One Year into Reading Circles

A little over a year ago, a new program at the Madaraka Nyerere Library and Community Resource Center (LCRC) called Reading Circles was formally introduced with great fanfare to the community. We are elated to share that the pilot program, which started off with merely a handful of classrooms in two grades last year has grown to 471 students participating in this program! The LCRC Staff recently shared the results of their first program evaluation and it's another example of the impact that a modest investment in education can make on the lives of youth in the Mara region.

Why we helped start Reading Circles

Most children around Nyegina grow up without books at home. Their schools are short on textbooks, and storybooks are rarer still. The library changed some of that when it opened, with thousands of books in Swahili and English on its shelves, but having books nearby isn't the same as reading them. The Reading Circles program was designed to close that gap with a regular structure and hands-on support from teachers and volunteers.

TDS purchases sets of books so small groups of students can read the same story together, take turns reading it aloud, and talk about it. For primary school students, this is an early opportunity to begin practicing reading in English. For secondary school students, it is a great way to build proficiency and vocabulary. Whatever the language, we are excited for students to spend real time with books, gain confidence in their ability to read in front of others, and recognize the value of independent reading.

How the Circles work

Each round, a circle reads one book together with help from teachers and the LCRC team. Three times a year, the team checks in on how students are doing: whether they can read the story aloud to their classmates, pick out new words, write sentences from dictation, and answer questions about what they read. This year, 232 primary students at four schools are taking part, along with 239 secondary students at three schools.

What we're seeing so far

The first check-in, in February, showed how new this was for most students. Only about one in five primary students could read their story aloud to their classmates well, and most struggled to get through it. By July, more than half of them read aloud well, and the number who struggled had dropped to fewer than one in five. Their writing improved in much the same way.

The teachers credit part of that to the book. Friends Are Fun by Liza Kendall uses simple words and tells a story about something every student knows well. Students wanted to talk about it, and when they could discuss it in Swahili, the conversations went deeper and more students felt comfortable joining in. Secondary students had a similar experience with Meet My Family by Elizabeth A. Mboya, which had them sharing stories about their own families.

There's still plenty getting in the way. Illness, long walks to school, farm work and exams all keep students from coming regularly. And there still aren't enough copies of each book for every student to take one home and read it again, which is how reading really starts to stick.

What's next

The next circles meet in November with two new books, Amariga the Greedy Boy by Kwamboka Oyaro for primary students and Rooster's Voice by Corona Cermak for secondary students. The LCRC team also wants to give students notebooks to write about how each book made them feel, and to encourage students who like writing and drawing to make their own stories at the library. Looking ahead, we hope Reading Circles grow beyond school time and into homes and villages, until checking out a library book is simply part of life for students, parents, and teachers.

More books are the most direct way to help. If you'd like to put more stories in students' hands, you can support Reading Circles here.

Thank you to TDS Board Member, Dr. Andrea Trudeau, for her guidance and the storybooks she has helped provide. And congratulations to the LCRC staff, teachers in each school, and students on their incredible efforts to build a culture of reading and promote book joy in their communities.