Early Literacy your child's foundation for learning

Learning to read begins at birth. Brain connections are made when babies hear the sound of their parents’ voices and see the black-and-white images of their first board books. Parents, caregivers and librarians can reinforce and grow these connections through five practices that will help a child develop the foundation upon which a reader is built.  These activities, practiced regularly, will help a child develop the six early literacy skills and be prepared to learn to read.

The five basic practices in early literacy are:

1.      Playing

2.      Singing

3.      Talking

4.      Writing

5.      Reading

The six early literacy skills are:

1.      PRINT MOTIVATION: includes being interested in and enjoying books

2.      PRINT AWARENESS: includes noticing print everywhere, knowing how to handle a book, and knowing how to follow the written word on the page.

3.      LETTER KNOWLEDGE: includes knowing that letters are different from each other, knowing letter names and sounds, and recognizing letters everywhere

4.      VOCABULARY: includes knowing the names of things.

5.      PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS: includes hearing and playing with the smaller sounds of words and recognizing that words are made up of a number of different sounds.

6.      NARRATIVE SKILLS: include describing things and events, telling stories, knowing the order of events (sequencing), and making predictions (what might happen next). {Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy accessed 1/28/14.}

 

Marilyn Jager Adams once wrote that "Reading aloud with children is known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and skills they will eventually require for learning to read." That's a powerful statement! Read with your kids every day, and watch them blossom. Reading Rockets accessed 6/20/13. 

 

Cathy

 

CLEL Bell Picture Book Awards Announced

The Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy announced the winners of the first-ever CLEL Bell Picture Book Awards. The winners are:

Early Literacy Practice: Read



Open This Little Book, by Jesse Klausmeier.

Readers open the cover to discover five characters, each with their own little book, all within the pages of the first. Open This Little Book celebrates the pleasures of reading, sharing, and having a book of your own.

Early Literacy Practice: Write



The Things I Can Do, by Jeff Mack.

Hand-written text and exuberant collages illustrate this story of a boy who takes great pride in his accomplishments. Reading skills and writing skills develop together, and the format of The Things I Can Do invites children to see themselves as authors as well as readers.

Early Literacy Practice: Sing



Nighty-Night, Cooper, by Laura Numeroff. 

A small kangaroo requests song after song to help him fall asleep, and his mother obliges by making up her own words to familiar tunes. Singing songs together is a powerful way to build phonological awareness skills and vocabulary, and Nighty-Night, Cooper models how a parent can use songs to create a comforting bedtime routine with a child. 

Early Literacy Practice: Talk 



Moo! by David LaRochelle 

A very vocal cow commandeers the farmer's car and sets off on an adventure. The entire story is told with just two words: Moo! and Baa! The speech bubbles and the very limited vocabulary help children make the critical connection between the words we say and the print on the page. 

Early Literacy Practice: Play



Nino Wrestles the World, by Yuyi Morales.  

Nino takes on all the toys in his room with and amazing series of lucha libre wrestling moves. When his sisters wake up from their nap, they challenge him to a match, too! Who will be victorious? Nino Wrestles the World joyfully demonstrates the language-rich, open-ended play that contributes to a child's narrative skills. 


The five winning books consist of one title in each of five categories representing an early literacy practice; Read, Write, Sing, Talk and Play.  The books, in their content, theme, or design support caregivers' interaction with their children through early literacy practices. Research has shown that engaging children in these practices builds language skills and prepares children to become successful readers. 

For more information, visit the CLEL Bell Awards webpage where you can see the 2014 shortlists and see the full nominations lists.   

Cathy