South Africa’s reading literacy: PIRLS 2021 Report

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is a project that assesses reading comprehension and monitors trends and indicators of growth in reading literacy at five-year intervals. South Africa participated in the PIRLS 2021 study, which was the first international large-scale assessment to report achievement trends after successfully collecting data during the COVID-19 pandemic. South Africa was one of three African countries to participate, and the only one from the Sub-Saharan re...

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Seeing is believing: A wonderful collection of YouTube video stories for young learners!

Reading Matters, a leading distributor, and supplier of educational books and resources in South Africa, is pleased to announce the addition of a wonderful collection of YouTube video stories for young learners, on their website! Established in 1997, Reading Matters has worked tirelessly at promoting language and literacy in South Africa alongside READ Educational Trust, a non-profit literacy organisation. The website, www.readingmatters.co.za, is filled with educational resources for parents, learners,...

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Tips for Foundation Phase reading lessons using a Windows 10 tablet offline – as inspired by the IkhweziLesizwe Foundation Phase teachers

Submitted by Fiona Beal Tablets are revolutionary devices that hold great potential for transforming learning. In the hands of skilled teachers and interested learners, tablets can be used to create some fantastic learning opportunities. Learners at IkhweziLesizwe Primary School Western Cape Microsoft Windows tablet devices Recently Microsoft and the Western Cape Education Department delivered 99 Windows 10 tablets, in three cabinets, to 42 Western Cape Schools that would otherwise never be ab...

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10 places to look for wonderful, free reading material for primary school students…

Submitted by Fiona Beal Learning to read is one of the most important things a child will learn at school. Everything else depends on it. The best is to teach reading in such a way that children love it and they want to read for themselves. Free reading resources are always a teacher and a parent’s dream but of course, these are few and far between. In this post I will tell you about some of my favourite free sites. 1. Oxford Owl http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/  I have only just discovered this fr...

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The African Storybook project is promoting some of their lovely, online Foundation Phase stories

These are lovely stories that are beautifully illustrated that you can use in your reading lessons. “The hare is a popular and clever character who pops up in many traditional (and modern) stories. This month we showcase some of the tales we have on the website about the hare, and especially about the mean tricks he plays on other animals. (Although surely nothing is worse than the joke Rooster plays on Hare!) We hope you’ll be inspired to translate and share the stories, and also to add your own st...

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Online places to find royalty free books or Creative Commons licensed books for children to read

Nowadays there are so many wonderful places to find free reading material on the Internet. Here are just a few… Public domain sources Every year new publications enter public domain. That means their intellectual property rights have expired or are not applicable any longer. 1) Complete Library of Children’s Books online: Rosetta project http://www.childrensbooksonline.org/library-complete_index.htm  The Rosetta Project is a global collaboration of language specialists and native sp...

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Sign up for World Read Aloud Day 2014 (on 4th March) with Nal’ibali and Gcina Mhlophe

Read aloud with Nal’ibali and Gcina Mhlophe Every year, World Read Aloud Day draws everyone’s attention to just how important reading aloud and sharing stories with children is. People all over the world spend time on this day celebrating the power of stories and building communities of readers. This year World Read Aloud Day is being celebrated on 4 March 2015. Join us on this day and read a story especially written for us by South Africa’s best known storyteller, Gcina Mhlophe to childre...

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The African Storybook website and Grade 3 students – using the story circle idea

_________________________________________ If you are a teacher from South Africa, Lesotho, Kenya or Uganda  reading this we would like to tell you about a writing opportunity and a free online writing course that is coming up with SchoolNetSA and Saide as part of this amazing African Storybook project and website that has been developed for Africa. Find out how to join the course here. (The course can be done using any device platform – PC, Apple Device, iPad, Android, Windows phone etc.) __...

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Grade 2 students love reading the stories on the African Storybook website

_________________________________________ If you are a teacher from South Africa, Lesotho, Kenya or Uganda  reading this we would like to tell you about a writing opportunity and a free online writing course that is coming up with SchoolNetSA and Saide as part of this amazing African Storybook project and website that has been developed for Africa. Find out how to join the course here. (The course can be done using any device platform – PC, Apple Device, iPad, Android, Windows phone etc.) ...

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Introducing Grade 1 students to the African Storybook Project website

_____________________________________________ If you are a teacher from South Africa, Lesotho, Kenya or Uganda  reading this we would like to tell you about a writing opportunity and a free online writing course that is coming up with SchoolNetSA and Saide as part of this amazing African Storybook project and website that has been developed for Africa. Find out how to join the course here. (The course can be done using any device platform – PC, Apple Device, iPad, Android, Windows phone etc.) ...

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