The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in conjunction with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) have launched the new Igbo and Yoruba Early Grade Reading Material with the title Ka anyi guo! and je kakawe! respectively.
Speaking at the Virtual Launch Ceremony last Thursday, USAID Mission Director, Anne Patterson, said the resources would expand the availability of quality local language teaching and learning materials for reading in Nigeria.
Patterson stated that the materials targeted all Igbo and Yoruba speaking primary grades one to three learners in the southern region.
Patterson said that the materials were developed by the Research and Development Council with support from USAID Education Initiative (NEI) Plus activity, maintaining that the new Igbo and Yoruba curricula would be available for any interested state to adopt,print and distribute with their own resources.
In her words,”teaching children to read in a language they understand equips them with a powerful tool for life long learning. Building foundational reading skills accelerates English learning acquisition and other skills and contributes to developing a new generation of leaders equipped to help Nigeria meet the challenges ahead”.
USAID mission director said the curriculum was tailored for a 21st century audience of emerging readers revealing that it was rich with culturally relevant stories, colourful pictures, gender-based representation as well as a clear sequence of content that gradually builds upon the ability of each learner as new skills and proficiencies were required.
“Let’s Read’ promotes active learner engagement, comprehension and critical thinking through three levels of institution that ensure learners develop critical skills necessary for all aspiring readers: Phonemic awareness, Phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension,” she said.
Patterson further revealed that the comprehensive curriculum package included learner textbooks and workbooks, teachers’ guides and storybooks for practice in school or at home, saying”all available at no expense for download”.

By: Lady Godknows Ogbulu