- Target
children:
Every child between the ages of 4-14 of
every village in the selected Blocks…including
children at risk i.e. child labours.
- Assessment:
Each child will be tested one-on-one using
simple tools in reading and arithmetic at the
beginning, which will be the Baseline Test and
shared with all stake-holders in the village,
including Panchayat and VEC members. Mid-test and
final test results will be maintained in the same
format and will be available again to all
stake-holders.
- Teaching-learning
methodology:
The teaching-learning methodology to be followed
with the target children are modules developed and
implemented successfully by Pratham in other
states of
India
:
1.
Library:
Will be the
focal point of starting all the reading modules. About
150 titles of interesting supplementary story books, in
multiple copies, mostly Bengali will be stored in every
village. 2 community volunteers will be chosen from the
village to run the library. A village library register
will be maintained, where detailed record of all 4-14
year olds will be entered.
|
The library will not only be a place to lend books but also an activity place, where children will
be engaged in story- telling, writing, drawing, quiz, games, cultural
activities, all geared towards making Reading a pleasure and interesting activity. |
2.
Shishuvachan: Is simpler version of the
L2R targeting children between the ages of 4-5.
3.
Learning
to Read (L2R):
Since January 2003, Pratham has innovated and tested an
accelerated reading technique that combines several
activities to build reading skills.
The daily activities include pointing to words
and reading aloud, using the phonetic (“barahkhadi”)
chart in a variety of ways, written and oral word games
and daily writing tasks.
In Pratham programmes across the country, between
January and June 2003, almost 1,50,000 children between
the ages of 6 and 14 have participated in this reading
experiment. In
most cases, the “accelerated reading program” has
been conducted for short periods: two to three months
with remarkable results.
In a
period of 3 years, it is anticipated that there would be
a substantial improvement in basic learning levels in
primary schools across the district. The focus will be
on children who are lagging behind academically and
therefore are at a risk of “dropping out”.
It is hoped that the programmes will help to
strengthen these children’s basic learning levels and
enable them to build a stronger foundation for future
learning. At
the end of 3 years it is expected that that all 19
target Blocks in 18 districts of West Bengal can be
designated as Reading Blocks and each village will own
up this programme with the help of either SSA funds or
local funds, for future generation of children. The
models are of very low cost and can be run with village
household contributions.
