Teach Middle East Magazine Apr - Jun 2020 Issue 3 Volume 7 | Page 41
Advertorial
for American children to have books
where the landscape, buildings,
costumes and people were from, say,
Saudi Arabia, Oman or Kuwait.
And yet this is precisely what children
in some regions of the Middle East
have.
Many school libraries and classrooms
are filled with window books. These
are important, but by giving children
access to books such as the Arabia
Readers collection we can help them
grow up with an increased sense of
self-worth and more motivation to
learn.
The story, the setting and the values
present in children’s reading materials
are integral not only for identity but
also for those who are learning English
as a second language. Providing
children with images that are familiar
speeds language acquisition. This is
what inspired Silva Education Ltd, an
independent publisher, to produce
Arabia Readers, a six-level collection
of easy readers that allow developing
readers and English learners in the
Gulf region to learn through engaging
stories that celebrate their own
values and culture. Each story in the
collection follows two British children,
Haya and Hamad, as they visit their
cousins, Amal and Ali, in the UAE. The
cousins’ adventures explore cultural
heritage in a modern and enjoyable
way, while also inspiring readers to
lead exemplary lives. In A Special Tree,
for example, Haya is fascinated by the
palm trees she sees in the garden,
having never seen a palm tree in
the UK. This prompts Grandmother
to tell the girls about all the special
properties of this important tree. And
in A Very Clever Bird, the children help
out a Bedouin man who is camping
in the desert after his clever falcon
repeatedly visits their house.
To find out more about the Arabia
Readers
collection,
visit:
www.
arabiareaders.com.
Available to order from Panworld
Education/Magrudy’s. Available in
print and digital versions.
Contact: [email protected]
Developed by educational and cultural
consultants in the UK and the UAE,
the texts expose children learning
to read in English to language in a
natural, yet graded way. Divided into
six levels, the collection offers shorter
stories for younger readers and longer,
chapter stories for those developing
more confidence. As well as a
valuable library and English classroom
resource, Arabia Readers can be used
to support Moral Education teaching.
The collection has been mapped to
the Moral Education curriculum (UAE)
and additional teacher’s resources,
including classroom materials, provide
instructions on using the books in
guided and independent reading
sessions that cover the pillars of Moral
Education.
Class Time
Term 3 Apr - Jun 2020
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