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The Problem
A large number of children in rural schools in India are first generation learners. The transition to literacy is especially challenging. In order for children to become good readers they should have access to a wide range of reading materials beyond their textbooks. Yet there is a dearth of story books and supplementary reading materials in most primary schools.
Our solution: The Story Cards Project
The aim of the story cards project is to promote reading among underprivileged children in schools. Kathai Aruvi/ Katha Jharna is a set of 100 stories in laminated cards. The cards, are attractively illustrated, have been widely used for several years by educationists engaged in teaching school-going children as well as dropouts.
The format of the story cards (laminated A3-size cards folded into 4-page books) is ideal for shared reading in a classroom. The cards are easy to handle and can withstand frequent use, ensuring that several groups of children in a classroom may use them simultaneously. The card format also gives children confidence in their reading ability as they complete one card after another comfortably.
The cards include stories from traditional literatures from India and around the world, in addition to modern stories. Themes include leadership, identity, self-affirmation, creativity, generosity, and common sense. A subset of the stories deals with science topics, e.g. animal features and their functions, the environment, the lunar calendar, etc. Interesting riddles are also part of the collection.
Impact :
RSMF, a non-profit organization with a focus on education of underprivileged girl children, has played a big role in reaching the story cards sets to rural schools by networking with a wide range of NGOs and donors. Over the years several groups have sponsored the sets to government schools and libraries in remote areas. RSMF shared the Hindi stories online during the pandemic to facilitate learning of the children in the following link:
https://rajifoundation.in/storycards/index.html
However, access to digital modes of learning by underprivileged children in rural areas is extremely limited and printed cards were found to be more useful.
Your contributions to RSMF will help in raising seed money for translation, development and printing of the story cards in Indian languages and in English. One set of 100 laminated story cards costs Rs.1,200 and an entire class can use the material at the same time.
A large number of children in rural schools in India are first generation learners. The transition to literacy is especially challenging. In order for children to become good readers they should have access to a wide range of reading materials beyond their textbooks. Yet there is a dearth of story books and supplementary reading materials in most primary schools.
Our solution: The Story Cards Project
The aim of the story cards project is to promote reading among underprivileged children in schools. Kathai Aruvi/ Katha Jharna is a set of 100 stories in laminated cards. The cards, are attractively illustrated, have been widely used for several years by educationists engaged in teaching school-going children as well as dropouts.
The format of the story cards (laminated A3-size cards folded into 4-page books) is ideal for shared reading in a classroom. The cards are easy to handle and can withstand frequent use, ensuring that several groups of children in a classroom may use them simultaneously. The card format also gives children confidence in their reading ability as they complete one card after another comfortably.
The cards include stories from traditional literatures from India and around the world, in addition to modern stories. Themes include leadership, identity, self-affirmation, creativity, generosity, and common sense. A subset of the stories deals with science topics, e.g. animal features and their functions, the environment, the lunar calendar, etc. Interesting riddles are also part of the collection.
Impact :
- The story cards set was originally made in Tamil, as “Kathai Aruvi,” in the year 2003. Many teachers and parents saw the set as a priceless collection. The requests from several groups working in rural India in different states led to the translation of the stories into other Indian languages: Hindi, Kannada, Odiya, Gujarati and Marathi and some tribal languages.
- Feedback from teachers, parents and others who work with children’s education show a tremendous impact of these story cards. Children read the stories with eagerness and teachers find it a valuable tool to develop language skills, dramatization, drawing and creative skills.
- The Association for the Blind in Tamil Nadu has brought out these stories in Braille and have been using them for several years.
- Katha Jharna, the Hindi story card set, is one of the “Recommended Books” for Kendriya Vidyalaya schools.
- More than 12,000 sets of KathaiAruvi/Katha Jharna have reached different corners of the country over the years impacting over a lakh of children. However the number of children to be reached is still enormous.
RSMF, a non-profit organization with a focus on education of underprivileged girl children, has played a big role in reaching the story cards sets to rural schools by networking with a wide range of NGOs and donors. Over the years several groups have sponsored the sets to government schools and libraries in remote areas. RSMF shared the Hindi stories online during the pandemic to facilitate learning of the children in the following link:
https://rajifoundation.in/storycards/index.html
However, access to digital modes of learning by underprivileged children in rural areas is extremely limited and printed cards were found to be more useful.
Your contributions to RSMF will help in raising seed money for translation, development and printing of the story cards in Indian languages and in English. One set of 100 laminated story cards costs Rs.1,200 and an entire class can use the material at the same time.
Website - https://rajifoundation.in
