Tools to get all children reading

Reading is the gateway to learning.  Yet too many children are growing up without the chance to develop the foundational learning skills they need.  Seven out of ten children in low- and middle-income countries cannot understand a simple text by their tenth birthday (a situation we call learning poverty). We can and we must take action, and what better time than International Literacy Day?

To celebrate this year’s International Literacy Day, we want to highlight a selection of World Bank tools that can be used to expand children’s opportunities to read.  These practical tools are available online, free to use, and can be easily adapted to suit the needs of different children and contexts.  Our tools are organized in three categories: teaching and learning materials, book procurement and distribution, and engaging parents and caregivers. 

Teaching and learning materials

Learning to read is a complex process which requires support at home, instruction at school, and opportunities to practice anywhere!  To become readers, children need support and encouragement from their parents and caregivers, access to many and varied books, and effective literacy instruction in languages they know in school. 

• The Compendium of Structured Lesson Plans provides a suite of resources to support strengthening reading instruction.  These are grounded in evidence on the science of reading, and include guidance on literacy instruction and developing early grade reading programs, and a collection of early grade teaching and learning materials.
• The Early Learning Resource Network (ELRN) helps those working in education find open licensed children’s books and instructional materials in languages children know for foundational literacy and numeracy programs.  It contains thousands of print-ready high-quality books that are easy to adapt and ready to print at scale (with more resources, books, and languages being added every day).
• The Read@Home manual (also available in Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Arabic) provides comprehensive guidance on the book development and distribution process.  It outlines the evidence base underpinning reading at home and provides practical step-by-step guidance on how to identify and select quality age-appropriate reading materials, design and deliver support to engage parents and caregivers with reading activities and monitor and evaluate book distribution efforts. 

Engaging caregivers and parents

Learning to read starts in the home, long before children start school.  Parents and communities are children’s first teachers, and activities like talking to children, telling them stories and rhymes, asking them questions, and reading to them are the building blocks for children’s language development. 

• The Parent and Caregiver Engagement Package is a comprehensive and adaptable set of  materials  that can be used to support and encourage parental engagement with reading activities, regardless of their own literacy levels.  Content is available in a range of different formats, such as animations, resources for radio, and demonstration videos.

Book procurement and distribution

Efficient, affordable and reliable book procurement and distribution is essential if we are to make books available to all children. 

• Textbooks, teacher guides, and books for reading practice are obtained by education systems through international or national procurement. The ELRN provides extensive guidance and tools for conducting low cost, transparent, and efficient procurement, including resources on licensing, insurance, and copyright.
• Whether it’s a school textbook, teacher guide, or book for reading practice, it’s crucial that teaching and learning materials arrive at their intended destination and get into children’s hands.  Read@Home’s Track and Trace app, available free of charge on the ELRN, allows governments and partners to track books from their point of production to  schools and communities, allowing  them to spot and solve any problems that occur along the way.
• The Early Learning Network’s print cost calculator is designed to estimate the costs of printing books (including textbooks, teacher’s guides, and books for reading practice) for foundational literacy programs serving schools, children and their families.  The calculator allows governments and development partners to make decisions about the types and quantities of books they can afford with their printing budget.

The World Bank’s Approach

The World Bank is taking a practical and collaborative approach to end learning poverty. As the largest source of external funding for education in low- and middle-income countries, the World Bank supports countries with technical and financial resources to ensure learners are prepared for school, teachers are adequately trained, students have access to learning materials, schools are safe and inclusive, and systems are well managed.  

The Read@Home initiative addresses key aspects of this challenge, providing children with access to reading materials to build literacy skills.  Read@Home is working with governments and other partners in 18 countries so far to expand access to quality reading and learning materials, increase the cost-effectiveness of procuring and distributing books, and support parents and caregivers from the most vulnerable households to support their children’s learning. 

The World Bank is also working closely with UNICEF, UNESCO, FCDO, USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and GPE as part of the Coalition for Foundational Learning to advocate and provide technical support to ensure foundational learning.  The World Bank works with these partners to promote and endorse the Commitment to Action on Foundational Learning, a global network of countries committed to halving the global share of children unable to read and understand a simple text by age 10 by 2030.

Learning poverty is a crisis, but it shouldn’t be a life sentence.  On International Literacy Day, let’s ensure all children have the chance to grow up as readers and learners.

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