Instructor: Kathleen Evans katsevans@aol

1. Instructor: Kathleen Evans katsevans@aol.com Fostering Emergent Literacy in LibrariesAn Infopeople WorkshopSummer 2004

2. This Workshop Is Brought to You By the Infopeople Project • Infopeople is a federally-funded grant project supported by the California State Library. It provides a wide variety of training to California libraries. Infopeople workshops are offered around the state and are open registration on a first-come, first-served basis. • For a complete list of workshops, and for other information about the Project, go to the Infopeople Web site at infopeople.org.

3. Introductions • Name • Library • Position • A favorite memory from childhood of being read to or about reading

4. Agenda • Promoting early literacy behaviors • The components of the reading process • Selecting books • Planning and practicing read alouds • Successful strategies to use with groups of young children

5. Goals for Today • An understanding of the roots of literacy in early childhood • Suggestions for ways to make library story hours more powerful influences in developing early literacy • A set of criteria for selecting books which promote early literacy • Methods for promoting primary and second language literacy • Ways to support parents as children’s first literacy teachers

6. What Age Are We Talking About? • Toddlers • Preschool children • Children in the primary grades (K-2) • Struggling readers of all ages • Readers who love stories

7. The Development of Literacy “As children hear more and more stories, and they become aware of people reading and responding to print, they are motivated to do likewise. “ Reading to, with and by Children Margaret Mooney (p. 8)

8. Literacy Develops in Young Children… • Through conversation • Through play • Through interactions with text

9. Discussion Question What behaviors in infants and toddlers are the foundations of literacy?

10. Observable Literate Behaviors • Pretend reading or writing • Scribbling and reading • Pointing at pictures and talking about them • Book Handling • holding a book right side up • turning pages one by one • beginning at the front of book • Reading signs and labels • Manipulation of letters (magnetic etc.)

11. Why Read Out Loud to Children? • Children enter school with a larger vocabulary • Have had extensive experience discussing books • Have incorporated early reading strategies • Have greater phonemic and phonological awareness

12. Evaluating Books For Read Aloud • Age appropriateness • Quality and size of illustrations • Connections to children’s lives • people that look like them • events that they relate to • cultural issues

13. More Criteria for Selecting Read Alouds • Language at children’s receptive language level • Repetitive pattern • Rhyme • Engaging theme

14. Criteria for Selecting Books for English Language Learners • Simple and clear illustrations • Simple grammatical structures • High interest content • Refrains and repetition • Opportunities to practice through oral participation

15. Exercise #1 Evaluating Books for Read Alouds

16. Discussion What challenges have you experienced in selecting books for read alouds or in helping parents select books to check out?

17. Helping Parents Select • Know the interests of the child • Choose “just right” topics, text • Use books focused on child’s needs • Help child gain appreciation of literature • Books of poetry and songs • Readable non-fiction • Remember favorite authors • Repeated readings of old favorites

18. Group storytime a warm, relaxed interlude for Preschoolers participation adding sound effects chiming in Joining the community of readers

19. Foundations of Reading • Oral language proficiency • Phonemic and phonological awareness • Visual Acuity • Aural Skill • Adequate motor skills

20. Cues Good Readers Use Good readers coordinate use one or more cues to read accurately and to comprehend text. • Graphophonic-letters/letter clusters blended into words • Syntactical-Structure/grammar of language • Meaning-Sense of particular text

21. Examples of Reading Miscues • The boy was/sat on the log. • The children is/are on the log. • The children swing/swim at the lake. • The child w-a-s in the w-a-t-e-r. • The children r-a-t/n to the water.

