking! This is a great activity that calls for getting one’s hands messy in the kitchen with the result being a sweet treat that can leave one satisfied for the days to come! Literacy skills can be promoted in this activity through the reading and writing of ingredients. If more than one sweet treat is made, writing up a menu is another fun way to promote literacy.

Secondly, designing and writing a picture book is a fantastic way to get your child to express themselves creatively and chat about what interests them. Using colourful paper and different types of stationery, as well as buying stickers to add to the picture book is definitely going to add an exciting touch to the whole process!

Gardening is another activity that encourages research and the reading of labels in order to ensure that one’s plant is planted correctly and kept alive. It is a fun interactive activity that can be documented through the taking of photographs and even writing a weekly journal update.

Finding different objects around one’s home through a little treasure hunt and then using them to create a sensory bin, enables children to have fun guessing what the object they are holding is through their senses. This activity is also wonderful to get your kids to use their imagination and have a good laugh.

Lastly, attending a theatre production that is based on a book your child has read or enjoys, is a spectacular way to encourage conversation and the urge to re-read the book after watching the play. Prepare some questions on a separate piece of paper to see how much they grasped from the story.

Happy holidays everyone!

Heritage Day

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Heritage Day is a call for celebration. South Africa is a culturally-rich country with 11 official languages and it consists of a diverse population of 59 million people. One way to introduce children to the importance of this day is to allow them to have a whole day in their school calendar dedicated to exploring the different facets of the topic of ‘culture’.

The day can begin by allowing learners to dress up in their traditional wear. This is a lovely way to spark conversation about different garments.

Afterwards, you could dive into a pre-made lesson plan. This can include presenting a slideshow on topics such as the ‘history of South Africa’ or even unpacking the 8 world heritage sites:

  • Robben Island (Western Cape) is best known as the place where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. 
  • iSimangaliso Wetland Park (KwaZulu-Natal) is home to the largest estuary in Africa as well as the southernmost coral reef in Africa.
  • Cradle of Humankind (Gauteng) includes the hominid fossil sites at Swartkrans, Sterkfontein and Kromdraai.
  • Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg Park (KwaZulu-Natal) is where the most concentrated collection of rock paintings in Africa can be seen.
  • Mapungubwe Heritage Site (Limpopo). This was South Africa’s first kingdom which traded with China and India and is also known as the “place of the stone of wisdom”.
  • Cape Floral Kingdom (Western Cape) is 1 of 18 biodiversity hotspots globally. Some of the protected areas that you may already know are Table Mountain, Cederberg wilderness area and Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden.
  • Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape (Northern Cape) covers a vast area of mountainous desert in the north-west part of South Africa. 
  • Vredefort Dome (Free State) is where the world’s largest meteorite impact crater is.

For lunch, you could encourage each child to bring a different food or drink that is quintessential to their culture and ask them to explain how it is made or ask them to give an interesting fact about it. This is another brilliant way to encourage casual conversation. 

To add to the ambience, you could get the learners to colour in different flags, and later have a little pop quiz to test them on the different names of the countries. 

Lastly, different dances, songs or interesting traditions specific to their culture can be shown either through physical demonstration or even video clips online. 

Heritage Day is an important day for remembering one’s history and way of life that make us truly unique. It is a day where people should develop an understanding and willingness to learn about other people. And moreover, it is a good day to have a braai in true South African style!

4 Young Adult Books that We Chose by their Covers

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It’s probably true that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover – but we couldn’t resist choosing these from the recent SORA Sweet Reads 2022 collection – based entirely on looks!

‘The Sky is Mine’ by Amy Beashel – well this book had to be read! It has more prize stickers on its bright yellow cover than my favourite bottle of wine does.  I was gripped from the first page by this shocking, compelling page-turner that addresses rape culture in teens and domestic abuse in families.  The writing is excellent, and despite the subject matter, is often humorous. Izzy, the main character, is just great and the book is a hopeful call for young teens to tell their stories to the world.

The only part of the book that I found disappointing was the unfortunately predictable bit where Izzy forms a romantic relationship with her rower friend and saviour – which almost nixes all the empowering, good bits of the book.  Apart from this, the book is sure to be enjoyed by older teens.

‘The Obsession’ by Jesse Q Sutanto – This book has a very striking red cover with stick figures entwined by wool – and the caption:  “Boy meets girl, Boy stalks girl, Girl gets revenge”,  was enough to get me started.  And the book is a great fast-paced YA thriller, set in the exclusive boarding school, Draycott Academy. The story is extreme and dark with dead bodies and a shocking twist at the end.  Once I’d finished the book (which I did very quickly), I did think that it was a bit of a ridiculous plot – but it kept me reading right to the end.

Another book by the same author,  ‘The New Girl‘ – with a cover that I loved too! Also set in Draycott Academy and with another over-the-top storyline.  This time the ending was a slight letdown as it was a bit obvious. There is a lot of teen drama, bullying, cheating,  a corrupt teacher – and at least one dead body in this YA mystery thriller.  I thought the depiction of bullying at the school through an app,  Draycott Dirt, was horrifying and realistic.

