WHKY Library Segment

Hello, I’m glad to be here with you representing the Catawba County Library system. My name is Donna Fox and I am a Library Service Specialist at the St. Stephens Branch library. We are one of the seven library branches located throughout Catawba County. Newton is the main library for our system.
I am here to talk to you about the importance of early childhood literacy. According to research there are six pre reading skills that children must learn in order to learn to read. Every Child Ready to Read @ your library is a project of the Public Library Association and the Association for Library Service to Children. A series of workshops have been developed to train library staff on early literacy. Several of the youth service staff in the Catawba County Library system have taken this workshop and are implementing this training in our preschool story times. We provide this information to parents, care givers, child care facilities and also in a blog that can be accessed through the Catawba County Library website: www.catawbacountync.gov/library. I am glad to be able to share this information with you at this time.
What is early literacy? Early literacy is what children know about reading and writing before they can actually read and write. Research shows that children get ready to read years before they start school. The best teachers for your preschool children are you the parents. You know your child best. They will be the most receptive to learning when they are in a good mood. You know them best when it comes to judging their moods. You can teach them reading skills in ways that are easiest for them. Take every chance you have to read with your child, talk about stories, sing songs, and play word games. Children learn best by doing things.
A quote from “Becoming a Nation of Readers”, states that: “The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children. This is especially so during the preschool years.” We offer several preschool and toddler story times on different days and times at our seven libraries and have staff on hand to assist parents with book selections and how to navigate the library.
There are six skills that preschoolers need to learn for early literacy. They are Vocabulary, Print Motivation, Print Awareness, Narrative Skills, Letter Knowledge, and Phonological Awareness. I know that this may start to sound like it is complicated but it is very easy to break down. Most of you are doing this with your child already, but just didn’t know what it was called. I will briefly explain what each of these six skills are.

Narrative Skills are being able to describe things and events and tell a story. You can tell your child stories, ask them to tell you about something that happened today, read books together, help them to understand that a story has order (first-next-last), read books more than one time, and switch rolls – have them tell you the story and you be the listener.

Print Motivation is being interested in and enjoying books. Take your child to the library, make reading together a special time for the two of you, and let your child see you reading.

Vocabulary means knowing the name of things. When you are with your child talk about what is going on around you and about how things work and about feelings and ideas. Read together every day. Research shows the children who have larger vocabularies are better readers. Knowing many words helps a child recognize written words and understand what they read.

The skill of Print Awareness is noticing print, how to handle a book and how to follow the words on a page. Point to words as you say them, read out loud any labels, signs, lists, menus, etc… Let your child hold the book and “read” to you. If you hold a book upside down see if your child can tell you how it is suppose to be held. If a child is comfortable with printed language they will feel comfortable with books and understand that print is useful.

Letter Knowledge is being able to tell that letters are different from each other and knowing the name of each letter and the sounds they make. You can write your child’s name using magnetic letters, clay, sand, pudding, etc… Point out and name letters when reading books, signs, and labels. Knowing the name and sounds of letters helps a child figure out how to say written words.

The last but surely not the least is Phonological Awareness. This skill involves being able to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words. You can ask your child if words rhyme, dog & cat or cat & hat. Say rhymes and make up silly rhymes. Sing songs, songs have different notes for each syllable in a word. Read some poetry and make up some short poems. Most children who have difficulty reading have trouble with Phonological Awareness.

Every parent can have a big role in helping your preschool child develop literacy skills that will help them to become readers. Remember that there are many resources available to you in the community, the public library being one of them. Children need to know how to read by third grade to be able to keep up with the demands of their curriculum. If we can develop a love for reading at an early age, children will become lifelong readers. For your school age child remember that the Catawba County Library system offers a summer reading program to help keep their reading skills fresh during the summer break. This year’s theme is “Be Creative @ Your Library” You can access a listing of upcoming events or read the Every Child Ready to Read blog, through the internet at www.catawbacountync.gov/library. I hope to see you soon at the library. In the words of Dr. Seuss: The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go. Give your child the world with a good early foundation in literacy.
Thank you.

ECRR Concept of the Week (11/8/07)

Phonological Awareness - Singing songs is a good way to help your child hear syllables in words. In most songs, each syllable in a word gets a different note.

