Literacy activities at Anamui primary school
Jakarta, 21 June 2023 - Mastery of literacy greatly influences the life of every individual on how he or she responds to the torrent of information received every time.
Because literacy is not just being able to read, but being able to choose, sort, understand and utilise it for everyday life.
Of course, it is an important process to be prepared through the cultivation of interest in reading from an early age.
The problem of Indonesia's lack of interest in reading and low literacy is a serious issue that must be addressed (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2017).
Therefore, in 2016 the government initiated the school literacy movement (GLS). However, until now not many schools have been able to implement it, only hearing and knowing, but not fully understanding and running it.
GLS is a literacy movement, especially reading and writing literacy, which is carried out at all school levels by involving school parties (students, teachers, principals, school committees) in a structured and sustainable manner so that it becomes a school culture.
This movement aims to foster, develop and cultivate literacy in Indonesia (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2017).
The government's movement to increase interest in reading needs to be fully supported by embracing higher education institutions. As part of the Tri Dharma of Higher Education, especially the darma of community service, Universitas Katolik Indonesia Atma Jaya also dedicates its knowledge and abilities to one of the elementary schools in Cisauk District, South Tangerang.
At SDN Anamui, the programme "Growing the literacy movement for students of SDN Anamui" was implemented from April to June 2023.
Involving two lecturers and two students, this programme invites selected teachers and students to implement the fifteen-minute reading movement, activate the library, and hold literacy activities at school.
The programme began by educating teachers and students about the implementation of GLS, followed by mentoring teachers in implementing GLS in their respective classes, from grade 1 to grade 5.
Teachers accompany students during the fifteen minutes of reading in class, whether guided reading, independent reading, reading aloud, or shared reading.
Followed by the teacher guiding students to summarize the content of the story written on the back of coloured paper, discussing, asking questions, or asking students to retell it.
With the teacher's initiative to create literacy blocks that contain the intrinsic elements of the story, students are guided to be able to tell and write. The results of students' writing are then displayed on the literacy tree and in the classroom.
Universitas Katolik Indonesia Atma Jaya melaksanakan program literasi baca tulis di SDN Anamui, Cisauk, Tangerang Selatan, pada April-Juni 2023. Salah satu kegiatannya adalah mengajak siswa untuk meringkas isi buku lalu menuliskannya di kertas yang kemudian dipasang di pohon literasi.
Fifteen-minute reading activities are carried out routinely every day before learning with teacher supervision and involvement.
Besides the reading activity, the teacher also showed the films "Mud Shoes" and "Birthday Cake" from YouTube to watch together and discuss.
Another activity that teachers have implemented is taking students to the library to read.
Prior to the programme, the library had not been reactivated and contained mostly textbooks.
However, from this programme, the college donated story books to complement the school library collection.
Since the programme began, students have been reactivated to read in the library. Students enjoy story books during break time or study time.
Another literacy event was a literacy competition for grades 2, 3, 4 and 5.
The literacy competition is packaged in the form of reading a storybook for fifteen minutes, then summarising the contents of the story and retelling it.
The competition, held in the school library, was attended by twelve selected students. The lower grades read "Three Magic Words", while the upper grades read "Hasna's Courage".
From this competition, it can be seen that there are still students who need adult guidance in speaking consecutively and summarising stories in a structured manner.
From the competition, winners from the upper and lower grades were selected and announced during the "Release of Grade VI Students of SDN Anamui" event, on 20 June 2023.
Literacy is a very long process. The fruits of literacy cannot be enjoyed in an instant.
In accordance with the message conveyed by the Chief Executive of the Programme from Unika Atma Jaya during the student release ceremony that SDN Anamui must continue to fight for its students to love reading and guide them to understand reading according to age levels.