‘Minus Me’ by Ingelin Rossland – I chose this book because of the Norwegian author, thinking it might be a bit of teen Scandi Noir, or at least have descriptions of the beautiful Norwegian landscapes.  But I was disappointed on both fronts. The book turned out to be a bit odd with religious stuff in it that wasn’t for me.  The main character, bratty 13-year-old Linda, draws up a bucket list when she learns that she has a rare heart condition and might die soon.  The book follows her, and her new weird friend, Zak, on their adventures as they tick off items on her list.  Some young teen girls might identify with Linda and enjoy reading this.

Sora Sweet Reads is OverDrive’s annual reading programme running May 4 – August 17, 2022. Juvenile and young adult ebooks (as well as select audiobooks) are available to participating schools through the Sora reading app.

Why Book Village offers a digital library

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Apart from the Book Village App, we also provide our own digital library with thousands of children’s and young adult books for the learners and teachers to enjoy.

Reading for enjoyment has been described as a form of play.  It is a creative activity that allows us to experience other worlds, roles and feelings, in our imaginations.  The OECD in 2002 found that reading for pleasure in childhood is a better predictor of future educational success than a family’s socio-economic status.

From our experience many young South African children do not have any books at home, and so libraries are essential for them to access books to read outside of the classroom.  To encourage reading for enjoyment at any time, we have provided a digital library with thousands of children’s and young adult books.  The children love the freedom of being able to choose their own books, and a trip to the library is the highlight of the school week.   All the children at Cosmo City Primary are members of the digital library and can borrow and read books all year round if they have a device at home.  We’ve found that whilst most children do not have their own tablets, smart phones or laptops, almost all the children’s parents have a smart phone, and often let their little ones read stories on them at home.

We also want to encourage children to enjoy reading and listening to stories in their home language, and so we have added collections of the excellent Nal’ibali stories to the digital library.  We couldn’t agree more with the Nal’ibali idea that “Children who read and hear engaging stories in languages they understand are well equipped and motivated to learn to read and write.  They are also more likely to make a meaningful contribution to society.”

Frequently reading for pleasure and fun results in children achieving higher PIRLS literacy scores. (PIRLS 2006), but apart from that  – “The more that you read, the more things you will know.  The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”  Dr Seuss

Photo by Catherine Hammond on Unsplash

Youth Day

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In the words of Nelson Mandela “Young people are capable, when aroused, of bringing down the towers of oppression and raising the banners of freedom”. Youth Day is celebrated annually on the 16th of June as a testament to the power of the youth to advocate against oppression. On the 16th of June 1976, thousands of students protested in the streets of Soweto against the use of Afrikaans as a medium of education. Moreover, the protests were also about the Bantu Education system as a whole. The idea behind Bantu education was to create a population that was trained to perform manual labour and be involved in ‘menial work’.  Students protested this too, opposing the overcrowded, underfunded and poor standards of education that students of colour were receiving from the Apartheid government. Tragically, clashes with police resulted in many protesters’ deaths, with statistics varying from 400 to over 1000 protesters (mainly children) dying. This was a devastating day in our country’s history but one that was also considered a turning point in the Anti-Apartheid regime. The actions of the Apartheid government in the June 16th protests were a contributing factor to the adoption of a more militant approach by Anti-Apartheid movements. The event also highlighted the atrocities of Apartheid to international communities, who would later introduce sanctions against the Apartheid Government. The ‘beginning of the end’ so to say.

This year marks 46 years since the Soweto uprising and whilst many strides have been taken to improve our educational system for young South Africans, there is still more to be done. According to Amnesty International, the modern-day South African educational system is characterised by “crumbling infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms and relatively poor educational outcomes”. The article also argued that a poor educational system “perpetuates inequality” and fails many children “with the poor hardest hit”. It is undoubtable that access to a quality education not only has positive impacts for a child but also for all of society. Some devastating statics noted that “three-quarters of children aged nine cannot read for meaning”. This issue in South Africa also seems to varied amongst provinces with statistics showing that reading without comprehension is “as high as 91% in Limpopo and 85% in the Eastern Cape. And of 100 learners that start school, 50-60 will make it to matric, 40-50 will pass matric, and only 14 will go to university”(Amnesty International, 2020).

At Book Village, we will not allow these statistics to persist and part of our mission is to help end the literacy crisis in South Africa. Our hope is that our digital app and library will allow for reading to become more accessible to all young South Africans and that this can help directly target some of the gaps in our educational sector.

This Youth Day, we continue to be inspired by the determination of the youth of 1976 in their quest to advocate for equal education for all. This tragic day is a reminder of where we have come from and our responsibility as a country to continue to advocate for the rights of children, particularly their educational rights.

7 Essential Skills Needed for your Child to Start Reading

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The first time a child picks up a book, they’re unlikely to know how to open it properly, let alone be a fluent reader. This is because like with any skill, you must start with baby steps before you can start walking. But unlike many skills such as walking or speaking, the ability to read is not acquired naturally without instruction.  Studies suggest that without quality instruction, a child who reads poorly in the early grades will continue to read poorly in the upper grades, and will require more and more instructional intervention in order to “catch up” (Juel, 1988).

