Every year on March 20th, World Storytelling Day celebrates the art of storytelling. It’s a day for people around the globe to listen, read a story out loud and tell their own stories.
Learners listening to stories on World Storytelling Day – Setlabotjha Primary
Many of us go throughout the day engaging in storytelling without even realising it. Making up a bedtime story for your child, telling a friend about a funny, embarrassing moment, recounting a childhood memory or reading your favourite story book out aloud, are all examples of storytelling.
Storytelling improves both memory and the ability to use narrative language, which is necessary for developing literacy. Storytelling also helps our children to become better listeners and better readers while building their vocabulary.
Learner celebrating World Storytelling Day – Setlabotjha Primary
Approximately 758 million people across the globe cannot read. According to South African government statistics, our youth literacy rate for those aged 15 to 34 sits at over 90%, whilst adult literacy (ages 35 – 64) sits at just under 80%.¹
Learners enjoying a story on World Storytelling Day – Giyani Primary
READ Educational Trust is all too aware of the power of literacy, and as a non-profit organisation, focuses on promoting literacy across South Africa. The annual Word Warrior Competition has always drawn attention to creative young wordsmiths, encouraged reading and writing and promoted literacy among the youth in SA.
The winner of the Word Warrior 2020 Competition is none other than Adam Schoeman from Grayston Preparatory School in Morningside, Gauteng.
Aimed at learners from the ages of nine through 16, the Word Warrior Competition requires entrants to write about engaging, fresh and authentic dialogue – for a play, for a movie or to use in a story.
Adam was extremely pleased to win the R1 000 voucher, and his school was ecstatic to hear that his winning entry won them R5 000’s worth of books. A wonderful boost in the quest for literacy! Adam’s teacher, Mr Chipps is proud of his talented learner’s achievement and is confident he’ll go from strength to strength in writing.
A super way of sharing stories with the family and mimicking reading aloud this World Storytelling Day, is to download the series of audio books available on the READ Educational website – http://www.read.org.za/audio-books/.
