Words in Motion: Literacy Week 2025
They say, “Action speaks louder than words.” Others argue, “Actions without words are confusing.” Good thing those are not concerns for our Grades 1 and 2 students because in this year’s Literacy Week, they are taught the joy in developing literacy through movements.
Leap and Learn: Words Hopscotch
Literacy Week is a great opportunity to hop into words—quite literally. The game of hopscotch turned into fun vocabulary learning. With every leap from square to square, the students learn new words. As they jumped and played with their classmates, they were exerting physical and mental energy in expanding their vocabulary.
Words Hopscotch
Wandering Words: Idiom of the Day
Words, sometimes, don’t really mean what they seem. They can wander away from their literal sense. Who would have thought cake would be associated with easy? No one, perhaps, yet at some point in the history of the English language, this sweet delicacy was arbitrarily connected to something that is very easy to do. We wonder how this happens, but a phenomenon like this is truly a piece of cake for idioms, and in this year’s literacy week, we give them the spotlight they deserve.
Throughout the week, an idiom was introduced to the students each day. The definition of each idiom was explained, and sample sentences were also given. The meanings of these words wandered to be out of this world, but our lower primary students were walking on air upon knowing how to use them. Undoubtedly, idioms and wonder are two peas in a pod.
Words for Idiom of the Day
Snipped Stories: Book Cover Puzzles
“Don’t judge a book by its cover” is an all-time reminder in choosing books to read, but what if it’s the only thing there is to judge? What’s even harder is that these covers are cut into pieces. But alas! Puzzles-solved for our young learners as they collaborate in patching the pieces to uncover the covers of famous children’s books. This puzzle activity not only enhanced collaboration and thinking skills, but the students also got to familiarize themselves with children’s book authors and titles they can read. These story snippets can pique their curiosity to read the books.
Prepping Pit Stops: Bookmark Design
Rest, contrary to popular belief, is active. Whether we are driving, working or exercising, we eventually need to take a pause to breathe, to refuel, and to recharge our energy. In reading, we do that too, and we need something to signal that pitstop. Thanks to bookmarks, it’s not a problem at all. Before anything else, however, it’s a must to prepare the bookmarks well.
As pit stops, it’s important to design bookmarks according to the comfort of the reader. It may seem trivial, but it actually adds to the overall reading experience. Thus, before eventually reading the stories on the book covers they solved, the students already designed the bookmarks they could use. Through markers, crayons and pens, they colored and added personal touches to the bookmark templates provided, making them their own.
Bookmark-Making
Read Around the World: Storytelling
“Words will take you to many places,” said Teacher Joanna Cortez, the school’s Lower Primary Coordinator. Our parent-partners understand this fully well as they took on the role of storytellers. When invited to tell stories to their children, many parents wanted to volunteer. Their support was overwhelming that an entire week would not be enough to cater to them all. This is already a mission accomplished to collaborate with the parents, and to involve them in the learning of their children.
Literally traveling from one room to another, the students listened to storytelling of child-friendly books from around the world. With each room they toured, they got to feel the setting of each story. The stories told were in English, and some were translated into Chinese, further showing that language and literature go hand in hand. This also encourages the students to enjoy speaking these languages.
To capture the attention of the students, the volunteer storytellers thought of creative ways to tell the stories. Many of them modulated their voices animatedly and narrated the events with actions. Some also gave rewards and snacks as the students answered their questions about the stories. The stories narrated include “The Empty Pot”, “Why the Piña has a Hundred Eyes”, and “Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain”.
Picture Book Storytelling
Read It Forward: Book Donation Drive
One of the main aims of Literacy Week 2025 is to share the joy of reading, according to Teacher Joanna. In response to this, the Lower Primary Department organized the “Donate a Book” initiative, where students, parents, and other Hope community members donated their pre-loved books. Throughout the week, it amassed 192 books, which will be given to Hope Learning Center and to the HCHS Library. This literal movement of books from one person to another serves as an act of building bridges between readers across borders.
Donation Drive
Neither words nor actions are better than the other. It is always best to integrate these together. Literacy Week 2025 proves that literacy is way more fun when we incorporate movements and actions. Besides, learning is never static—it is dynamic, ever-evolving and moving along the volatility of life.