We have spent the first half of the year teaching the necessary pre-reading skills to the Grade Rs and Grade 1s at Cosmo City Primary and they have been making great progress.  If you’ve got a little one, it’s never too soon to start helping them to acquire these skills too.

Through the course of their reading development, a child will go through 4 reading stages:

  • Emergent reader (cannot read yet) 
  • Beginner reader 
  • Early reader
  • Fluent reader

Throughout these stages, there are skills that children develop in order to become fluent readers. 

1. Interest and motivation to read 

In order to learn how to read, children must have a desire to read. They must be motivated in order to develop new skills, which will help them grow as a reader.  

A way to inspire interest and motivation in your children is to read to them everyday and allow them to choose the books.

2. Visual perception

This is our brains’ ability to process what we see and what our eyes have picked up. 

When children learn to read, their visual perception needs to be accurate so that they can distinguish between foreground and background, and discriminate between colours, shapes, sizes and positions in space. This helps children to visualise and process words in the long term. 

If your little one is having visual perception difficulties there are many activities that will help improve these skills.

3. Book and print awareness

Before learning to read, children will pick up books and enjoy the pictures without realising that the letters on the page can be deciphered to create meaning.  

Children need to develop an understanding of how letters create words and these words can be put into sentences to create meaning. 

Playing word games, pointing out words around children in their environment, modelling the correct way to handle books and using your finger to follow the text as you read a book to them are ways to improve their book and print awareness. 

4. Narrative and listening skills

When listening to a story, a child is able to focus on what the story is about, use their imagination and develop expectations of how the story will end. 

Through this process, they are able to develop their comprehension skills, vocabulary and memory. Good narrative skills allow a child to describe things and retell events. Both narrative and listening skills are essential for a child to learn how to read as they assist in improving vocabulary, predicting, understanding, concentration and memory.

5. Letter Knowledge

In order for children to read words, they need to understand that letters have names and sounds, and can be uppercase and lowercase. 

Ways to help improve your child’s letter knowledge are to read alphabet books,  teach them the letters in their name and make them aware of letters in their environment by looking at license plates on cars, recipe books, labels on groceries and other items. 

6. Phonological and phonemic awareness

This is the ability to hear that words are made up of smaller sounds and these sounds can be manipulated. When a child hears a word like ‘pat’, they should be able to identify the different letters and their sounds – /p/ /a/ /t/. They should also be able to hear sound patterns such as rhyme and syllables. 

Singing nursery rhymes, breaking down words into sounds, counting syllables, and changing the beginning sounds of words are some of the many activities that can help improve phonological and phonemic awareness. 

7. Vocabulary

Lastly, knowing the names of things is an essential skill in order to learn how to read. The greater your child’s vocabulary, the easier it will be for them to learn how to read and enjoy reading. 

When reading stories to your children they can hear the words and connect them with pictures in the storybook. This is a great way to improve their vocabulary. 

Other ways you can improve vocabulary include having conversations with your children and explaining unfamiliar words to them, asking them to describe things such as their toys or food, reading stories everyday and playing word games. 

Photo by Gautam Arora on Unsplash & WoodenEarth.com

Why Reading to Children is Important

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Reading allows us to transport ourselves into different worlds. New words can be learnt, different emotions can be felt; your imagination can run wild.

But why is it particularly important for you to be reading to your children? The answer lies within the developmental process of a child.

Assisted cognitive development is the first reason why reading to your child is important. Cognitive development refers to “how we perceive and think about our world in reference to our intelligence, reasoning, language development, and information processing” (https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/why-is-reading-important-for-children/). It’s true, a baby’s brain is like a sponge – easy to absorb the information it is given. Thus, through cognitive development, a child is able to make sense of the world around them and be able to problem-solve better.

Secondly, reading to your child allows them to become more empathetic as they are constantly put in front of different characters and situations. Developing empathy is important as it allows one to understand emotions better and how to respond to certain situations.

Thirdly, reading to your child allows them to feel validated and loved. By spending time with them you are building your bond.

Creativity and concentration skills are also improved by reading as it encourages your child to sit still and listen for long periods of time. Did you know that “Multiple studies have found a correlation between reading for pleasure and higher academic achievement in every subject, not just English?” (https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/why-is-reading-important-for-children/)

Some tips for reading to your children:

  • Read as much as you can and consistently: whether it be for 10 minutes a day or an hour, the most important thing is that you are reading!
  • Be patient: reading is an activity that requires you to fully engage with what you are reading as well as your child’s responses.
  • Make it fun and interactive by using different voices, pointing out connections and asking questions to test their understanding.
  • Encourage language exchange through conversation or verbal storytelling.

Reading is a wonderful form of entertainment and your children’s vocabulary will expand. It is important that they are surrounded by books. If you do not have the means to always purchase a new book, consider joining a public library or even using the wonderful resources available on the internet. Let’s continue to create a culture where we encourage the people in our lives to read more to their children as they are the future of this world.

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