WILLEMSTAD - The Curaçao library, Biblioteka Nashonal Kòrsou Frank Martinus Arion, has organized a workshop for writers ‘Writing stories via the AVI system’. Evelien van Dort, has conducted the workshop training to 20 writers participants. Evelien van Dort has written many story books for children. She was knighted in 2016 in recognition of her services to literature and literacy in The Netherlands. The aim of the AV writing workshop was to stimulate inspiring writers to use this system as a tool to write and to publish more children books written in a comprehensive language that children can easily read.
AVI stands for Analysis of Individualization. The AVI system was developed in 1972 and in 1994 modernized by KPC Group in 's-Hertogenbosch, with the aim to individualize the reading education and that in the meantime has taken an important place in basic education in Netherlands and Belgium.
AVI is the system has 12 levels by which a school measures how the technical reading development of your child is. The reading level of your child is expressed in a certain AVI-level. For example: Reads your child on AVI-M3 level? That is the level that most children halfway Group 3 read. Basically it boils down to the usage of specific guidelines to write for certain age groups, taking into account the maximum amount of words within a sentence, the length of the words, the usage of ‘punctuation marks and capitals, the usage of a certain sequence for ‘consonant/vowel/consonant’ and or consonant/vowel words’ when you are writing for children. Of each book and of each text is to determine what the AVI level is, based on the above-mentioned criteria. At the end of the day the AVI method is a technical method to write a story in a simple language, that is understandable for children.
During the workshop the participants got the theory of AVI writing method, interspersed with examples. The homework assignment was to write a story on the by the participants chosen AVI-level and this story was presented to the fellow participants in the Dutch and Papiamentu language.
Why it is important for our Dutch Caribbean children to get AVI written stories?
By writing via the AVI system, you can as a writer beforehand consider your target groups and their average AVI-level. Your stories are then better accessible for your chosen target group. Children can easily read your stories and this motivation is important to keep children reading.
Loekie Morales is happy that she could participate to this training. ‘Writing Children's books is an art and writing AVI-children's books is that for sure. It's a challenge now with the AVI method to write an exciting story and to captivate children in a pleasant language from the beginning till the end. The techniques I have learned of this AVI training will help me in writing more consciously for specific age groups’, she says.
‘Writing exiting stories for children is a blessing. I will continue to be inspired by children in the first place to write beautiful stories, that our Caribbean children can relate to. My senses are my first guide, when writing stories. I use writing techniques to refine the language of my story and to make it more accessible,’ Loekie Morales concluded.
Loekie Morales has 9 children's books to her name, with topics on everyday things to very imaginative stories for children.
Photo Loekie Morales: Evelien van Dort hands over the AVI writing certificate to Loekie Morales.
