Every Child Ready to Read
at Your Library®
• A joint project of the Public Library Association and the Association
for Library Service to Children
• Libraries play a key role in “disseminating early literacy information
to parents, child care providers, early childhood educators,
children’s advocates, and political decision makers.”
• Ohio Ready to Read is a local project designed to help Ohio public
libraries incorporate the 6 early literacy skills into library programs
and to help librarians educate and support parents and caregivers.
What is Early Literacy
Early literacy is what children know about reading and
writing before they can actually read or write.
Why is it so important to get
children “Ready to Read”?
•
38% of the 4th graders in the US can’t read at a
basic level.
•
Knowledge of the alphabet at entry into
Kindergarten is a strong predictor of reading ability
in the 10th grade.
•
California and Indiana use 3rd grade reading tests
to accurately predict future prison needs.
Why is early intervention
so successful?
• By age three, children’s brains are twice as active as those of
adults.
• Secure relationships with primary caregivers directly affect the
way the brain is wired!
• Early experiences impact the architecture of the brain.
Permission to use for PLA?ALSC Early Literacy Project granted by Dr. Harry Chugani
Synaptic Density
From Rethinking the Brain: New Insights into Early Development by Rima Shore (NY: Families and Work Institute, 1997)
Synaptic Density: Synapses are created with astonishing speed in the first three years of life. For the rest of the first decade, children’s brains have twice as many synapses as adults’ brains. (Drawing supplied by H.T. Chugani)
Why is our work so important?
• Because early intervention works!
• 90-95% of poor readers can reach
average reading levels with early
intervention.
• 9 years old is too late for
intervention to work reliably, we
need to intervene before kids get
to school. 75% of kids who receive
intervention after age 9 will still
have trouble reading.
What does Early Literacy have to do
with my Storytime?
• We have a captive audience with the
parents in storytime.
• Parents/Caregivers know their children
best.
• Children model parent/caregiver behavior.
• The first 5 years are crucial to building
language skills.
Six skills every child needs to learn to read;
Starting from birth!
Print
Motivation
Phonological
Awareness
a child’s interest
in and
enjoyment of
books.
Vocabulary
knowing the
names of
things.
the ability to
hear and play
with the smaller
sounds in
words.
Narrative Skills
the ability to
describe things
and events and
to tell stories.
What you do
helps your
child get
ready to
read.
Print
Awareness
noticing print,
knowing how to
handle a book, and
how to follow the
written words on a
page.
Letter
Knowledge
learning to name
letters. Knowing
they have sounds,
and recognizing
them everywhere.
Early Literacy leads to later reading!
Early Literacy Skill
Reading Skill
Phonological Awareness
Letter Knowledge
Print Awareness
Alphabetics
Vocabulary
Phonological Awareness
Letter Knowledge
Narrative Skills
Fluency
Vocabulary
Narrative Skills
Comprehension
Print Motivation Throughout
Storytime Demonstration
What does a storytime with the
6 skills look like?
PRINT MOTIVATION: Loving Books
A child’s interest in and enjoyment of books
PRINT MOTIVATION: Loving Books
Books:
• Choose books that you like and enjoy reading.
• Include non-fiction books for all age levels
• Be aware of the interests of the age group you are planning
Activities:
• If you use themes, include flannel boards and activities to fit your
theme
• Pick books that you enjoy – your enthusiasm is contagious
• Keep children involved, even if it means not reading the book word for
word
VOCABULARY: Words
Knowing the names of things – including feelings, concepts, and ideas.
VOCABULARY: Words
Books:
• Pick books that will introduce new words or ideas
• Choose books with words not used in daily conversation
Activities:
• Introduce new words repeatedly, have the children repeat the word
throughout the story
• Add descriptive words or more information to what is in the book
• Explain unfamiliar words, do not replace them with familiar ones
•Label more than just things, label feelings and concepts as well
ALA granted permission from Janellen Huttenlocher.
PRINT AWARENESS: Using Books
Knowing that print has meaning, how to handle a book and recognizing
print in their environment.
PRINT AWARENESS: Using Books
Books:
• Use books that have writing as part of the story
• Use books with larger print that are part of the illustrations
• Use big books or oversized books
Activities:
• Hold a book upside down or backwards and see if the children notice
• Point to words as you are reading (especially repeating words)
• Point to the title, author and illustrator on cover or title page
• Use props with print on them such as signs or numbers
• Use multiple copies of books if possible, teach to turn pages and
follow the print
LETTER KNOWLEDGE: ABCs
Knowing that letters are different from each other, have
different names and have different sounds.
LETTER KNOWLEDGE: ABCs
Books:
• Use books with shapes that look like letters
• Use books that emphasize a particular letter, sound or the whole
alphabet
Activities:
• Use nametags to encourage parents to help children find their
names
• Point out a specific letter throughout a book
• Learn shapes to get ready to learn letters
• Tell parents to encourage drawing, scribbling, and writing
PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS: Sounds
The ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words.
PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS: Sounds
Books:
• Use stories in rhyme such as Sheep in a Jeep
• Poetry/Nursery Rhymes can be very effective
Activities:
• Use lots of music. It helps to show where the syllables are in
words.
• Share tongue twisters
• Share fingerplays and flannelboards that rhyme
• Share fingerplays or nursery rhymes more than once
Say it Slow / Say it Fast
Game
NARRATIVE SKILLS: Storytelling
The ability to describe things, to tell events in
sequence and to retell stories.
NARRATIVE SKILLS: Storytelling
Books:
• Books with a simple sequence of events
• Books that have a clear beginning, middle and end
• Use books with repetitive phrases, cumulative storyline
Activities:
• Encourage participation, saying repeated phrases together
• Pause during a book and ask questions
• Act out the book using puppets or props
• Use flannel boards to tell the same story with enough pieces for each
child to help remember the order of the story
• Listen to the children when they tell you stories if appropriate
• Have children draw pictures of the story retelling it, or make up their
own
Dialogic Reading
The more actively involved children are in the story, the more learning
is going on inside their minds.
While Reading:
• Ask “What do you see in this picture?”
• Ask open questions (not just yes or no answers)
• Repeat what the children say and then build on it
• Relate to the experiences of your storytime group
• Ask “What do you see happening in the story?”
• Be prepared for conversation in storytime. It may take longer to read
a book using this method.
Communicating with
Parents and Caregivers
Practice time using materials
Storytime Planning
• Restructuring storytime
• How will it look?
• Idea brainstorming
Partnerships and Resources
Questions and Evaluations
Acknowledgements
• Ohio Ready to Read gratefully acknowledges Columbus
Metropolitan Library for sharing their Every Child Ready to Read
staff training materials.
• Many, many thanks to Krista Tokarz of Cuyahoga County Public
Library for revising this presentation for Ohio Ready to Read.