Jessica ChamberlainNortheast Library System

WHY WORRY ABOUT LEARNING WHY WORRY ABOUT LEARNING BEFORE BEFORE A CHILD STARTS SCHOOL?A CHILD STARTS SCHOOL?

Knowledge of the alphabet at entry into Kindergarten is a strong predictor of reading ability in the 10th grade.

Children who fall behind in oral language and literacy development in the years before formal schooling are less likely to be successful beginning readers; and their achievement lag is likely to persist throughout the primary grades and beyond.

~National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University, April 2006.

In 2000, the Association for Library Service to Children and the Public Library Association responded to research studies that found a significant percentage of children were entering kindergarten without the early literacy skills needed to learn to read.

Research on Infant Brain Research on Infant Brain DevelopmentDevelopment

Window of OpportunityWindow of Opportunity This pruning of connections

creates a window of opportunity for language learning. The prime time for language acquisition is before age 7 .

At about age 10, when the brain begins to dramatically prune extra connections, we lose those synapses that help us learn language.

Older children and adults can still learn language, but it is more difficult and nearly impossible to achieve native–like fluency in a language.

What is early literacy?What is early literacy?

Early literacy is what children know about reading and writing before they can read or write

PhonologicalAwarenessthe ability to

hear and play with the smaller

sounds in words.

Narrative Skillsthe ability to

describe things and events and to tell stories.

Letter Knowledge

learning to name letters. Knowing

they have sounds, and recognizing

them everywhere.

Print Awareness noticing print,

knowing how to handle a book, and how to follow the

written words on a page.

Vocabularyknowing the

names of things.

Print Motivation

a child’s interest in and

enjoyment of books.

What you do helps your child get ready to

read.

Six skills every child needs to be “Ready to Read”

Print Awareness: Print Awareness: You’re never too young to enjoy You’re never too young to enjoy booksbooks Print Awareness is

noticing print everywhere, knowing how to handle a book, and knowing how we follow the words on a page.

Some ways to teach print awareness:◦ Let children turn the pages in

a book.

◦ Occasionally, follow the words you are reading on a page with your finger.

◦ Point out “environmental print” which are words on signs, cereal boxes, etc.

Print Motivation:Print Motivation:Reading should be a positive Reading should be a positive experienceexperience

Children should associate books with cuddles and love.

It is more important for the reading experience to be positive than it is to read for a specific amount of time each day.

Some ways to teach print motivation:Use interactive books with tabs, flaps and

pop-ups.Pick books with topics that interest the

child and let children pick out their own books.

Read a book as many times as the child wants!

Make time for reading by shutting off the TV, computer and radio.

Vocabulary: Vocabulary: Hearing new words is importantHearing new words is important

Vocabulary is knowing the names of things.Children’s reading comprehension is affected

by the variety of life experiences they have been exposed to, including the number of words they have heard. Reading books together is a powerful way to open up the world for children.

Some ways to encourage vocabulary learning:◦ Read lots of books!

◦ Use unusual and specific words.

◦ Label feelings and concepts.

◦ Parents should speak with their children in their native language. This provides language fluency and allows the parent to explain things in richer vocabulary than trying to speak in a language in which they are not fluent.

ALA granted permission from Janellen Huttenlocher.

Narrative Skills:Narrative Skills:Children need to tell their own Children need to tell their own storiesstoriesThe ability to describe things and

events and to tell stories is Narrative Skills

Understanding that stories have a beginning, middle and end helps children to understand what they read and helps with reading comprehension later.

Some ways to teach Narrative Skills:◦ Expand on what a child says.

◦ Ask questions to encourage more detail.

◦ Be patient while a child talks! After you ask a question, pause for at least 5 seconds while you wait for the answer.

◦ Talk about your day.

◦ Tell stories.

Hearing Words Seeing Words

Speaking Words Generating Words

Narrative Skills:Narrative Skills:Children need to tell their own Children need to tell their own storiesstories PET Scans of the Brain

Phonological Awareness: Phonological Awareness: Playing with sounds in wordsPlaying with sounds in words

Phonological Awareness is the ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words. This helps children sound out words as they begin to read.

Some ways to teach Phonological Awareness:

◦Sing songs and say rhymes.

◦Read poetry.

◦Be silly and play with words.

