ABSTRACT

Kenya’s literacy rate was estimated to be approximately 87% in the year 2011 according to UNICEF. Nonetheless, approximately 70% of third grade Kenyan children cannot read basic second grade stories (UWEZO Assessment Report, 2012). Poor literacy levels are often due to a low level of teacher education, oversized classrooms and lack of reading materials at home or at school. Most teachers in Kenya lack necessary training to teach early reading skills as depicted in the Kenya Primary Math and Reading Program Report (PRIMR, 2013) that highlights results from Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA, 2010), the (UWEZO, 2010) initiative and the National Assessment System for Monitoring Learner Achievement (NASMLA, 2010) which show that a large percentage of Kenyan children are unable to read simple texts or to understand what they read. These early literacy problems affect many Kenyan children and are worse for the children who are at risk for developing reading disabilities.