Observing Literacy Instruction Across Peru

During my time in Peru, I’ve had the opportunity to visit a wide variety of schools—private, public, Catholic, and even a boarding school. One thing that has truly surprised and impressed me is the strong focus on foundational literacy skills at the primary level.

Across the classrooms I've observed, the approach to reading instruction closely mirrors what we see in the United States. Phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension are all present and carefully integrated into daily instruction.

It’s been incredible to see familiar strategies in action, adapted to the Peruvian context. This experience has deepened my appreciation for the universal value of strong literacy practices and reminded me of how much we can learn from observing education in different cultural settings.

With the beautiful and talented students from COAR.

The teacher included articulatory gestures in her lesson.

I think all teachers should have palm trees outside of their classroom window.

These cuties celebrating Farmer’s Day with homemade costumes. Typically, Peruvian education focuses much more on rote memorization (vs. more of a critical thinking / inquiry approach in the US), but a shift is happening within Peruvian schools.