Be part of World Read Aloud Day (WRAD) on Wednesday (02/02) by pledging to read the story, “A Party at the Park”, out loud to children on the day.
Participants are also encouraged to share pictures of their read-aloud sessions on Nal’ibali’s social media platforms. .
The story, “A Party at the Park”, is written by Mabel Mnensa, author of the children’s book, “Kantinga Finds the Perfect Name”, and for WRAD the story has been translated into South Africa’s 11 official languages as well as Swahili, Shona, French, Chichewa, Portuguese and Lingala which are spoken by foreign national children and families living in the country. The story is also made available in South African Sign Language and Braille through partners, Sign Language Education and Development and Blind SA.
Last year over three million children were read to on WRAD. This year the focus is aimed at encouraging families to commit to reading to their children, regularly. Over the next three years Nal’ibali aims to sign up 1 million families for WRAD.
Storybook reading and storytelling benefit children cognitively and emotionally.
Cognitively:
It makes a critical contribution to developing literacy through building vocabulary and reading for meaning
A robust vocabulary improves all areas of communication — listening, speaking, reading and writing
Vocabulary helps children to think and learn about the world.
Vocabulary growth is directly related to school achievement even in subjects not based on written text
The size of a child’s vocabulary at the start of school predicts the ability to learn to read
Expanding a child’s knowledge of words provides unlimited access to new information
Emotionally:
it teaches children empathy and social skills and if done at home, it promotes family bonding and boosts children’s self-esteem, helping them becoming confident learners.
Research also shows that families who participate in WRAD keep up a sustained habit of reading and sharing stories.
Family literacy is essential for many reasons; one of the biggest is that when family members can read and write, it helps break the cycle of poverty.
“Children who regularly hear fun and engaging stories understand how books work and are more motivated and better equipped to learn to read themselves and to keep reading,” Katie Huston, acting director of Nal’ibali, says. Nal’ibali is a non-governmental organisation promoting reading for enjoyment and celebrates the tenth anniversary of WRAD this year.
Pledgers are encouraged to share pictures of their read-aloud sessions online, tagging Nal’ibali (@NalibaliSA) or using the hashtag #NalibaliWRAD2022.
Join the celebration by making a pledge via nalibali.org or by WhatsApp “WRAD” to 060-044-2254. The story is available on these platforms and is also published in this edition of NoordkaapBulletin on page 6.