Letter Knowledge:Letter Knowledge:Children need to know the Children need to know the alphabetalphabetLetter Knowledge is knowing that letters are different from each other and that they have different names and sounds.

Some ways to teach Letter Knowledge:

◦Learn shapes.

◦Play with puzzles.

◦Play with letters using different senses.

◦Sing the Alphabet Song.

◦Read ABC books.

◦Point out letters in the environment.

ECRRECRR11 vs. ECRR2 vs. ECRR2ECRR1 focused on the six skills

◦Print motivation, print awareness, vocabulary, narrative skills, phonological awareness and letter knowledge

ECRR2 encourages the 5 practices◦Talking, Singing, Reading, Writing and

Playing◦2 Broad sets of skills – constrained and

unconstrained

Features of Every Child Readyto Read® 2nd Edition:

• Workshops are based on updated research.

• The framework of five practices—talking, singing, reading, writing, and playing—are used to develop early literacy skills.

• Practices can be used with children from birth to age five.

• Two broad sets of skills are emphasized: decoding and comprehension.

• The importance of a stimulating early literacy and learning environment is highlighted.

• Workshops are presented as PowerPoint presentations with talking points rather than a script.

• Workshop formats are modular for greater flexibility and customization.

ECRR 2nd Edition focuses on five early literacy

practices.

ECRR2 WorkshopsECRR2 Workshops

StaffEarly Literacy and

Learning SpacesCommunity PartnersParents

Fun for Parents & Children

Fun with LettersFun with WordsFun with Science

& Math

From Early Literacy and Learning Spaces Workshop:

“Children need an environment:Rich in experience…Rich in play…Rich in teaching…Rich with people… Where they are significant.”

From Caring Spaces, Learning Spaces by Jim Greenman

• Use color, shapes, textures, light, and space to create an appealing environment.

• Provide attractive and well organized materials and displays.

• Provide easy access to materials, displays, and learning activities. See the environment at children’s eye level.

• Design with flexibility in mind.

•Make spaces interactive.

Use these design principles to help create effective early literacy and learning environments:

From Community Partners Workshop:From Community Partners Workshop:

Early literacy is an investment in our children

and their future.

Investing time and other resources in early literacy has long-term benefits.

• Children who start school ready to learn to read achieve higher levels of reading and academic success than other children.

• Studies have shown that high quality early education could result in as much as a 16% annual rate of return on the initial investment. This includes lower costs to educate children who are ready to learn, reduced crime and social problems, and higher levels of income over the life of a child.*

*From “A Proposal for Achieving High Returns on Early Childhood Development” by Rob Grunewald and Arthur Rolnick, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, March 2006.

Math concepts are easy toinclude in everyday conversation.

How many are there?Which one is the largest?

Which one looks like a cone?Can you put them in order from smallest to largest?

Help your child:• Count• Measure• Sort• Compare• Order

From Fun with Math & ScienceWorkshop:

Five early literacy practices develop early literacy skills and help children

get ready to read.

Turn research

into good early literacypractices at home and in childcare settings

with simple early literacy practices that parents, caregivers and children can enjoy together.

What does this mean for the What does this mean for the Public Library?Public Library?•We are a part of the community and want – long term – what is best for our patrons.

•Our public counts on us to use their tax dollars wisely.

•National push for early childhood education standards and the importance of early childhood education.

•Parents look to librarians for help.

How do we put it into How do we put it into practice?practice?Everyone will be different.Small, thoughtful changes or big,

dramatic programsSome ideas…

◦Incorporate 5 practices and parent education into Storytime

◦Offer parent workshops & In-service program for child care workers

◦Play room◦Foster awareness in the community –

partnerships!

Helpful LinksHelpful Links

Every Child Ready to Readhttp://www.everychildreadytoread.org/

Early Beginnings: Early Literacy Knowledge and Instruction from the National Institute for Literacy:lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/NELPEarlyBeginnings09.pdf

Multnomah County Libraryhttp://www.multcolib.org/birthtosix/earlyliteracy.html

US Dept. of Education publicationswww.edpubs.gov (my favorite is the “Shining Stars” series)

THANK YOU!THANK YOU!

Jessica Chamberlain

Northeast Library System3038 33rd Ave, Suite 13Columbus, NE 68601

800-578-1014

jchamberlain.nels@gmail.com

http://libraries.ne.gov/nels