Developing instruction and learning materials in mother tongue languages and engaging family and community support in reading.
Project Name
Timawerenga! (We Can Read!)
Location Implemented
Malawi
Competition Entered
Grant Competition 2011
Reading Skill Targeted
Pre-Reading
Status
Winner
The Challenge
There is a dearth of teaching and learning materials in the mother tongue languages of Chichewa, Citumbuka, and Ciyawo.
The Big Idea
Timawerenga! combined 150 mother tongue stories into a digest and provided materials for teachers to hold workshops with family and community members to create a set of mini storybooks to support their child’s reading at home. It also resourced teachers with instructional strategies and materials in three languages including a teacher’s guide, a decodable digest, 300 decodable read-aloud stories with comprehension and vocabulary questions, and a facilitator’s guide for primary education advisers to train teachers.
Results
A workshop was conducted for 36 primary education advisers and district education managers from four districts. The PEAs then trained teachers and head teachers from 80 schools.
Blogs and Media
Research and Resources
FHI360 / Karen Wiener
FHI 360 shares their ACR GCD-funded innovation to provide local language phonetic books and other teaching and learning materials for teachers and children in Malawi.
