Efforts to improve literacy in the schools of Anguilla, an important aspect of learning being energetically and successfully propelled by the Ministry and Department of Education, took a different approach several days ago from traditional reading and writing.
For the second time, on Friday, November 15, students from all six government-run primary schools gathered at the Teachers’ Resource Centre and the Anguilla Public Library for various practical sessions on literacy without the use of books and other such educational materials. The sessions were led by Mrs Vanessa John-Hobson ably assisted by Ms Sandra Fahie, Education Officer, Curriculum, as well as a number of other facilitators drawn from the schools and the Anguilla Library Services.
“We are having our literacy fair,” Mrs John-Hobson told The Anguillian. “We introduced it last year and we decided to make it an annual event. We are targeting grade three students of the primary schools. They engage in a number of literacy-based activities. Usually, when people think about literacy they think about reading and writing but, as you notice, the children are engaged in a number of fun activities and you haven’t seen pen or paper – so they are engaging in activities that require them to follow instructions, to listen keenly and to solve problems. All of those are key literacy skills that everyone needs in order to be able to manipulate the environment in which he or she lives.
“We are trying to enhance those skills of the students, and to let themknow that it can be done in a fun and exciting wayworking in collaboration with the Library. We have string art where the students are asked to listen and follow instructions to create different shapes from string,” Mrs John-Hobson told The Anguillian.
“We have a computer centre where the students are playing literacy-related educational computer games and we have the board games as well. We have the treasure hunt and craft areas. Of course the children have to listen, follow instructions and use their problem-solving skills. We also have storytelling which I guess comes down to the traditional literacy view where the students will have to listen to a story and answer questions – so this is little bit of reading comprehension.
“We have the students moving around in groups of 20 to make them manageable for the facilitators.”
