Reading for Real is a six-month pilot initiative of Akshara Foundation and the Hippocampus Reading Foundation. It is aimed at strengthening the vital role that Akshara’s Librarians, Mobile Librarians and Dream a Dream Volunteers play as key facilitators in fueling an interest in reading amongst school going children, who are members of our libraries.

Started in August, the six month pilot program would involve librarians, mobile librarians and Dream a Dream Volunteers in handling 24 creative reading sessions. These sessions which are conducted in Kannada and English combine reading with other related activities for 90 minutes every weekend.

A series of interactive training sessions conducted by The Teacher Foundation preceded this pilot initiative.

Among the techniques used to instill an interest in reading among children are the rebus technique, which entails the weaving of stories through a series of random pictures, which are stuck together. This facilitates a creative learning process through picture-word linkages and helps build language and vocabulary skills in children.

The use of finger puppets in story telling, soft boards with character pictures from stories, poetry (action rhymes), music and drama, and word games help in tapping inherent kinesthetic, linguistic, mathematical, musical and interpersonal competencies as essential components for enabling effective reading and comprehension in children.