Fun with Storiesfor Parents & Children

Goals for Todays WorkshopOverview of the programs values & ECRRs six pre-reading skillsReview of best practices for building those skillsActivity ideas and book recommendsTips for engaging children in early literacy activitiesNew Orleans Public Library and community resources supporting early literacy

A Sailor Went to SeaA sailor went to sea, sea, sea.To see what he could sea, sea, sea.But all that he could see, see, see was the bottom of the deep blue sea, sea, sea.A sailor went to chop, chop, chop.To see what he could chop, chop, chop.But all that he could chop, chop, chop was the bottom of the deep blue chop, chop, chop.A sailor went to doo-op-do-op.To see what he could doo-op-do-op.But all that he could doo-op-do-op was the bottom of the deep blue doo-op-do-op.A sailor went to sea, chop, doo-op-do-op.To see what he could sea, chop, doo-op-do-op.But all that he could sea, chop, doo-op-do-op was the bottom of the deep blue sea, chop, doo-op-do-op.

Why are parents so important in helping their children get ready to read?You are your childs first teacher.

You know your child best.

Children learn best by doing, and they love doing things with you.Core Values of Program

Reading is essential to school success.Children become ready to read between 4 and 7 years old, but becoming ready to read starts at birth.

Being ready to read begins before children start school.

You are already doing activities to help your child be ready to read.

Six Skills for Early LiteracyPrint Motivation - I Love BooksPrint Awareness - I See Words

Phonological Awareness - I Hear Words and SoundsNarrative Skills - I Tell StoriesVocabulary - I Know Words

Letter Knowledge - I Know My ABCs

Five simple practices help childrenget ready to read.Every Day you can help your child become READY TO READ

Your child will learn words from you talking to him or her. They will understand many words before they say mama or papa.

Parent Tip: Use parentese with your child -

higher pitch

short simple sentences

long vowel sounds

helps your child learn words, stories and the rhythm of speech.

Speak to your children in the language of the homeParent Tip: When talking with your child ask questions andWAIT

Research finding: For young children who are just learning to tell more complex stories, give time for them to make connections, anywhere from 5 to 12 seconds.Make Stories More Fun!

Use simple props, puppets or stuffed animals, to tell a story.

Use silly voices for different characters.

Ask your child to join in!

A Picture Walk can come before reading a word of the book.Lets practice TALKING with a picture walk.

Were going to meet the three little kittens who lost their mittens. Take-Away Activity: Make a Picture Walk and One Minute Story

Talent and a great voice is not required! Your child will love your voice.Singing is a natural way to learn about language.

Sing songs fast and slow.

Over and over and over and overRhythms and rhymes help develop listening and attention skills.Sing Songs that Tell a Story

Singing helps your child get ready to read.Lets Practice SINGING during our daily routines!

This is the way we wash our mittens,Wash our mittens, wash our mittens,This is the way we wash our mittens,Early in the morning.

This is the way we eat our pie,Eat our pie, eat our pie,This is the way we eat our pie,Early in the evening.

This is the way we say yum-yum,Say yum-yum, say yum-yum,This is the way we say yum-yum,Every day at dinner.

Story Songs

Five Little MonkeysThere Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a FlyAll Around the Mulberry BushHokey PokeyMiss Mary MackWhere is Thumbkin?Row Row Row Your BoatWhen Your Happy and You Know It

What are YOUR Favorites???Dont Remember the Lyrics?! www.kididdles.com

Reading together with your children makes a difference that lasts a lifetime.

Reading anything: signs, labels, newspapers, mail, plus books!Oral language and vocabulary development is the foundation for all other skills critical to successful reading.

(Dickenson et al., 2003)Read to your childEVERYDAY

Follow your childsINTEREST

F Y ILets practice READING aloud the Three Little Kittens.

Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales are easy to tell. Make up your own.

Writing actually helps your child learn to read.Making MarksDrawing and WritingName WritingWord WritingLets Practice WRITING by Making Mittens!

Children make progress in drawing and writing byPracticing.Reading and writing go together.