22. Common DifficultiesSeen in Struggling Readers • Decoding • Word knowledge • Phrasing and fluency • Monitoring • Poor coordination of cues • Poor Comprehension • Stamina • Motivation

23. Comprehension • Based on prior knowledge • Involves making predictions • Realized through connections to text • Requires making inferences • Includes summarizing • Occurs with visualizations or mental models

24. Mechanics of Learning to Read • Book handling skills • Left to right directionality • One to one matching • Sound symbol awareness • Knowledge of high frequency words • Awareness of punctuation

25. “Children learn to read by being surrounded by talk and print. They see how the printed word can be used to tell new stories and bring new meanings to their lives. They learn that many events and ideas they hear read to them are similar to those they have experienced and reflect the way they feel about their experiences. “ (p.8) Margaret Mooney

26. Book Handling Skills • Show the front and back of book • Indicate location of author’s and illustrator’s name • Read title clearly, while pointing at each word • Model left to right directionality • Point out punctuation • Show features of text, captions, table of contents

27. Demonstration and Practice of Book Handling Skills • Use the book selected • In pairs practice book handling skills. Be sure to point to and say: • Author • Title • Illustrator • Front and back • Any challenges presented in this text

28. Parts of a Read Aloud • Book introduction • Stopping points • Connections • Questions

29. Introducing a Book • Provides overview of the book • Allows children to make predictions by looking at the cover. • Taps their prior knowledge of the topic, genre, author • Highlights potentially difficult concepts or words

30. Challenges to Understanding the Book • Difficult genre • Difficult content • Lack of prior knowledge

31. Using Questions • Before the story • to determine prior knowledge about topic, setting, genre • to help child create connections • During the story • to create connections • to generate predictions • to elicit possible solutions • After the story • to generate connections • to evaluate predictions and solutions

32. Supporting English Language Learners • Use props, photos, doodles to demonstrate difficult words or concepts • Use simple language to describe • Accept non-verbal responses • Practice vocabulary using illustrations • Practice grammar using simple refrains

33. Exercise # 2A, B • Fill out section A and B on Exercise 3 • In pairs practice the beginning of your read aloud including: • Book-handling skills • Introducing your book • The questions you would ask before the story. Prior knowledge needed to comprehend story • Any difficult aspects of genre or content

34. Use Stopping Points to • Ask for predictions • Elicit connections • Cue children to join in refrain or pattern • Clarify an unusual word or concept • Check for understanding

35. Help Child Make Connections • Text to self: refers to the ways child sees his or her own experiences reflected in the story. • Text to text: refers to the ways a child sees similarities between story and other stories.

36. Use Questions During the Story to… • create connections • generate predictions • elicit possible solutions

37. Exercise # 2C • Fill out section C on Exercise 3 • Plan • stopping points • places for making predictions • places to visualize • place for inference or summarizing • places for making connections • Practice in pairs

38. After the Story Use Questions to. . . • generate connections • discuss favorite parts • make connections • evaluate predictions and solutions

39. Practice with a New Book • Use form to plan for read aloud • Work in your small group to complete planning form • Choose one person to read to the large group • Be prepared to give and receive feedback on your plan

40. Tips for Working with Young Children • Forward planning • Get the group’s attention • Arrange seating for visibility • Create a “bag of tricks” • Have a plan but be flexible

41. Challenges of Reading to Groups • Visibility and audibility for all in the group • Comfortable seating arrangements • Children who have trouble sitting still • Noise and distractions

42. Solutions for Managing Groups • Create optimal seating arrangements • Effective book selection • Modulation of voice and speed • Focusing techniques to get group’s attention • Quick spot checks to redirect and re-engage wiggly kids • Using stopping points to keep children engaged

43. Making Group Stories Work for English Language Learners • Seat where illustrations are visible • Speak slowly and clearly • Take care to have eye contact • Make use of non verbal check ins • Simplify language as needed

44. Remember Reading Aloud • Awakens children's imaginations • Improves their language skills • Opens new worlds of enjoyment • Coaxes children away from television • Parents, teachers, and librarians work together to promote reading • Reading aloud is a special occasion adapted from Jim Trelease

45. Please fill out your evaluations