What Is The Importance Of Reading?

Reading is an important aspect needed for learning. This is due to the fact that it gives learners the access to a wide variety of information as well as a source of enjoyment. It is therefore extremely important to ensure that learners are taught how to read in the Foundation Phase as this will provide a higher chance of a high quality education.

Reading is very important in any grade within in the foundation Phase but more importantly in Grade 3. This is due to the fact that in order to progressive to the next grade, learners need to be able to read and decipher questions in order to answer questions in tests and examinations. Furthermore, learners need to be able to read in order to decode important health information. For example, children

Many learners are unable to read in a first or second language by the end of the phase and if learners can read, they cannot read for meaning ("Reading in the Foundation Phase Current Developments and Outcomes", 2016). This is a huge challenge to Intermediate Phase teachers as the child becomes virtually dependant on a reader and possibly a scribe as reading is a vital part of the writing process. According to PSPPD and Zenex research projects, reading is the biggest solvable problem in the Foundation Phase. They concluded that many do not learn to read by the end of Grade 3 and that because of this they do not get a good academic start which leaves students being pushed into higher grades with ineffective learning and always at a disadvantage (Pretorius, Jackson, McKay, Murray & Spaull,

Statistics say that 60% of Grade 4 learners cannot read. This indicates that these learners were not able to read by the end of Grade 3. This means that the learners are able to decode single words but are not able to comprehend or understand the meaning of the text as a whole. ("Teaching Kids How to Read | Ripple Reading | RSA",