International Mother Language Day / Scripts of the World Bookmarks
Scripts of the World Bookmarks
Children explore different writing systems, from Bengali to Korean to Arabic, and copy a word or their name in a script they choose onto a decorated bookmark.
How to run it
- Share that the day began with people in Bangladesh standing up for their right to speak and write Bengali, and that UNESCO declared it a world day in 1999.
- Display printed alphabet or script charts, for example Bengali, Arabic, Chinese characters, Devanagari, Greek, Korean and Cyrillic.
- Invite children who write a home language to show a word, and let others copy a simple word such as 'hello' from the charts.
- Decorate card strips with the word, a border and a note naming the language, then laminate or cover with clear tape.
You will need
- card strips
- fine markers
- printed script charts
- clear contact or laminator
- ribbon or wool
- hole punch
Make it easier or harderYounger children trace a word printed in large letters; older children compare scripts that read left to right, right to left or top to bottom.
SafetyCheck translations with a family member or reliable source before displaying, so words are correct and respectful.
My Time Our Place · Outcome 1, Outcome 5Children explore how languages are written and take pride in scripts used by their own families.
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