Early Literacy and School Readiness
LIBR529 Presentation
Tina Sherlock
November 6th, 2007
We once believed learning how to
read was a natural process like
learning how to walk.
Nabeel H
We now know that learning to read is a social process that begins right from
birth.
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Young children will not simply “figure out” literacy if left to their own devices.
Xylum Tube
Adults play a critical role by providingrich literacy experiences and by interacting with them in those
experiences.
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The foundations
of literacy are learnedin the
families.vessenes
What are some things we can do as parents?
1. Find time to read with your child.
• make sure you are both in a good mood
• create a cozy space for reading
• read often- not just at bedtime!
The warm and safe feeling that children get from sharing books with
adults at an early age will likely follow them throughout their lives.
2.
Children who enjoy books will want to learn how to
read.
2. Talk with your child
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Have regular conversations, talk about your feelings and your child’s feelings and ask
exploratory questions.
Oral language is the foundation of reading!
3. Provide opportunities for storytelling
• Act out stories with stuffies, dolls or puppets
• Tell family stories
• Encourage your child to re-tell favourite stories
Playing with stories and storytelling helps children
understand the structure of stories.
4. Help foster an awareness of print
• point out signs/ print in the environment
• allow your child to help with:• grocery lists• labels on coat racks/toy boxes• recipes while cooking
An awareness of print helps children feel comfortable with
books and understand that print is useful
5. Encourage letter and word recognition
cybertoad
• point to the words with your fingers while you read with your child
• encourage your child to recognize his/her name
Understanding that print follows certain conventions
helps with school readiness
6. Rhyme and sing with your child often
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• rhymes draw attention to language and sounds
• songs break language down beautifully in a way that engages children
Children learn best by doing things, and they love singing and
rhyming with you!
(no matter what you sound like)
Marc G Smith
The ability to distinguish the different sounds that make up words is a strong predictor of how well children will learn to
read.
Does this sound like a lot of work?
Take comfort that these are things that we already do
naturally as parents
Want to see some of this in action?
Participate in your library’s storytime!
Joe Thorn
During storytime, librarians model interactive storytelling…
… favourite stories and rhymes are repeated weekly…
… puppets and props are used to make stories and language fun…
… and all this is done in arich environment that fosters
early literacy.
Remember… the earlier a child is exposed to language and literacy activities, the greater the child’s chances for future literacy and
academic success.
What are you waiting for?
Works ConsultedBalancing Act Productions. “Blackbird Acoustic Test.” Retrieved via Creative Commons.
http://search.creativecommons.org/
“Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library.” American Library Association. http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/ECRR/ECRRHomePage.htm
“First Five Years.” Brooklyn Public Library. http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/first5years/
“How Parents Foster Early Learning.” Lessons in Learning February 1, 2006. http://www.ccl-cca.ca/CCL/Reports/LessonsInLearning/LiL-1Feb2006.htm
Teale, William H. “Libraries Promote Early Literacy Learning: Ideas from Current Research and Early Childhood Programs.” Journal of Youth Services in Libraries 12: no 3, 1999.
Taylor McBride, Allison. Various Lectures for LIBR529: Services for Families and Early Literacy in the Preschool Years. September-October, 2007.