Teachers learn literacy techniques

Mrs Adenike Ogunade is looking forward to teaching her Primary 1 class at the Wesley Primary School, Ifako-Ijaiye, Lagos.

After years of frustration teaching young children to read, she was one of the 100 public school teachers shown the key to teaching literacy to pupils.

The Primaries 1 and 2 teachers attended a five-day workshop at the Lagos State Education Resource Centre, Ojodu, during which they learnt the techniques of teaching literacy.

“I really enjoyed this seminar. It is different. I acquired knowledge according to how I should teach,” she said.

The programme anchored by GFR Educational Services exposed the teachers to how to teach spelling, comprehension, reading, writing and handwriting.

Mrs Olubunmi Salako, Coordinator of the programme also said the teachers were taught how to integrate the methods into teaching other subjects apart from Literacy.

“This programme is an integrated approach to teaching and learning you can teach one subject and teach different areas of other subjects. For instance if you are teaching nouns, you are teaching letters, words, sounds, punctuation and spelling. And the beauty of it is that you can integrate other subjects with English Language. I applied it to Mathematics and Science,” said Mrs Salako, who is the Administrator of GFR.

The teachers said they looked forward to trying the techniques, especially as they had difficulties teaching their pupils in the past.

Mrs Salome Dawodu, who teaches Social Studies at Oroku Primary School, Ebute Metta, was excited about the training, which she said would make teaching pleasurable for them.

“It has been worthwhile. Firstly, teaching English Language, especially to the little ones has been so traumatic, a night mare. I would pick my lesson note and think hard about how to bring myself to their level because I used to teach senior classes before. In fact I cannot wait to start teaching. I am so eager to go and start impacting them,” she said.

Mr Ajibola Bamidele, a Mathematics teacher at St Paul African Church School, Mushin, said he had longed for such exposure in the past.

“I have been looking forward to this type of training for long. Many children have problems reading. Secondary school teachers have complained that children passed to them from primary school cannot read well. When I go back to my school, I will ensure the children go at their own pace. I will ensure I practice all the methods we were taught,” he said.

With the training, one of the facilitators, Mrs Adetoun Olaogun said the pupils were teachable but for long teachers lacked the effective methodology to teach them.

She said: “Most of what the teachers’ learnt was methodology. Once they are able to improve their method of teaching, children will learn well.”

Another facilitator, Mrs Bimpe Giwa, said the effect of the training would have a multiplier effect in all the levels of education.

“It will address the issue of reading and comprehension in schools. Once children are able to read and understand there is nothing you cannot teach them. The secondary schools and tertiary institutions will have fewer problems because primary school is the foundation,” he said.

 

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