PIRLS 2006 Encyclopedia

PIRLS 2006 Encyclopediaa program in which students analyze works that are included in regular lessons, recitepoetry, or create their own works independently.Reading Instruction in the Primary GradesInstructional TimeAccording to the curriculum, students in grades 1 to 4 receive 18–22 hours of instructionper week. A single lesson lasts 45 minutes, and students have five mother-tongue lessonsper week. Of the annual total of 180 mother-tongue lessons, 100 lessons are dedicated toteaching reading, making it the most emphasized area of the curriculum.Instructional MaterialsFor each grade in elementary education, there are two or three books from whichteachers can choose the texts that will be read and interpreted. The books are collectionsof prose and poetry by national and international authors. Worksheets are available forthe teachers and students that follow the contents of the reading books and providepractice in text analysis. For each elementary grade, there is a list of 8 to 10 literary worksthat each student must read and analyze throughout the school year. In addition, studentsare encouraged to read children’s magazines and books from the school library.Use of TechnologyThe use of modern technology is a recent development in elementary schools. Thisinitiative has been supported by various international donors such as the United StatesAgency for International Development, the Foundation Open Society Institute ofMacedonia, and the People’s Republic of China.Learning software named ToolKid has been adapted to suit the national languagecurriculum and is used in the first phase of primary education. In addition, the newgovernmental initiative Computer for Every Child will enhance the usage of technologyin the teaching and learning process. This project aims to provide 150,000 computers forstudents beginning in the 2007–08 school year. 4Republic of MacedoniaSecond–language InstructionStudents from other nationalities living in the Republic of Macedonia receive instructionin their mother tongue. However, they also are required to learn the Macedonianlanguage. According to the curriculum, they begin learning Macedonian as a secondlanguage in grade 3 with two lessons per week. Macedonian language teachers teachthis curriculum.Effective PracticesIn the course of instruction, teachers practice the methods and approaches adoptedfrom the Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking project that was implemented withthe help of the Foundation Open Society Institute of Macedonia. 5 The purpose of thisproject is to introduce new teaching methods and techniques that encourage criticalthinking to students of all ages and for every school subject. Through the adoption of newteaching methods, teachers are able to encourage the practice of reading and foster text260