About

You are most probably the expert on Learn to Read… …but you might not be the expert on Read to Learn. That is okay! This course will enable you to become an expert on Read to Learn.

Course Instructor

Mitchell Messina is an education consultant from the Western Cape in South Africa. He has been in education for more than 25 years - as a teacher, principal, and circuit manager. Currently, he is doing professional development training in schools to help improve the quality of teaching and learning. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Education (cum laude) degree. In March 2023 he graduated with his Ph.D. (Curriculum Studies) at the University of Stellenbosch and the title of his dissertation was: "Utilising Choice Theory and Reciprocal Teaching to promote the TEACHING of reading comprehension in the Intermediate Phase (Grades 4 - 6)."

Dr. Mitchell Messina

Trainer / Course Developer

Testimonial

“Mitchell Messina’s passion for reading and his concern about South Africa’s alarming illiteracy rate, especially the fact that eight out of every ten Grade 4’s, are unable to read with understanding, resonated with me. His Read to Learn Training, in my humble view, is “a must for every teacher”, and the “silver bullet”, if ever there is such a thing, that I have been searching for years. I was mesmerised by the clear, yet simple strategies one can employ, to develop and deepen a child’s understanding through reading. ”

Principal of Kannemeyer Primary Schools

Ridwan Samodien

FAQ

  • What is reciprocal teaching?

    Reciprocal teaching refers to an instructional cognitive activity that takes place in the form of a dialogue between teachers and learners regarding segments of the text. The strategy involves a role reversal: learners "become" teachers of reading strategies.

  • How will this help my learners?

    Research findings show that reading comprehension will improve after 10 - 15 days of instruction from 30% - 80%. Learners will begin to understand what they are reading.

  • Why is explicit teaching of reading comprehension strategies so important?

    The explicit teaching of reading comprehension strategies will help learners move from Learn to Read (Foundation Phase) to Read to Learn (Intermediate Phase).

  • I have used Predicting and Clarifying in the past. How is this different?

    This time all 4 strategies: Predicting, Clarifying, Questioning, and Summarising will be taught to learners.