Reading is fundamental to a child’s academic success and their future. It is a foundation for all learning. Teaching in the mainstream classroom cannot always meet the needs of children who are struggling with literacy. For this, it is our mission to ensure every disadvantaged child receives the support they need. That’s why we created Literacy Classes. Our volunteers undergo a week of training which equips them with the necessary skills for their placement. Public school classrooms are always crowded. Homes sometimes can be busy places, too. Support is targeted to meet individual children’s needs. Reading, comprehension and spelling will be assessed on entry to the Literacy Class, with tutors creating personalized learning plans to address gaps. Our tutors will be trained in effective teaching methods, including phonics, and use multi-sensory resources and techniques to promote engagement and enjoyment.
Across Kenya, literacy rates in primary schools are significantly lower than expected despite increased access and enrollment. The Kenyan education system is seeking to improve learning outcomes by instilling better instructional practices, expanding resources for teacher training, and developing learning materials that support multilingual literacy.
Project Description
Reading is fundamental to a child’s academic success and their future. It is a foundation for all learning. As fourth grade, students are expected to transition from learning to read to reading to learn. From this point on, they’ll use these foundational reading skills to explore and master new subjects like science, history, and geography. At this age, it is even more essential to have proficient reading skills. That is why we partner with under-resourced public schools and engage our volunteer’s tutors to work one-on-one with students who struggle with reading from grade one to four.
Together with our schools, Reading for Success Projects focuses on students who are at least one month behind in reading, harnessing the power of tutors to provide individualized instruction to help them master the reading fundamentals they need to reach grade level.
Our trained, committed volunteers’ tutors will work in partnership with school staff to complement what is going on in the classroom, providing expert one-to-one literacy support for children at risk of being left behind. Working one-on-one with their tutors, students who were once struggling in many subjects become proud, confident readers, excited about learning and ready for success
Teaching in the mainstream classroom cannot always meet the needs of children who are struggling with literacy. For this, it is our mission to ensure every disadvantaged child receives the support they need. That’s why we created Literacy Classes.
We envision a success Literacy Classes because:
- One-to-one
- Public school classrooms are always crowded. Homes sometimes can be busy places, too. In our Literacy Classes, children will be guaranteed undivided tutor attention. Children will work with the same tutor twice a week for 45 minutes. The warm, trusting relationship that develops between tutor and child paves the way for learning. Those who lack the confidence to speak up in class can find their voice in the safety of a one-to-one environment.
- Personalized
- Support is targeted to meet individual children’s needs. Reading, comprehension and spelling will be assessed on entry to the Literacy Class, with tutors creating personalized learning plans to address gaps. Children can take learning at their own pace. Assessment is on-going, allowing us to monitor and evidence the effectiveness of our work and adapt our approach as necessary.
- Expert
- Our tutors will be trained in effective teaching methods, including phonics, and use multi-sensory resources and techniques to promote engagement and enjoyment. Following initial training, our tutors will work closely with senior tutors and school staff. By sharing ideas and expertise, we will ensure the interventions we deliver are always of the high standard that we know schools expect.
- Comprehensive
- Literacy is made up of four areas – reading, writing, speaking and listening. Our tutors will be trained to develop children’s skills across these areas. We recognize that the areas of literacy are inter-related and promoting skills in one area can help a child to build skills in another. For example, to aid comprehension, children may play a word game, or to boost writing they may first spend time orally rehearsing ideas.
- Vocabulary-boosting
- The ‘vocabulary gap’ has been highlighted as one of the major factors holding children back in progressing with their literacy. Everything we will do in our Literacy Classes serves to boost vocabulary, from our use of high-quality books, to phonics games, to the everyday conversations that take place between tutor and child.
- Confidence-building
- Diligence and successes are celebrated, be it through praise, stickers or by putting a goal on a wall chart. We will break down learning into manageable targets, meaning that children are focused and regularly feel the buzz that comes from achieving. And as children make progress, they become intrinsically motivated to learn. We will also use a confidence measuring tool to encourage children to reflect on and feel empowered by their learning.
- Well-paced
- Our Literacy Class sessions will follow a clear structure. A typical session includes 25 minutes of intensive phonics teaching, 15 minutes comprehension work, 5 minutes to read/share a story or play a game. As well as building literacy skills and nurturing social skills such as turn-taking, the more relaxed time at the end helps to build the close relationship between tutor and child that is so conducive to learning.
