Program Embraces Interactive Learning
John Newport
The ushering in of the new program and accompanying textbook should see a more interactive approach to reading inside the classroom. Newport says the objective is to engage children in the reading lessons being taught.
John Newport, Acting Director, QUADS
“It introduces these sounds in a way which is systematic and it’s systematic based on scientific research as to which sounds you should introduce first, which order you should introduce them because they are the sounds which are most common in language and those are the ones that the children can then use to read both effectively. And so the book teaches and takes children through a series of lessons, building sound awareness, helping them learn the letters, helping them blend the letters, read words and read sentences.”
Isani Cayetano
“Finally, what change or differences come along with the introduction of this particular program into the education system?”
John Newport
“What we will see and what we hope to see then is that if you were to go into an Infant One classroom and you see a phonics lesson, you’re going to see the children on their feet. You’re going to see the children making the actions. So example when they are learning the n sound, there is an action which is nnn, and we find that when children do something and then they say the sound, they never forget. You’re going to see children re-enacting the stories, linking that with the sound and linking that with what they read. So it’s going to be or it’s what some teachers are doing or already do very well, but you need to have materials which enable teachers to use these modern practices. And then one more thing which I said it was My BZ Phonics, what you will find in this book is every Belizean animal that you can think of, the national symbols, the national flag, geographical locations, names of characters from every ethnic group. It’s uniquely Belizean but it is also, we think, of international quality in terms of the program it presents.”
My BZ Phonics comes a few months before the beginning of the new academic year.