Babies - Feel a pair of mittens, talk about color & shape.Toddlers - Color and decorate the mittens.Pre-Schooler - Trace mittens & write name on the mittens.A large listening and spoken vocabulary makes it easier for a child to connect a written word to its meaning.

Research finding: To be ready to learn to read, most children need to have about 15,000 words in their listening vocabulary.

Playing helps your child get ready to read.Children learn about language through different kinds of play.

Play helps children think symbolically. Play helps build narrative skills and vocabulary.Encourage dramatic play using stuffed animalspuppetssticksleaves boxesWhat does your child like to play with?

F Y IStories and books feed imaginations!Lets practice PLAYING by retelling the story of the Three Little Kittens.

Your home can be a learning center to help your child get ready to read.Make your home a learning zone!

It doesnt have to be expensive!

Basic toys, cloth or board books, crayons, dolls, stuffed animals, chalk, sturdy toy trucks and cars, a few books, and some paper.

You can practice all of these at YOUR LIBRARY!BooksMusicStory TimesActivitiesFun Programs

Library Cards are FREE!

www.neworleanspubliclibrary.org

Come to future Every Child Ready to Read workshop for parents and caregivers Fun with Letters Fun with Words Fun with Science and MathWe also offer PrimeTime Family Reading Time, a program for families with children ages 6 to 12. It is a 6-week program of free workshops with meals, transportation, and rewards.

Would you like to spread the word about early literacy?Ask us how YOU can make a difference!

[Instructions for presenters are in brackets and red type. Additional background information for this workshop is included in the Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR) 2nd Edition Manual and CD.For this workshop, have an assortment of age-appropriate materials (birth to age five) nearby to use during the presentation: board books, picture books, information books, music CDs, read-along kits, and other types of materials that parents can use to help their children get ready to read.For the interactive parts of the program see Workshop Outline Workshop Material for specific items to have available for all participants in order to do activities during the workshop.

Information to present and points to make to the audience are in black type. Consider your community and audience as you present the workshop. The workshop is intended to be flexible, so that you can modify the presentation. For example, you can substitute books and activities that may have special meaning for parents and children you expect to attend. Feel free to present information in your own words.[Presenter: Welcome caregivers and children and introduce yourself and the workshop.]Points to makeWe are happy you are here.We are going to have fun together while we talk about how to start getting your child ready to read.You will leave with ideas you can begin to use today. [Share goals of workshop]Ice Breaker: Choose an ice breaker you are comfortable with and include on slide.

Encourage everyone to sing along before you start. Find ways to encourage participation. For example, if using Old McDonald, on the next verse, point to an adult and ask for an animal. Then point to a child, if talking children in room, for the next animal. If using A Sailor Went to Sea, ask everyone to stand up and sing all and do movements with you.

Points to make You have been your childs teacher from the day he or she was born. You know more about your child than anyone else. This includes the best ways and times for your child to learn. Lets try something.[Presenter: Ask parents to introduce their child to someone sitting next to them. Have the children shake hands.] If your child is old enough, show him or her how to introduce himself or herself to another child or an adult and shake hands. Have your child model what you do. If your child isnt speaking yet, make the introductions for him or her. If your child is shy, introduce him or her to the person next to you and ask if they want to shake hands.Parents are tremendous role models, and children learn a lot just from watching you. If your children see that you think reading is important and enjoy it, they will follow your lead.Children learn best by doingand they love doing things with YOU.

Points to makeFrom the time they are infants, children learn language and other important skills that will help them learn to read. Whether your child is four days old or four years old, it is not too early or too late to help him or her develop important literacy and pre-reading skills. Doing this now will make it easier for your child to learn to read when he or she starts school.Do not push your child. Do have fun with these activities so your child wants to do them again and again!

