The Science of Stories - Chemonics International

Children’s literature can spark a lifetime of reading and learning. In Georgia, Chemonics and USAID are using groundbreaking software to fine-tune hundreds of children’s stories and put students on the path to success.

“Everyone was at the starting line, hearts pounding, entirely focused on the snowy slope. As soon as the starting shot was fired, we were off. I couldn’t believe I was ahead of the other skiers, even Gega, my fiercest competitor. But somewhere in the middle of the downward slope, I lost my balance and control of my skis. In the flash of a second, I skied off track, losing one ski as I tumbled. All I could think of as the tremendous pain shot through my leg was that now Gega would beat me.”

— Translated from “Revenge,” by Tata Tchanturia and Lela Kistauri

Many adults have a favorite children’s book. Whether Where the Wild Things Are, The Giving Tree, or If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, great stories stick with us from the time we are children because of the impact they have on our imaginations and — in one way or another — our lives.

In the country of Georgia, education reforms have made early-grade literacy a top priority for the government and increased the demand for engaging, grade-appropriate texts (i.e., leveled readers) that inspire and challenge young minds. To increase literacy among Georgian elementary students, Chemonics and USAID have begun writing, translating, leveling, and illustrating hundreds of readers using tools that allow the team to tailor the stories precisely to a particular grade level.

Nancy Parks, chief of party on the USAID-funded Georgia Primary Education (G-PriEd) project, oversees the development of the readers. As an educator, Ms. Parks has taught, written, and conducted training on children’s literature throughout her 40-year career. She understands the significant impact that stories can have on a student’s desire to read when they provide the appropriate amount of support and challenge the student without causing him or her to become frustrated and confused.

“Whether fictional or informational, books give children important things to think about,” said Ms. Parks. “Informational stories take readers on journeys to foreign countries, to historical events, and even to the bottom of the ocean, outer space, or inside a volcano. Fictional texts help to explain the significance of life events and actions. All stories have the ability to stimulate a reader’s imagination and expand his or her awareness of the world while providing a rich source of vocabulary.”

G-PriEd’s stories are written by project staff, Georgian educators and technical specialists, and writers from Chemonics’ home office. Stories accepted for publication undergo a rigorous leveling process based on WordCalc software the project developed to analyze a text’s grade-level appropriateness and inform the editing process.

WordCalc determines the readability, or complexity, of the features of written text by registering the number of words in each sentence and paragraph, the number of syllables in each word, the decodability of the words, and most importantly, the percentage of difficult, unfamiliar, and repetitive words in the text. This quantified data is then inserted into a special matrix that also evaluates the relevancy of the topic, basic elements and structure of the story, and word usage for each grade level. The analysis informs writers where revisions are required for the text to be tailored to a specific grade level.

“In English, for example, we can measure the difficulty of text by using a computer program based on a readability formula that has taken years to develop and refine. Since the Georgian language did not have such a formula, our project staff had to develop the readability criteria. The result is a groundbreaking tool that can be used by the Georgian Ministry of Education and Science, as well as the publishing community, to provide appropriately leveled texts to any age group,” explained Ms. Parks.

With more than 200 stories in various stages of production, Chemonics is on its way to reaching its goal of providing 300 new readers to Georgian elementary students during the next two years.

In addition to the non-fiction readers, many of the fictional readers tackle social and personal issues children face. One story, written by two Georgian educators, deals with the jealousy often experienced in competitive sports (excerpted above). Other stories present realistic scenarios such as cheating on a test, lying to a friend, or ridiculing someone’s physical appearance while suggesting ways to deal with each situation productively. According to Ms. Parks, the diversity of the authors’ stories has been impressive.

“The readers created by G-PriEd will reinforce the curriculum, foster classroom discussion, and encourage elementary students to explore areas of their highest interest,” said Parks. “The addition of 300 leveled readers to Georgian elementary classroom libraries represents the concerted effort of many authors, illustrators, formatters, and educators dedicated to providing students with a print-rich environment.”

G-PriEd is a USAID project designed to facilitate significant improvement in literacy and numeracy learning outcomes for children in grades 1-6 in Georgian and ethnic minority schools. The project is aligned with national goals of the Georgian Ministry of Education and Science and USAID’s Education Strategy 2011-2015.