This document summarizes the efforts of Ganglakhema Primary School in Bhutan to improve student reading abilities. The school implemented a reading program that included establishing a reading room, buddy reading, guided reading sessions, morning read-alouds, weekly rhyme classes, monthly library periods and book reviews, and reading assessments. As a result of these efforts, students' reading comprehension and English skills improved. The school aims to sustain this program and share its strategies with other schools.

1. Ganglakhema Primary School
Block: Khoma
District: Lhuentse
Country: Bhutan

2. Introducing our school
Establishment: 2002
It is under Lhuentse district. ( North East part of
Bhutan)
It is one of the remotest schools in the country.
It is about 2300m above sea level.
It has 5.854 acres of land.
It is a day school.
It has seven teachers and 80 students.
It is the 2013’s winner of DFC.
It is among the best performing schools of the nation
in 2013 as per the Performance Management System.
It is the best primary school in the District until now.

3. Our story of change
“Read, Read, & Read!”

4. Feel
We have difficulty in reading. We do not have strong
reading habits. And our parents at home cannot support us
as most of them are uneducated. So, we felt that we
needed extra time and effort to improve our reading.

5. Consequences of minimal reading in school are:
We have difficulty in even reading our texts.
We remain poor in vocabulary.
 We have difficulty in writing.
We have difficulty in understanding the English lesson.
We have difficulty in understanding questions in exam.
We spend too much time in reading questions in exam.
Our school library stocks too many unread books.
We loose interest in learning English.

6. Imagination
Therefore we discussed and came out with following strategies:
1. To make a conducive reading room.
2. To get ourselves into pairs for buddy reading.
3. To have evening guided reading.
4. To start with read aloud in morning assembly.
5. To have rhyme class on every Friday morning.
6. To read labels that are written on every product covers and containers.
7. To read at least two books in a month from our library.
8. To have reading periods.
9. To do book reviews both in Dzongkha and English.
10.To display reading trees, fishbowl and reading concept maps in our
reading room after we finish reading each book.
11. To assess our reading at the end of every month.
12. To have feedbacks on our reading.
13.School will celebrate literary festival at the end of the year.

7. DO
1. We have pairs for buddy reading every afternoon for 25
minutes.
2. We now have a separate conducive reading room.
3. We do guided reading for 30 minutes every evening
supported by our TODs.
4. We have morning assembly reading.
5. We have rhyme class on every Friday morning for an hour
allotted “zero period”.
6. We read at least two books in a month from our library.
7. We have reading periods.
8. We do book reviews both in Dzongkha and English.
9. We display reading trees, fishbowl and reading concept maps
in our reading room after we finish reading each book.
10.Our reading is assessed at the end of every month.
11.We get feedbacks on our reading.

8. Buddy reading

9. Reading room

10. Guided reading in the evening

11. Read aloud in Morning Assembly

12. Rhyme class on every Friday morning

13. Library period

14. Monthly Book Review

15. Monthly reading assessmentMorning Reading Assessment

16. Benefits
1. We can read our texts.
2. We feel interested in learning English.
3. We have read many books from our Library.
4. We have less problem in reading and understanding
questions during exam.
5. We know many things about many products.
6. We can understand better when teachers speak in
English.
7. We make use of our leisure time fruitfully.

17. Sustainability of this Program
1. School will ensure that this program continue even in
long run.
2. This program doesn’t require financing except for
purchase of some materials to decorate reading room.
3. School receives new books in library every year.

18. Challenges
1. We have to find extra time.
2. We have to put extra effort.
3. Less number of teachers in school.
4. We have to manage materials and time to make reading room.

19. Share
Now we carry out all these reading activities. We can see our
reading improve. We can read most of the books in our library.
We share with neighbor schools and nearby monastic school
about our reading strategies and outcomes during exchange
programs.
Now students in monastic school also share some of our reading
strategies.

20. Thank you ELC for making us
ambassadors of positive change
in our own lives and to others
through DFC