Our Initiative: Open Books, Open Minds

We train teachers on the Open Books, Open Minds curriculum, which has four research-based components: Guided Reading, Individual Reading, Guided Writing, and Independent Writing. Our teacher training builds teachers’ capacity to deliver the literacy curriculum in their classrooms.

We then teach Open Books, Open Minds curriculum to pre-schoolers and first, second, and third graders for two hours, three times a week during their regular school day. Our literacy curriculum is built upon research-based teaching practices, sophisticated technology, engaging children’s literature and a respect for the children’s own language in their stories. We continue to grow and innovate with the feedback of our teachers and in-country staff. GLXi seeks to perfect the program model in Guatemala and use it as a platform for growth into other developing countries. 

Grade 3 is pivotal. It is the transition from “Learning to Read” (Kindergarten to 3) to “Reading to Learn” (Grades 4+). “Reading to Learn” is where children acquire new knowledge, information, thoughts, and experiences through written language. Absent achieving “Reading to Learn” by third grade, moving to more complex reading with critical thinking and understanding multiple viewpoints is doubtful.

Our literacy curriculum is built upon research-based teaching practices, sophisticated technology, engaging children’s literature, and a respect for the children’s own language in their stories.  The curriculum has four research-based components: Guided Reading, Individual Reading, Guided Writing, and Independent Writing.

Our teacher training builds the capacity of teachers in Guatemala to deliver the literacy curriculum in their classrooms. We continue to grow and innovate with the feedback of our teachers and in-country staff. 

They are awesome! Our teacher partners are all public school educators. In Guatemala, the school year runs from February to November and only lasts five hours per day! This presents challenges when working with children from various socio-economic conditions who are also beginning their journey to literacy.

We know that a key element in improving education is to expand teacher capacity. Each year, we train 40 to 60 new public school teachers in the OBOM program during the school year with the goal of certifying them to teach the curriculum. These teachers voluntarily engage in 18 sessions (90 -110 hours) during a school year. Teachers are trained using a virtual format to deliver the OBOM curriculum, including the four components of guided reading, individual reading, guided writing, and independent writing.

Most schools in Guatemala lack proper facilities and materials. In more rural regions, schools lack electricity or running water. Classroom sizes range from 30 to as large as 50 children to a teacher. Books and other resources are in short supply. The Guatemalan government spends very little on school supplies for teachers and students.

We knew that we would have to provide books and teaching supplies for children to learn in this environment. So, the GLXi program staff sourced the highest quality and most appropriate learning materials with this in mind. We ensure that everything is age-appropriate, that it can withstand the elements and frequent use, and that it puts our students on the path to continued learning and future success.