KidzRead Network Guidebook

Working Together

To Improve English Literacy In Children

(An Initiative By Yayasan Generasi Gemilang)

Table Of Contents 01 Foreword

03 About KidzREAD Network

04 KidzREAD Program History

07 How To Be A KidzREAD Champion?

13 What Will Generasi Gemilang Provide?

14 FAQs

— As A KidzREAD Champion
— About KidzREAD Program
— KidzREAD Network Funding

18 Join KidzREAD Network

01 | Foreword

Every Child We believe quality education is the key to
Deserves A Chance... ending the poverty cycle – helping children
exceed expectations, even those of their own.
You can fish. But without a solid foundation in literacy,
I can fish. children are generally not able to keep up in
We can fish. school, losing interest and eventually dropping
out.
These sentences are the average reading level of most
primary school children in under-served communities All children should be able to read! Still, we do
not just want to stop there. We want them to
also experience progress through consistency.
We want learning English to be fun - to instill a
joy in learning that they can carry long after the
program ends. Yes, it sounds like a lot, but
imagine the difference it makes to that one child
if we can make this a reality.

02 | Foreword Melissa Ngiam

Working Together To Give More Children A Chance Chief Executive Officer

We have seen the results and heard of countless amazing
impact stories over the last eight years through our
KidzREAD program. However, as a single organisation, we
cannot reach every child in Malaysia who needs help. So,
we want to share this with like-minded people who desire
to see children in B40 & other vulnerable communities
achieve the same joy in learning. Through good
collaborations, everyone benefits.

Read on to understand how you can journey together with
us to get children in your communities reading at a higher
level. And if at the end of this booklet, that small idea you
have continues to burn, get in touch with us. Let’s get
something started today!

About KidzREAD Network | 03

KidzREAD Network

KidzREAD Network is a platform that aims to bring together like-minded
individuals, people groups and organisations to work towards improving
English literacy for the B40 & other vulnerable communities using
resources from our program called KidzREAD.

Identify Potential B40 or Get A Group Of Partner With GG To Create Stories Of Change
Vulnerable Community Volunteers & Students Adopt, Fund & Run & Watch As Children
From The Community KidzREAD Program Improve In Their Literacy

04 | KidzREAD Program History We started KidzREAD with 25
children in one community.
KidzREAD Then & Now...
It was just purely reading as our
A New objective. However, we soon realised
Beginning the children were beginning to read
but there was no comprehension!
We needed structured assessments
and accompanying reading activities
to ensure that the children could
understand what they were reading.

2013 2015

1 2014

We began our academic guidance program How The Idea We expanded KidzREAD to
for primary school students in 2013. It was Of KidzREAD a second community.
through our sessions with them that we Came About
realised, so many students were struggling to And we started developing
read simple English words or even identify Reaching Out our own detailed learning
alphabets accurately at the age of 9 years. To More Children activities and assessments
for every level which we
The reality is, these children were just some of compiled into workbooks
the many in Malaysia who fall through the to be used together with
cracks of the education system because they the readers’ books.
come from families who cannot afford to give
them the academic opportunities they need.

05 | KidzREAD Program History We also had the first
KidzREAD Graduation
When the pandemic hit, in 2020! Six students
KidzREAD had to quickly migrate successfully completed
to an online platform to ensure all 8 Peter and Jane
the children had continuity in levels.
their education. Our materials
and assessments were converted Beyond All
into digital versions and the team Boundaries
successfully ran KidzREAD online.

2018 PRESENT DAY

2020

We expanded again to two new One constant we have seen Work Together,
communities. in every community we have To Improve Literacy
gone into is how great the
Stepping Out Of Now, we have 10 levels of fun, need for English literacy is.
Our Comfort Zone activity-based workbooks with
accompanying assessments to Seeing that great need is
hopefully give our children an what birthed forth the idea
engaging and enjoyable of the KidzREAD Network.
learning experience.

06 | KidzREAD Program History

Meet The People Behind KidzREAD

— Managed the KidzREAD Program for 8 years — — Managed the KidzREAD Program for 6 years —

Charissa Eunice KidzREAD has grown beyond Jolene Tan We want to dream big; we want
Education Champion our expectations and we hope Education Champion to believe that one day, every
through partnerships with like- child in Malaysia will be given
minded people, more children access to basic literacy. We want
can have access to basic literacy, to believe that no child will be
more children can be impacted left behind. And we know that is
and more doors of learning only possible when we work
opportunities will be opened. together.

Reading is the gateway skill that
makes all other learning possible!

07 | How To Be A KidzREAD Champion?

How To Be A KidzREAD
Champion?

Worry not! We will help you navigate your first
experience as a KidzREAD Champion!

08 | How To Be A KidzREAD Champion?

Like-Minded Principles

We believe it is important to work with individuals, people groups and
organisations that hold similar principles and values when it comes to the
needs of children.

