Arabic Education and Reading Consultant

Worldreader is partnering with an NGO to launch a Digital Reading Program for Refugee Families and Students in Greater Cairo and Alexandria. Worldreader seeks an Education & Reading Consultant to review and sequence 84 Arabic language books and write three accompanying reading activities per book for a total of 252 learning activities. You will have experience working in literacy, social, and emotional learning with Arabic-speaking refugee communities. Responsibilities Review up to 300+ short digital children’s books and become familiar with the collection. Identify or flag any books that should not be included in the collection due to cultural sensitivities or inappropriateness for the target population. Identify any grammatical errors or dialect concerns in the book collection. This is generally related to diacritics that are not transferred correctly during the digital conversion process. Determine if the errors are also in the source files or if they were introduced during digitization. Verify the pre-assigned reading/difficulty level for each book as well as the corresponding age range for the book. As needed, reclassify books into different reading levels based on a more locally appropriate levelling framework. Select 28 books for each age segment (for a total of 84 books) that will be promoted as the weekly books for families. Reading materials and activities should cover topics of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), Reading Comprehension, Play-based Learning, and SEL. Linkages will also be made to age-appropriate protection themes, including social cohesion, anti-bullying, gender norms, GBV mitigation and child protection, as well as COVID-19 mitigation information. Sequence the books in the order they will be delivered and align books with monthly themes. Develop age and reading-level appropriate pre-and post-reading activities (3 per book) to accompany each of the 84 books for the target population of children and parents. These activities are designed to reinforce reading development and comprehension, social-emotional development, and learning through play. Each activity should take no more than 10 minutes for families to complete. Deliverables The consultant will work directly with the Worldreader team and successfully conclude the six-week consultancy after completing the following deliverables: Booksmart MENA COLLECTION REPORT: 3-5 page report analyzing and summarizing the selected 84 books for the project. This report will break down the collection into age range, categories, the suggested sequence for delivery, and highlight books that contribute to themes of mental health and psychosocial support, SEL, and age-appropriate protection themes, including social cohesion, anti-bullying, gender norms, GBV mitigation and child protection, as well as COVID-19 mitigation information. The report will also provide recommendations on any areas to strengthen the collection. Activities Completion in Arabic and English: Three activities per book will be created for the selected 84 books for a total of 252 activities. Activities will be: Reading Development; Social and Emotional Learning; and Learning Through Play activities. Activities will be created in Arabic and then translated into English. Qualifications Desired Previous experience teaching in an elementary school or community center. Experience in Egypt or other Arabic-speaking countries prefered. Experience working with refugee populations in the Middle East and an understanding of the social and emotional learning and protection needs. Remedial reading or reading support experience preferred. Previous experience developing reading curriculum. Familiarity with social and emotional learning outcomes and the CASEL framework. Familiarity with LEGO’s Play framework. Experience managing tight timelines and working with diverse teams remotely. Fluent in Modern Standard Arabic and understanding of regional dialects. Professional proficiency in English.