Igniting Early Literacy in Cambodia

Let’s Read and Play (LRP), an initiative of our broader Let’s Read program in Cambodia, is building early reading habits and fostering early literacy learning through an innovative pilot curriculum for kindergarten level 3 (K3) students. LRP supports reading among pre-primary kids and families by creating fun and engaging classroom lessons, community-based reading events for families, and easy-to-follow digital Learning Pathways through the Let’s Read library app to extend learning opportunities to the home.

Our approach combines weekly in-classroom reading sessions on longer, more challenging books and at-home play-based activities through Let’s Read’s newest feature, Learning Pathway. The Learning Pathway is a guided sequence of books and activities designed to support meeting specific learning objectives. This “sandwich approach” integrates classroom and home-based learning to improve early literacy, increase positive attitudes toward reading, enhance listening comprehension, and develop social-emotional learning. Family engagement is critical to the success of this program, so we organize quarterly events and regular engagement with schoolteachers to remind families of their essential contributions to their children’s learning journeys.

Launched in March, phase II of LRP coincided with the Let’s Read reading campaign for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS) National Reading Day, resulting in a significant increase in readership across the country. In March alone, 24,034 books were read in Cambodia through our free Let’s Read digital library.

The LRP and MoEYS collaboration piloted the LRP curriculum for K3 in nine classrooms, reaching 359 students across three different district schools. In March, a baseline study was conducted to assess children, families, and teachers on students’ learning outcomes. We developed the curriculum in partnership with the Department of Early Childhood Education to provide educators with pre-service training and refresher training. LRP is a stepping-stone towards establishing a strong foundation for lifelong literacy among children in Cambodia.