Logo of Big Brother Mouse, publishing books in Laos
 

12 January, 2018, Nasan Village, Xayaboury Province, Laos

Launching a Reading Program: For our reading program, we give enough books to each classroom in the school so that children can read every day. Often called "Sustained Silent Reading", this approach develops reading skills, a love of reading, and a habit of reading. We launch the program with a book party, show here. For one full morning or afternoon, our team reads aloud, talks about books, leads outdoor games, and teaches songs about books and reading. At the end, every child gets to choose a book of their own, in addition to the books we leave in the classrooms. Then, beginning in 2015, we do more follow-up visits with the school to be sure the program is set up successfully.

This event was sponsored by the people of the village itself, Stewardship (Great Britain), and Tatsumi Elementary School in Tokyo, Japan (care of Ben Schwartz and Miki Schwartz). Thank you!

You'll see some schools here that are made of concrete, with funding from international organizations. Others, especially farther from the cities, are made of bamboo or wood.

What we believe is matters, is what happens inside. Today's teachers grew up in schools that had a teacher, and a blackboard, but little else. They had no books that children wanted to read. So part of our job is working with teachers, helping them think about how to integrate books and reading into their classroom activities.

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