[Introduce the six skills of early literacy. Then ask, How do we build these skills? (click to next slide for answer.)Points to makeWe are going to talk about five of the best ways to help children learn pre-reading skills and get ready to read. These five practices are easy to do with children of all ages. They can be done at home, at the doctors office, in the car, or anywhere you and your child spend time together.The five best ways to help your child get ready to read are: Talking Singing Reading Writing PlayingLets have some fun with each one.[Presenter: Use a simple rhyme to introduce each child.(Childs name) came to the library today. Were so glad, well shout Hooray!]Points to makeYour childs name is one of the most important words he or she will learn. It is one of the first words your child will want to read and write.

Points to makeIf English is not your first language, speak to your child in the language you know best. This allows you to explain things to your child more fluently.Your child will be able to translate what he or she knows later, rather than having to learn both the concept and the English word at the same time.[Presenter: Using the Three Little Kittens, demonstrate the following so parents can learn how to take a picture walk, which is having a conversation about a book before you read it. Important: this is a picture walk; you are not reading the story but are having a conversation about it.Look at the cover. Point out the title and author. Talk about the illustrator. Ask children what they think the story is about. If children are in the audience, model how you would count the kittens on a childs fingers and make the sound of a kitten.Walk through the book, page by page. Talk about the characters and predict what might happen to them. Make a guess about how the book will end. Tell parents to talk about the meaning of words that their children may not know.]Points to makeA picture walk is a good example of a quality conversation. A picture walk:Teaches a child to take turns in order to have a conversation.Helps children become familiar with how books work and are organized.Gives you a chance to introduce new words and what they mean. (Parent: The kittens are wearing mittens. How are mittens different from gloves?)Provides opportunities to rephrase what the child says so he or she can learn more language. (Child: Me do that. Parent: Yes, you have eaten pie. What is your favorite kind?)Extends conversations to help children learn more about something. Helps children make connections to past and future events so they understand that language sometimes represents events that are not happening right now. (Parent: Maybe we should make a pie this week. Where can we find a recipe?)Points to makeSongs help children develop listening skills and pay attention to the rhythms and rhymes of spoken language.Most songs have a different note for each syllable. This helps children break down words so they hear individual sounds in a word. This is an important pre-reading skill.Singing also slows down language so children can hear different parts of words and notice how they are alike and different.Clapping along to rhythms helps children hear the syllables in words, and it helps them practice motor skills.Singing also helps children learn new words and adds to their general knowledge.

[Presenter: Use this slide if you used the Three Little Kittens earlier. Lead parents and children in singing This is the way we wash our mittens to the tune of Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush. If you have time, ask if someone could suggest a new verse. Example, This is the way we cry boo-hoo, when we have lost our mittens.]Points to makeSinging helps children remember things for a longer time.Singing helps children hear the smaller sounds in words.Sing songs with rhyming words, silly words, and long stretched out words.Sings songs fast, slow, and over and over.

Points to makeNo matter what your childs age, reading together with your childor shared readingis the single most important activity that you can do to help your child get ready to read. Shared reading is valuable because your child has your full attention, and you are enjoying the experience together.Shared reading develops a love of reading and an appreciation of books. Children who enjoy being read to are more likely to want to learn to read themselves.A childs interest in reading is an important predictor of later reading achievement.[Presenter: Model book reading with the group. Discuss the meaning of unfamiliar words. Talk about the shape of a mitten and how it is different than a glove. Talk about other words for angry. Use the oral close technique where you stop before a predictable word or line and ask children to chime in. For example, say the three little _______. Pause while children say kittens. Or lost their _______. Pause while children say mittens. Ask open ended questions at the end of the story. Examples: What made the kittens happy? What made them sad? Why were they frightened at the end of the story?]Points to makeReading together and talking about what you read:Increases childrens vocabulary and background knowledge.Helps children learn how books work and how written language looks.Gives them an understanding of how stories are organizedthat they have a beginning, middle, and end. Encourages imaginative thinking.

