Pre-reading Program at Milingimbi

Extract

The Pre-reading program for Gupapuyngu speaking children was largely based upon the lectures of Sarah Gudschinsky given in Darwin in early 1973.

The first part of the pre-reading program involved helping the children to learn exactly what reading (and writing) is. In a European culture children often come to school with this understanding, but many Aboriginal children take some time to register the basic principles involved. This aim was achieved as much in incidental teaching as in planned lessons. The children were read to in their own language. When they were read to, the teacher often pointed to the words as he read them. The children were shown the relationship between the figures on the page and what was being read. Every day, after morning news, we wrote down what one child had said (and a picture was drawn). Later on the short story or phrase was read back to the children. When the children were sent on messages, the teacher read out what he had written down. The children learnt the communicative value of writing and reading. Children who, when they arrived at school, thought that reading involved showing a picture and making up the story, soon learnt what the words were for, and thus were motivated to learn to read.