Outcome Driven, Education Is Fun Willingness To
Not Output Share Knowledge

13

Behind every number is a life! Both teaching & learning can There is value in collaboration
It is important to focus on the be carried out in an interactive & partnership. It does not have

development of each child. and creative way. to be a lonely journey!

09 | How To Be A KidzREAD Champion?

GSTEATTRITNEGD

Identify English literacy needs in a
potential community
Sign a Memorandum of Understanding
to run KidzREAD program
Attend KidzREAD program training and
orientation
Join and experience KidzREAD session
conducted by Generasi Gemilang's team

How To Be A KidzREAD Champion? | 10

Recruitment of students & volunteers
(Minimum 10 students and 5 volunteers)
Plan a total of 15 session dates or more
to run KidzREAD program
Prepare learning packs for all students
Provide orientation for all students and
volunteers
Conduct pre-assessment with students

PREPARATION

11 | How To Be A KidzREAD Champion?

EXECUTION

Carry out at least 15 learning sessions
Prepare mentor-students groupings
before each session
Key in & update necessary data after
each session

How To Be A KidzREAD Champion? | 12

Conduct post-assessment with all
students
Prepare KidzREAD program report
Provide evaluation and feedback on
the KidzREAD program to review
existing partnership

EVALUATION

13 | What Will Generasi Gemilang Provide? KidzREAD Workbooks For
Every Reading Level
What Will Generasi Peter & Jane Storybooks
Gemilang Provide? (Level 1-8)
Assessments For Every
Consultation + Training For Periodical Support In Reading Level
Planning And Execution Program Sessions KidzREAD Data Templates

14 | FAQs 1 What will I need to do as a KidzREAD champion?
Please refer to the responsibilities as a KidzREAD champion on pages 09-12.

2 How long will I need to be committed as a KidzREAD champion?
At the completion of the agreed upon sessions, both parties can decide
whether to continue or to end the partnership.

3 How many sessions will I need to carry out? sessions within
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months.
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4 Will I be running the program alone?
We will journey with you through this! To see the support we will provide,
please refer to page 13.

5 Can I carry out this program in more than one community simultaneously?
As a pilot program, we recommend to begin and complete a cycle with one
community before reviewing future expansions.

Frequently Asked Questions

— As A KidzREAD Champion —

15 | FAQs 61 How many students will I need to have in order to run this program?
In order to meet a meaningful impact scale in the community, we
recommend to have at least 10 students between the ages of 6 - 12 years.

7 What if I cannot recruit enough students?
Feel free to get in touch with us at [email protected] to further discuss
the viability of running the KidzREAD program.

8 BHaoswedmoannyovuorleuxnpteeSerieresanwcrecil,hltIhEneeneegdffi?encetiveness of the program lies in the small
group mentoring mOopdteilm. Thizearetfioorne, the ideal ratio of volunteers to students

is 1:2. For a group of 10 students, we recommend a minimum of 5 regular
volunteers.

9 What if I cannot recruit enough volunteers?
We are open to discuss a suitable strategy to ensure that small group
mentoring is still carried out for all the children. For example, you may
consider running multiple sessions of the KidzREAD program.

Frequently Asked Questions

— As A KidzREAD Champion —

16 | FAQs 1 Will the program be carried out online or on ground?
The program is designed to be carried out both online or on ground,
depending on the feasibility of current circumstances.

2 What kind of impact can we hope to see through this program?
We have seen 50% of our students improve in their English vocabulary,
grammar, comprehension and reading after just 10 sessions.

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Optimization

Frequently Asked Questions

— About KidzREAD Program —

17 | FAQs 11 Do I need to pay a fee to join the KidzREAD Network?
No, we do not require a fee to join as our hope is to help more children gain

access to education. However, there will be an operational cost to be borne

by the KidzREAD Champion depending on the number of students and

other requirements needed to kickstart KidzREAD program.

2 How much would it cost to run the program?
We estimate the cost per child at RM100 which only includes the cost of

materials, printing and books. Additional cost may be required for extra

requirements suchSeasardcighitEalnagcicneessibility, program rewards and volunteer
cost.

3 Will funding be proOvipdetidmtoizrauntitohne program?

We have limited funding to support high need communities. You may

submit a request if you are unable to source for funding and we will review

the request for consideration.

4 Can I charge a registration fee for each child?
KidzREAD is not a profit-making program. Only an agreed upon registration
fee can be charged to each child for the purpose of instilling ownership.

Frequently Asked Questions

— KidzREAD Network Funding —

18 | Join KidzREAD Network

There's Joy In Helping
Others Learn To Read

Let's work together to help make literacy accessible
to the B40 and other vulnerable communities!

JOIN KIDZREAD NETWORK HERE!

OR EMAIL US AT [email protected]

www.gengemilang.org/kidzreadnetwork

Copyright © 2021 Yayasan Generasi Gemilang, All rights reserved.