Example: During my morning storytime we read Lois Ehlert's "Eating the Alphabet". While reading the book, everyone discussed thier favorite fruits and vegetables. We went through the book and found some fruits and vegetables that were common and then we found some that were not so common. I found a song that emphasized the fruit or vegetable of each child's choice and everyone enjoyed singing about their favorite fruit or vegetable.

Fruits & Vegetables Are Good For Me
Sung to: Oh McDonald Had a Farm

Fruits are very good for me E I E I O

And so I eat them happily E I E I O

With a banana here, a banana there, here a banana, there a banana

everywhere bananas

Fruits are very good for me E I E I O.

*Extra Tip: It is also a good idea to have color pictures of the frutis and vegetables you are singing about.

~April Green -Youth Service Specialist SW Branch of the Catawba County Library System.

ECRR Concept of the Week (10-11-2007)

Most of us are not trained as a English as a Second Language teacher. But, the early literacy concepts of Every Child Ready to Read works well for children of other nationalities who may not be familiar with the English Language. An excellent pointer for childcare workers is to label everything. Then, take your class on a "field trip" around the room. Walk around and point to the objects and read the labels. The once unfamiliar words will become more familiar. This will also be good practice for English speaking children also. Working with someone that does not know your language can be difficult and frustrating for both parties. But, as the old adage says, practice makes perfect.-Amy Dawson, Youth Services Librarian, Catawba County Library System

ECRR Concept of the Week (9-27-07)

In a recent copy of Parents magazine, a mother shared a story of how she would tell stories to her infant and use him as the main character. She did it as a way to amuse herself and, as she said, she hoped him. There was a caption that said that psychologist have found that babies as young as 4 1/2 months can recognize the sound of their own name. "Babies are also able to distinguish and recall new words when they hear them come right before or after their name, so making your child the star of the story plants the seeds of a broad vocabulary." This is an excellent example of incorporating an early literacy concept into together time with a child. Making up stories about your young "hero" will build vocabulary, narrative skills, and will help develop language skills. And, which kid wouldn't want to here a story where their favorite person (themself) is the star of the show?-Amy Dawson, Youth Services Librarian, Catawba County Library System

ECRR Concept of the Week (9-20-07)

Print Awareness is knowing the names of things. There are many ways that children can become more aware of print because the printed word is everywhere. When you are reading to your child, follow along with your finger. And when you are reading to yourself let your child see you follow along with your finger. Point out signs such as STOP, EXIT, or ENTER. Write their name in big letters on a piece of construction paper. Trace their finger over the letters while slowly reading it. There are so many ways to bring awareness to the written word. Making your child familiar with printed language will only make them more comfortable with books. And it will give them an understanding of the importance of print.-Amy Dawson, Youth Services Librarian, Catawba County Library System

ECRR Concept of the Week (9-13-2007)

In the most recent copy of School Library Journal, there is an article about recognizing that every child learns differently. For instance, some boys do better in a classroom environment where they can get up and walk around, jump, sit under the desk or whatever. Sitting still all day for indefinite periods of time is almost an impossibility and can stifle learning. The same can be said for young children on the path to reading. During storytime, children do not always sit perfectly still and listen. Sometimes, they get up, look out the window, turn in circles, take off their shoes or whatever else picques their curiosity at that time. And you know what? That's okay! Adults tend to think that children should act in a certain way, but their little brains are telling them something else. The important thing is that they are seeing someone model reading while at the same time the other kids are modeling how to listen to the story. Young children are learning that reading is fun. And before it can ever be educational, it must be fun to them. So the next time you try to read to a child and they get up to pick a piece of lint from your shoes, just keep reading. Before you know it, they will be so engrossed in the story that you may just have to read it again.-Amy Dawson, Youth Services Librarian, Catawba County Library System

ECRR Concept of the Week (9-6-07)

Have you ever noticed that some young children have incredible fluency? I think there is a simple answer for why that some children are better speakers than others. Their allowed to talk. Parents and those around them allow them to do the speaking without constantly shushing them. This is like dialogic reading. Dialogic reading allows the child to be the storyteller and the adult to be the audience. The child isn't told to be quiet or listen, but is encouraged to participate. In storytimes, allowing participation can be accomplished by asking questions of the audience ("What do you think will happen next?"), allowing children to chime in with chants, rhymes and songs, or by having the children point to pictures and saying the names of objects. Not only does the child build vocabulary and narrative skills, but he also builds confidence. This confidence will one day make him a fluent and fluid reader. -Amy Dawson, Youth Services Librarian, Catawba County Library System