NOW I CAN
WATCH HIM READ WITH CONFIDENCE
NOWICANREAD.CA
November • 2023
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From Not Recognizing the ABCs to Reading Full Sentences “My son, Adam, wasn’t able to identify letters before he started learning through Reading Recovery. Now he is reading full sentences to his younger brother before bed,” said Kelly. She said she isn’t sure what would have happened if her son didn’t have the one-on-one lessons with his Reading Recovery teacher. He did really well with the full attention and the individual focus on what works for him to learn best. It took just a few weeks of individual lessons with his Reading Recovery teacher to be able to recognize the letters, write them and read full sentences. “I don’t believe every child is the same and Reading Recovery really focused on what worked for him. Now he knows his letters, loves to read and feels so proud reading to his brother. Reading is now part of our family time.” —Kelly Many of us take reading for granted, and we hardly remember how we learned to do it. Most of us pick up the basics as preschoolers
from older family members and fine-tune our skills once we enter elementary school. Yet, if we struggled to learn to read, we remember it all too well! We know from research that about 20 per cent of all Grade 1 students will have difficulty picking up the reading and writing skills that will prepare them for a successful education and a promising future. Imagine if those few students with the most difficulty learning to read and write in Grade 1 were provided with the resources and support they needed to successfully learn right in school. They could catch up to their peers, feel confident, have a positive report card, actively participate in their class, be set up for a successful educational future, and so much more.
rest of their educational journey. Reading Recovery is available in both English and French in schools across Canada, but it’s not in all schools. Your advocacy is needed to ensure all children can learn their ABCs. “Hailey now looks forward to reading!” —Hailey’s mom
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has worked behind the scenes in schools to provide an early literacy intervention to those children in Grade 1 who are struggling the most to learn to read and write. Over the years, more than 250,000 children have gained immeasurable self-confidence as they successfully learned to read and write! “As a parent, I witnessed the transReading Recovery is an intenformation a child can feel when sive early literacy intervention that they learn to read and write.” is delivered by a specially trained —Travis’ mom teacher working individually with a child for just 30 minutes every For decades, the Canadian school day. Most students need just Institute for Reading Recovery, a 60-90 lessons to master the skills of national charitable organization, reading and writing. Each lesson
builds on the child’s strengths, existing knowledge and interests and features reading a book, writing a sentence, making words, understanding sounds, letter recognition, and so much more. Each year, a trained teacher works one-on-one with eight to 12 students and at least 20 to 40 other students by providing early literacy support to classroom teachers. Early intervention is key to the success of children like Travis and Adam. Working with a highly skilled teacher right at school means children can catch up and are well-equipped for the
“Thanks to Reading Recovery, when we’re reading at home, I can see her trying to get the words on her own instead of just looking at us to tell her the word. We can see her trying to read her schoolwork more and more. We see her trying to use the skills she has learned. She wants to play ‘spelling bee’ to spell words herself. She loves to leave little notes for her dad and I too!” To learn more about Reading Recovery or to find out how to get it in your school, visit nowicanread.ca THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE FOR READING RECOVERY IS A REGISTERED CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO SUPPORTING EARLY LITERACY LEARNING FOR CHILDREN ACROSS CANADA.
Music for Every Child: Ontario Student Making a Difference for Youth with Disabilities of the pandemic, Fung decided to bring some light back into For 15-year-old Samantha Fung, students' lives, using the power of the disruptions to education the universal language: music. from the pandemic went so much Fung founded Music for Every deeper. When she considered Child (MFEC), a youth-led, how hard adjusting to online registered charity run by students learning was for herself, she ages eight to 23. The program is then realized it would be nearly currently serving five inner-city impossible for the students at her model schools and one special Mississauga, Ont. school with school for women, transgender and disabilities to learn online. non-binary students. In addition, Fung had made connections the program runs in five more with the students with disabilities schools. In total, MFEC is available at her school, having volunteered in 11 schools across Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, and Ottawa. in special education classrooms “We set our priority to since she was 10. “I personally experienced and help the most in need first,” Fung said. “Children with interacted with others who were developmental disabilities who also experiencing the struggles were disproportionately affected of online learning and the by COVID.” negative effects the pandemic “Not only is MFEC working had on our education,” Fung to help these children, but also to explained. “Students born with developmental disabilities didn’t inspire over 200 young volunteers, even have the opportunity to do all full-time elementary and high online schooling and this must be school students, like ourselves, by sharing with them the joy of even harder on their education, giving and all that we’ve learned and their families.” Stricken by the negative effects through our experiences with ALLIE MURRAY
MFEC,” she explained. The program has made immense impacts on youth— both participants and volunteers alike. So much so that when volunteer Molly Chen moved to a new school in Michigan, she brought the idea of expanding MFEC to the United States to Fung, who thought it was a great idea. Today, Chen is leading a team of volunteers and communicating with school officials in the U.S. to arrange fundraisers for the charity. “It is truly inspiring for me to be working with such a vibrant, resilient, and passionate volunteer, who keeps working on what they believe in, no matter the hardships, until it becomes a reality,” Fung said. Similarly, MFEC has caught the attention of the Royal Family, awarding Fung with The Diana Award, named after the late Diana, Princess of Wales, the award is given to young people who are making a difference. “She believed that young
people can change the world, and to have it acknowledge that I am part of proving that belief to be a reality is a true honour,” she said. Looking towards the future, Fung plans to continue expanding MFEC by recruiting more volunteers, offering the program in more schools and community centres, with the goal of passing the torch to the next generation
once she finishes high school. “We want to orderly hand over MFEC operations to younger volunteers who will become the new face of the organization, thus creating a legacy and continue what MFEC was founded to do: help those most in need, inspire youth, and create an interconnected world that leaves no one behind,” Fung shared.
FUNDRAISING EVENT ARTS MARKET © COURTESY OF MUSIC FOR EVERY CHILD
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