Unleash the power of reading!
27 November 2019
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) wants to get everyone on board to get learners reading at appropriate levels.
The department’s Reading Strategy Grade R-12 (2019-2024) is a high-level ‘Whole of Society Approach’ (WOSA) that sets out the latest thinking about how all sectors can work together to get learners reading at grade level.
The strategy is an intentional and explicit plan to create opportunities and associations to assist readers to decode and encode text and visuals for meaning.
Karen Dudley, Director: Curriculum (General Education and Training), explained that the strategy has five main pillars: teacher development, learning and teaching support material, learner support, advocacy and parental involvement.
“These five pillars are informally referred to as ‘heart, head and hand’. The strategy includes reading norms per term per grade which will guide teachers on when interventions are needed for learners not able to attain the benchmarks set out in the norms.”
Dudley said the mission to promote a vibrant reading culture is not the responsibility of teachers alone, but that of school managers, parents, caregivers, librarians, publishers, corporate and other members of society, who all have a role to play in promoting a habit of reading.
The WCED Reading Strategy will be launched on 14 March 2020.
