Reading Instruction in the Primary Grades
Instructional Materials
Student textbooks differ by subject and grade level. All textbooks must be approved by the Ministry of Education. One of the criteria for approval is that the textbook follow the topics outlined in the curriculum. Schools select textbooks at the beginning of the school year. Textbooks typically come with supplements for teachers, outlining didactical and methodological guidelines. Two or three sets of textbooks and supplements generally are approved for each subject and grade level. Textbooks and corresponding supplements for Grades 1 to 4 are distributed to schools and made available free of charge.
The materials used in Grade 1 include an alphabet book, a reader, and workbooks. In Grades 2 to 3, students use a Bulgarian language textbook, a reader, and workbooks. Materials for Grade 4 include a Bulgarian language textbook, a literature textbook, and workbooks. Various handbooks and reference books can be chosen for home reading and studying.
Use of Technology
An Internet connection is available in every Bulgarian school, and most schools have multimedia equipment. Each school has room(s) equipped with computers that are available to students during Information and Communications Technology (ICT) lessons. These rooms also can be used for lessons in other subjects at the teacher’s discretion. Modern technology still is not a popular supplemental tool in reading instruction in the primary grades.
Role of Reading Specialists
The primary school classroom teacher is responsible for reading instruction. Experts in Bulgarian language and literature or primary education are present in every Regional Division of Education as well as in the Ministry of Education and Science. These experts act as advisors and play an organizational role in reading instruction.
Second Language Instruction
A special instruction program in Bulgarian language is offered for immigrant students in Grades 1 to 4. However, no special instruction program in Bulgarian language exists for non-immigrant Bulgarian children whose mother tongue is not Bulgarian. Additional classes are available to help students learn formal communication, extend their vocabulary, learn syntactic structures, and improve their handwriting, speaking, and writing. Language minority students can study their mother tongue at public schools as part of elective instruction.
One of the main goals outlined in the Program for Development of Education, Science, and Youth Policies in Bulgaria (2009–2013) is to grant equal access to education for all children.14 External assessment results have asserted that additional actions should be taken for children whose mother tongue is not Bulgarian. In addition to pedagogical assistance, these students are placed in an integrative environment that does not allow for discrimination based on any linguistic, ethnic, cultural, or other characteristic. A 2016 ordinance on acquiring Bulgarian literary language regulates how children with a mother tongue other than Bulgarian can be educated in kindergarten or school groups in which they can communicate in Bulgarian on a daily basis.15