- Promotes reading for pleasure
- We will want children to experience the joy that can come from reading, whether it is being swept up in a story or marveling over mind-boggling facts. To support the development of the imagination and promote reading for pleasure, our tutors will use high quality picture books and appealing writing resources. At the end of the session, children have free rein to choose a book and either read independently or share-read with their tutor. We also celebrate key events around the year.
- In partnership with families
- We will work hard to build relationships with parents and careers, recognizing the vital role they play in supporting children’s learning. When a child is first referred to our Literacy Class, we will invite parents/careers to explain our approach. We will also invite them to visit the Literacy Class to observe their child’s learning. Because they are involved, parents are more likely to ask children about their learning at home, providing encouragement. We will also share tips and activity ideas with parents so learning can be reinforced at home.
- In partnership with public schools
- We will liaise closely with head teachers, class teachers and support staff to ensure children are supported as effectively as possible and that learning is reinforced. For example, if a teacher notices a child is struggling with a particular area in class, we can plan follow-up work. Our tutors can also visit children’s classrooms during learning time, encouraging them to apply strategies they have been using in the Literacy Class during whole-class learning.
Literacy Classes
Reading for Success Project recognizes the challenges classroom teachers face in meeting a wide variety of student needs. Our one-on-one model:
- Provides each student with a caring coach to deliver targeted support and champion success
- Gives each student the opportunity to work at his or her own pace and at just the right level
- Offers personalized language support; a tutor can stop and discuss words and topics unfamiliar to his or her student as needed
- Allows for student choice with the guidance of a trained volunteers
Targeted lessons for success
Our Literacy Classes are comprised of more than 150 lessons. Each lesson is easy-to-following and requires no preparation outside of the reading center. The programme staff offer ongoing coaching and support to volunteers as questions arise.
The right starting place for every student
The project students are assessed at enrollment and placed at an appropriate starting place in the curriculum sequence, where they practice key reading comprehension skills and develop their vocabularies.
- Emerging readers learn about letters, sounds in spoken language, and how print works
- Beginning readers learn phonics principles and high-frequency words
- Independent readers work on their accuracy, fluency, and comprehension, and write about their reading
Lessons cover multiple reading skills
- Each lesson begins with the volunteer reading aloud to the student from a book the child has selected. The tutor asks questions and discusses the book’s content and vocabulary with the student.
- The volunteer introduces a new skill or concept and helps the student complete an introductory task.
- The volunteer supports the student while he or she reads and encourages the student to apply the new skill and/or concept
Volunteer Programme
Our volunteers undergo a week of training which equips them with the necessary skills for their placement. Every day, our volunteer will make a lifelong difference for kids who struggle with reading. More than simply reading with a child, our volunteers follow a proven, structured curriculum to help students learn specific skills necessary to become proficient readers. It is simple, and it works. Each lesson comes with step-by-step instructions and materials.
Schools Partners?
We work with under-resourced schools in Kisumu County. Our one-on-one tutoring model is proven to raise students’ reading proficiency. To qualify for our direct service, a majority of the students are enrolled at our partner schools.
What We Offer:
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- Working with school leaders, we transform a classroom into a reading center, complete with a library and teaching tools managed by a full-time staff.
- We collaborate with teachers to identify students reading one month or more behind grade level, and provides them with individualized literacy instruction.
- We recruit and train volunteers to provide weekly one-on-one literacy tutoring using its evidence-based curriculum, a series of structured lesson plans that progress from phonics instructions for younger students to higher-order comprehension strategies for older students.
How it works
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- Meet the requirements. You must be 21 years or older, university/college student, undergraduate/postgraduate or P1 teacher and pass a background check, and commit to at least two hours per week.
- Register. They follow simple steps in the registration process, including scheduling an orientation and choosing a school site.
- Attend an orientation. Meet staff and other volunteers, and learn more about being a reading partner.
- Get started! Schedule a session time. Once you’re matched with a student you can begin tutoring!
- Make a difference. By following a highly effective, structured, and easy-to-use curriculum, students build confidence and make impressive gains.
