New Year, New Beginnings, Continuing to transform classrooms in 2015.
At the beginning of the school year it is important that teachers feel motivated and believe that change teachers change can happen.
The following are a list of recommended activities that you may consider using at the beginning of the 2015 school year. These
activities can be implemented within the P1 to P4 classrooms and in turn help support gains in pupil’s literacy and numeracy. These
activities will also help motivate the teachers, foster team spirit and provide you with opportunities for teachers to practise their
English as you facilitate training sessions.
You may be interested in conducting refresher training on the l3 practises for the Primary 1 and Primary 2 teachers as well as an
orientation session for Primary 3 teachers. Preparing the classrooms for literacy and numeracy activities might also be an area of
interest to pursue. The topics outlined below highlight key areas that you could focus on for the first week back at school. Please
share photographs and stories of how teachers and pupils are transforming classrooms in their schools.
Print rich environment
It is important that, from the first day at school, the pupil is encouraged to see books and reading materials as exciting, pleasurable and interesting. Creating
a print-rich environment involves more than a simple labelling of objects in the classroom. The regular use of job charts, weather charts and posters, for
example, in which words, phrases or even sentences change very regularly will help to focus the pupil's attention on the written word and he/she can be
encouraged to respond appropriately.
Video: A11. Creating, using, and maintaining print-rich
environment in your classroom
Send pictures of print rich classrooms in your schools.
Share other ideas online about how to create a print
rich environment in classrooms.
Displaying Pupil’s work
An important element of the print environment is the regular display of the pupils' writing,
whether on the classroom walls or as items in the classroom library. As such it can become
part of the pupils' reading material and provide stimulation to the reader and
encouragement for the writer.
Send pictures of classrooms and teacher who display their pupil’s work
Share other ideas online about how to encourage teachers to display their
pupils work.
Word Walls
A word wall is an ongoing, organized display of key words that provides visual reference for pupils throughout a unit of study or a
term. Teachers and pupils use these words continually during a variety of activities. Each classroom should have a Kinyarwanda and
English word wall. Teachers and pupils can add to the word walls as they learn new words.
Print writing
In primary schools, the aim of teaching handwriting is to teach each pupil to write legibly, fluently, without strain and with sufficient
speed for all practical purposes. To realize this aim, the basic print script, with its development to the cursive form should be taught
in all primary schools. To achieve a consistent approach in all classes, every teacher should understand and use the style described in
this video. Encourage teachers to write bigger on the board, point to words when reading them aloud.
Video: A12 Early grade writing instruction: Handwriting and Beyond
Use this resource in your cpd sessions.
Email samples of teachers and pupils print writing in your schools.
Encourage pupils to cover daily readers
With a brown grocery bag you can help extend the life of school textbooks by making them a protective cover. Encourage pupils and teachers to cover their
book and take extra care of them.
Send us pictures of your schools looking after their books.
Share school doing to promote reading at home?