Jan 2017

Nepal Hub
Literacy-Based learning engages children in English language
Objectives:
Increase the exposure of books and reading as a means of developing a broader English vocabulary
Support students to reach learning goals appropriate to their Age or developmental level

Summary
Children's story books can play an important role in children developing English skills. Books not only expose children
to a rich vocabulary but also sentence structure, sequencing and an understanding of the relationship between words
and print. In our childcare programme we have been using story books as a focus for our programme for 25 children.
It is also an approach we have been able to model for the teachers at the centre.

Report

Our childcare programme at Male Patan has a focus on engaging children in books and
reading. We have seen an increase in the amount of time children are able to spend
focussed on reading tasks as well as an increase in the children's interaction with books,
for example joining in with rhyming words in a story or joining in with actions.

Research shows that exposure to books and reading has a positive effect on the
development of children's English language skills. It supports learning how to structure a
sentence and sequence ideas and also introduces a range of vocabulary. Reading also
exposes children to a range of other concepts including mathematical and scientific.

One book we focussed on over a week was the The Very Hungry Caterpillar. This book
allowed us to focus on a range of maths concepts such as the days of the week, numbers and counting. It also lent
itself to focussing on food names as we develop the children's bank of familiar nouns. Over the week, the children's
fine motor tasks were also based on the book so the children re- created some wonderful caterpillars.

We also used Pamela Allen's classic "Who Sank the Boat?" This book is fantastic for
children to practise a "question voice" which is often a challenge for children with English
as a second language. Through the context of the story, the children were able to predict
and practise animal names. Our culminating activity was a science task where we made
boats and added animal figurines. This allowed the children to explore the concepts of
floating and sinking with a hands-on activity. Their level of engagement and interest in
this task was great as they brought the story to life.

It's been great to see the teachers at the centre also get involved. Using one book over
several days is helping their level of English and understanding of the book, exposing
them to a range of task ideas but they have also been engaging positively in all of the
activities we have been doing with the children.

In the words of famous scientist Carl Sagan, "One of the greatest gifts adults can give-to their offspring and their
society-is to read to children." Maybe it was a book that first caught his interest in the world of science and
astonomy but there is no doubt that books can open a child's world to experiences and concepts and this is what we
are continually aiming to achieve at Male Patan Child Care Centre.