SA reads to over 13 000 children on World Read Aloud Day!
On March 6, 2013, the Nal’ibali national reading-for-enjoyment campaign called on all in SA to read aloud to the children in their lives in recognition of World Read Aloud Day. Now in its fourth year, World Read Aloud was started by LitWorld to celebrate the power and beauty of words, and advocate for children’s rights to read and write.
With reading aloud shown to be “the single…
Instil wonder through reading
Socrates said all thinking begins with wonder. So how do we develop a sense of wonder in children?
By reading wonderful stories to them.
Tomorrow is World Read Aloud Day – a day to celebrate reading aloud to children. But there is work to be done before all children can expect the regular delight of a skilled reader who breathes life into a story.
Reading (and learning…
Nal’ibali launches mobisite
With 29 million South Africans using mobile phones (Neilsen Southern Africa, 2011), the Nal’ibali reading-for-enjoyment campaign is proud to deliver children’s stories, literacy tips and updates to users via its new mobisite.
Visit www.nalibali.mobi on your mobile phone for:
Children’s stories in Afrikaans, English, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi and Sesotho
Tips and articles on ways to grow a love of reading among your children
Advice and strategies on how to run…
The power of reading aloud for children’s potential
Here’s a piece of common sense familiar to most of us adults (well, at least those of us who have ever watched an episode of the Dr Phil show on TV): you can’t keep doing the same thing continuously and expect to get different results. So, if you’re faced with a huge challenge like improving literacy levels in South Africa, you clearly can’t be doing…
The simple, profound thing we all can do
In this society, which urgently needs to educate citizens to be articulate and literate, there is something simple but profound we can all do – we can tell and read stories to children.
Far from being a luxury, the story habit establishes in children the sturdy bedrock on which to grow the power of empathy and an educated mind. It starts with enjoyment.
Take Tara: Tara’s…
Putting books in the hands of children
On a hot, dry February day, in a heat that would normally make the most attentive student lethargic, a Grade 4 class is rapt. Seated cross-legged on the floor, their mouths agape, eyes bright and never wavering, they focus intently on the woman turning the pages of ‘Jack’s Tractor’ by Thomas Taylor. Throughout the story, they repeat sounds and words back at…
New Year reading resolutions
Do you make resolutions at the beginning of each new year? Many people’s resolutions involve giving up something they enjoy to improve their lives. But that’s where reading resolutions are different – they are simply about doing more of what you enjoy! Try our suggestions below to make reading and stories a part of your family’s everyday life! And download our Story Power Pacts for you and…
Which stories should we read and retell to our children?
Stories travel – by word of mouth and in writing. Stories for children have been adapted over time from adult stories, often by translators, who have been responsible for crafting and shaping stories to suit their audiences across time and space. Think of Aesop’s Fables, told by Aesop, a slave and storyteller in Ancient Greece in the 5th century BC. Aesop’s Fables moved across continents for centuries,…
15 important benefits of sharing stories with children
When did you last share a story? Was it this morning, when you told a neighbour about what happened yesterday in the check-out queue at the supermarket? Was it yesterday, when your daughter brought home a history project about the first democratic election in South Africa and asked you what you did on that day? Was it last weekend, when you and your friends…
A simple reading plan shows the way
Recently I visited Pratham, a large non-profit organisation that promotes reading across India. I was intrigued by their claim that they could get young children to learn to read within six weeks and that they could help those lagging behind to catch up.
If we could do the same, I thought, we could begin to overcome one of the biggest challenges to education in South Africa –…
