AFRICAN STORYBOOK PROJECT – BEGINNING READERS and PROJECT LEVELLING GUIDELINES

By Lorato Trok

KEEP IN MIND FOR BEGINNING READERS

1. Active characters, always trying to solve or deal with a situation. A child’s joy is greater if he or she can solve the situation.

2. Use a setting that makes you see, hear, smell, touch and most importantly, feel

3. The plot (conflict, complications, and climax) are in the form of small increments. There is a lot of curiosity and suspense (what if? What’s next? – this promotes directional reading)

KEEP IN MIND FOR BEGINNING READERS

4. Humorous and imaginative. In a child’s worldview, everything is possible.

5. Simple words, short sentences, and simple structures

6. Predicatable with patterns and repetition. Don’t forget the surprise ending!

7. Pictures play and important part in the story

Predictability and Patterns

1. Repetition

2. Opposites

3. Exaggerate

4. Association

5. Order and disorder

AFRICAN STORYBOOK PROJECT LEVELLING GUIDELINES

We have specifically called the levelling of our stories guidelines and we want to emphasise to teachers and people on this online course that they are not cast on stone. They are a

guide to levelling and users are required to use their own understanding of levels or levelling

when using or versioning stories.

Level 1: First words

• Single words, phrases, or a short simple sentence per page;

• Most of the information carried by the illustration;

• Some books will tell the stories in pictures only.

Example www.africanstorybook.org/stories/i-can-do-this

Level 2: First sentences

• Two or three sentences per page;

• The illustrations support the understanding of the text.

Examplehttp://www.africanstorybook.org/book/read/2332 very tall man

Level 3: First paragraphs

• A short paragraphs with an illustration per page;

• Not such a close relationship between the illustration and the text.

Examplehttp://www.africanstorybook.org/book/read/908 the teacher

Level 4: Paragraph stories

• Longer paragraphs;• May not be a picture on

every page.

Examplehttp://www.africanstorybook.org/book/read/1890