Section 2: Creating a language-rich learning environment

Introduction

In this section you will:

• learn how to create a print-rich and language-rich environment
• get ideas for creating and finding early reading resources, including using the African Storybook website
• plan how to build regular reading activities into your week.

In Section 1 you thought about the different ways that children learn to read. You looked at the different aspects of literacy and identified a range of things that effective teachers of literacy need to do to support early reading development.

In this section you will look at examples of language-rich learning environments and prepare your own classroom environment to best support early reading. You will use a weekly plan to help you to include different literacy activities within the week. You will also explore the African Storybook website and find free picture storybooks to use in your classroom.

There are seven activities in this section and you will need access to the internet in order to explore the ASb website and complete the quiz. The emphasis is on creating resources and developing an attractive space where children can learn to read.