What Is Literacy Literacy is all about being

What Is Literacy? Literacy is all about being able to read, write and understand. If you are literate, you know what written or printed text or numbers mean. Literacy develops throughout your life. Being able to read when you are five years old does not mean that you’ve mastered being literate!

What Is Literacy? Literacy is a human right. Being able to read and write is a powerful tool for any human being. It allows us to learn about many things. It means that we can make decisions about our health, our work and our lives. It allows us to develop the world that we live in.

Why Is It Important? Can you think of any situations where being able to read and write really matters? reading a label on a bottle of medicine reading a bank statement reading and answering letters, emails and texts at home and at work reading food labelling filling out a job application

Why Is It Important? Can you think of any situations where being able to read and write really matters? keeping up to date with daily news reading a road sign or a map checking that you’ve bought everything on your shopping list reading a timetable for a train or a bus

Are There People Who Can’t Read and Write? Today, approximately 773 million young people and adults across the world are illiterate. Illiterate means that you can’t read or write. The World Literacy Foundation tells us that: in 2012 67 million children were not in primary school education About two-thirds of them are female. This means 773, 000 people don’t have basic reading and writing skills to help them every day. and another 72 million were missing out on secondary school education.

50 years In 1966, UNESCO declared the 8 th of September as International Literacy Day. This means that International Literacy Day has been celebrated for over 50 years. UNESCO aims for this day to remind people everywhere that literacy is a human right and is the key to a basic education for everyone. UNESCO hopes that, one day, this basic human right is fulfilled for everyone.

8 th September is all about reminding people around the world how important literacy is. It’s about sharing how amazing being literate can be and raising awareness for those who can’t yet read or write. Literacy is also a cause for celebration on this day because, according to UNESCO, there were nearly four billion literate people in the world in 2001!

Literacy and COVID-19 How has the global pandemic affected lessons? When schools closed in early 2020, many learners around the world could not continue with their studies. Adult literacy courses were stopped, with only a few continuing on the Internet and on the TV.

Literacy and COVID-19 How has the global pandemic affected lessons? It has been difficult to support learners when they have been at home. On 8 th September 2020, we think about those whose learning has been affected by the pandemic. Did You Know…? Many people in countries across the world live in remote or rural areas with limited or no access to the Internet. With schools closed, and no way of learning online, studying at home can be very difficult.

Celebrating International Literacy Day How can we celebrate and show others the importance of International Literacy Day? Organise a book sale or have a book swap. Any money raised could go to a charity for literacy. Have a read-a-thon. How many books can you read on International Literacy Day or during that week? Write a letter or an email to someone famous telling them why you respect and admire them.

Celebrating International Literacy Day How can we celebrate and show others the importance of International Literacy Day? Look out for a writing competition to enter or set up your own. Design a book cover that would make someone want to pick up that book and read it. Find out about popular stories from around the world.

Celebrating International Literacy Day How can we celebrate and show others the importance of International Literacy Day? Read a poem or a story each day that week from a different country in the world. Have a book treasure hunt with some used books. Make up clues and hide the books around the school. Do a language swap with your classmates. Teach them some words in a language that you know!

Celebrating International Literacy Day How can we celebrate and show others the importance of International Literacy Day? Give someone a book that you no longer want. Leave a note in it to say why it’s such a great book. Write a book about why reading and writing is so important. Do this on your own or with a friend. Maybe everyone in the class could make a page. Design a poster to show amazing reading and writing are or make a dictionary of useful words in other languages.

International Literacy Day Have a fantastic International Literacy Day! Can you think of any more amazing ideas for International Literacy Day? Whatever you do, remember it’s all about reading, writing and communicating to make our world a better place!