[Presenter: Have everyone pull out Making Mittens activity. Pass around scissors and crayons. Encourage everyone to color and cut while you share information about Writing. Points to makeReading and writing go together. Both are ways to represent spoken words and to communicate information or tell stories. Children become aware that printed letters stand for spoken words as they see print used in their daily lives. They see parents and others read newspapers, food labels, road signs, and mail. They watch caregivers write lists, jot down reminders, or make notes on a calendar.One of the first words children write is their name. This usually begins as scribbling. As children learn letter names and improve their motor skills, they begin to form the letters of their names. As children scribble and draw, they practice eye-hand coordination and exercise the muscles in their fingers and hands. This helps develop the fine motor control they need to write letters and words.

[Presenter: If you used the Three Little Kittens, ask children to write their name or initials on a paper mitten; have parents help their child if needed. Ask children and parents to draw a picture about the story and briefly discuss it. Have parents help their child write a caption for the picture.If you used The Little Red Hen, ask children and parents to draw a picture about the story, briefly discuss it, and write a caption for it.]Points to makeEncourage your children to sign their name on their drawings. Even if this begins as a scribble, children learn that they can write something that represents their name. Later your child will write the initials of his or her first and last name and then the complete name. Ask your child to label parts of a drawing. This also helps children understand that letters and words stand for things. Give your child plenty of opportunities to draw and write. Talk to your child about what he or she draws, ask questions and respond to what your child says, or make up a story to go with the drawing.Children develop a knowledge of the purpose and meaning of reading through writing.

Points to makePlay is one of the best ways for children to learn language and literacy skills.Play helps children think symbolically: a ruler becomes a magic wand, today becomes a time when dinosaurs were alive, a playmate becomes an astronaut exploring space. Through play, children realize that one thing can stand for another. This also helps children understand that written words stand for real objects and experiences. [Presenter: Use pictures, felt board pieces, puppets, or simple props like mittens and plates to retell the story of the Three Little Kittens. You could also do a participation story where each person or group retells part of the story, contributing one part at a time. This is fun and highlights the important skill of remembering key elements of a story.]Points to makePretend play helps children think symbolically and develop oral language skills. As children play store or pretend to be an animal, they talk about what they are doing. They practice putting thoughts into words. Dramatic play helps develop narrative skills as children make up a story about what they are doing. This helps them understand that stories happen in an order: first, next, last. Make-believe also gives children a chance to act out real-life situations, work through worries and fears, and use their imagination to solve problems.Play helps children feel a sense of accomplishment and self-confidence. This motivates them to try new experiences and not to give up when something seems difficult. Points to makeYou are your childs first teacher, and your home is where your child begins to learn.You can make your home a great place to learn and help your child get ready to read. It does not take money to create special spaces where you and your child can talk, sing, read, write, and play. Here are a few ideas.

[Presenter: Distribute the handout, Getting Ready to Read at Home. Referring to the handout, ask the group to describe places at home where their children read, keep books, write, and play. Make this interactive and emphasize that parents and caregivers do not need expensive toys or games to develop their childrens early literacy skills.][Presenter: This is an optional slide. You can customize this slide by adding the name of your library or your librarys logo to the purple sidebar on the left. You also can replace the generic library photo in the sidebar with a photo of your library. Add any of the following to the right side of the slide: a photo of your library, suggestions for books that parents and children can check out, or related information of your choice. The ECRR Manual includes examples of slides that have been customized to indicate where to place logos, photos, and information. (See Section II pages 3 and 4.)

Customize what you say about this slide, depending on your audience and collections. Show examples of materials to children, parents, and caregivers.][Presenter: This is an optional slide. You can customize this slide by adding the name of your library or your librarys logo to the purple sidebar on the left. You also can replace the generic library photo in the sidebar with a photo of your library. Add a photo to the right side of the slide that relates to an early literacy program for parents and caregivers. The ECRR Manual includes examples of slides that have been customized to indicate where to place logos, photos, and information. (See Section II pages 3 and 4.)]

[Presenter: Mention the Parent Workshop that is just for parents and caregivers and helps them learn more about how to use the five early literacy practices to help their children get ready to read. If you have a Parent Workshop scheduled, give parents and caregivers the details and encourage them to attend.]

[Presenter: Customize this slide with the name of your library, a graphic of your library card, your URL, or other library information.]