The Department of Early Childhood Education hosted a three-part reading series, titled Teaching Reading the UP Way. Although this series was organised as part of the Eersterust Community Outreach Project, it was open to members of the public. The presenters were Dr Joyce West, Ms Nadia Swanepoel, Ms Matshediso Lekgetho and Mrs Paula Pretorius from the Department of Basic Education (DBE). Each workshop had a different focus.
The purpose of the series was to provide professional development for pre-service and practising teachers. The first workshop was hosted on 13 August by Dr Joyce West and Ms Swanepoel. Dr West presented a workshop on story analysis from an international perspective. The participants in workshop learnt how to analyse a story in an interactive and creative manner.

During the second workshop, which took place on Saturday, 17 September, Ms Matshediso Lekgetho guided teachers on how to make big books with a difference. Teachers were asked to bring stationery to the workshop, and, with the guidance of Ms Lekgetho, they each produced a big book that can use to teach from.

The last workshop was hosted by Mrs Paula Pretorius, a language expert from the DBE. Those who attended the workshop were guided through Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and reading norms and standards for the Foundation Phase. The focus of the series was on the process and the product of teaching reading from a different perspective. The workshop not only equipped the attendees to teach reading the UP Way, but was also a wonderful opportunity for collaboration, networking and building a community of practice within the ECE community.

Thank you for all who made the Teaching Reading the UP-Way series possible. Watch this space for more professional development initiatives.