Presenting an overview of the research and history of Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library and why this early literacy initiative works and should be an essential part of all library storytimes and settings.
1. A Workshop for
Library Staff
Every Child Ready to Read® @ your library®,
PLA and ALSC logos are registered trademarks
of the American Library Association and are used with permission.
2. Reading—The Dismal Statistics
More than 40 % of U.S. adults have poor
reading skills.
And are significantly more likely to
Live in poverty
Engage in crime
Live unhealthy and shorter lives
National Assessment of Adult Literacy
3. ●What did young children need to know to
be ready to learn those reading skills in
school? What did they need to know
BEFORE they learned to read?
●Studies turned to the preschool years
and earlier.
4. By age three, the total gap between children in
high and low social-economic homes
was 30 million words.
Photo: http://www.babyispeech.com/30-million-word-gap.html
5. ●
These children who heard fewer
spoken words also heard fewer books
read to them—25 hours compared
with over 1,700 hours.
● They heard more 'business talk', not
'play talk'. Hart, Betty, Risley, Todd. Meaningful Differences in the
Everyday Experiences of Young American Children, 1995,
Brookes.
6. Parent Affirmatives vs
Prohibitions
● Affirmative words and discouraging words:
● Professional family 6:1
– Ratio of 6 encouragements to 1
discouragement
● Working class family
– Ratio of 2 encouragements to 1
discouragement
● Welfare family
– Ratio of 1 encouragement to 2
discouragements
Arsaga, Ava. What is Language Dancing
and Why Is It So Important to Parents?
7. Early studies
● Linked positive adult-child interactions, a child's
emotional security and a child's willingness and
ability to learn.
Literature Review 2010.
everychildreadytoread.org.
Photo: Dallas Pubic Library
Born to Read Baby
Photo: Johnson Memorial Health. Our Blog
8. The research
Makes a compelling argument for programs that
teach parents what their children need to know in
order to learn to read.
What Language Dancing Is and Why Is It So
Important to Parents?
Photo: www.readingrockets.org
9. It's about brain development and
connections. It starts with a brain cell, called
We are born with 100 billion neurons, but many of these brain
cells are not connected to each other. That's what happens next
—the connections, which is brain development.
Oregon Library and Support
Development Services
11. Oral language is the foundation for both early
literacy and later literacy.
It encompasses all the early literacy components.
Hear what the experts say at
Children of the Code:
http://www.childrenofthecode.org/Tour/c3b/language.htm
12. More Dismal Statistics
1/3 of children begin school without the
necessary skills needed to be able to learn
to read.
Irwin, Julia. Preparing Children for Reading
Success. p. 7.
Photo: www.dailymail.co.uk
14. This 400+ page report drew important conclusions
about the most effective ways to teach children to
read.
15. And Still More Research...
What do children need to know BEFORE
they are ready to learn to read?
● A strong vocabulary, experience with
spoken language and exposure to
shared reading.
● Intentional explicit instruction in
certain skills.
Ghoting, Saroj. Early Literacy
Storytimes @ Your Library. p.3-15 Photo: www/dailymail.co.uk
16. Six Early Literacy Skills—the
Precursors to the Reading Skills
Print Motivation—loving books & reading
Vocabulary—knowing the names of things
Narrative Skills—telling stories
17. Six Skills Children Need to Know
BEFORE They Can Learn to Read
Phonological Awareness—hearing small
sounds in words & letters
Print Awareness—noticing print all around
Letter Knowledge—knowing about letters
Photo: Starke County District Library
Early Literacy Blog
Photo: Northeast Library
System. “Every Child
Ready to Read @ Your
Library.”
18. In 2000, The Association for Library Service to Children
and the Public Library Association partnered with the
National Institute of Health to conduct studies and
research about the most effective ways to combat
illiteracy from a young age.
19. Targeted the 6 skills research
had identified as essential
Provided intentional instruction
to parents and caregivers
Developed instructional
materials for librarians
Photo: www.dallaslibrary2.org
20. Why Libraries?
The mission of most libraries has been to provide an
early literacy focus, but it was usually directed
toward children.
With ECRR the focus changed to educating parents
and caregivers in an effort to have a greater impact
on early literacy.
21.
22. Fun With ECRR 1 & the Skills!
How Do We Teach the Skills?
● Sing & Rhyme!
● Re-tell a Story!
● Notice print!
● Learn about letters!
● Learn new words!
● Have fun!
23. The studies continued—and it
was still all about oral language
● Children need to hear and use
● Rich & abstract vocabulary
● Complex sentences
● Words to express ideas and ask questions
National Institute for Literacy. “Learning to
Talk and Listen.”
24. Changing ECRR...
● What were the most essential skills children
needed to know?
● What was the best way to teach them?
● What was the best way for libraries to be
involved?
25. Read. Learn. Grow.
● Evaluation of Every Child Ready
to Read 1st
Edition
● Full Evaluation Report (2010)
● Literature Review (2010)
www.everychildreadytoread.org
27. Children need ALL the early
literacy components
● Starting from birth....
Ghoting, Soroj. Early Childhood Literacy Consultant.
“Early Literacy and You: An Overview of Early
Literacy.” Photo: Mid-Continent Public Library. “Every Child
Ready to Read: Reading.”
28. The importance of the
environment
● Play spaces can be a major role in promoting
these skills.
BECAUSE...
29. Language
● Is the fundamental basis for early literacy
learning.
● Play helps develop critical skills especially
when adults engage their children in
exploratory conversation.
Every Child Ready to Read @
Your Library. “Literature Review
(2010).”
Graphic: Catholic Education
Commission of Victoria. Oral
Language: Supporting Early Literacy
30. Reading is
● A potent support for literacy learning
● BUT how children experience shared reading
makes a difference.
ABC Music & Me. “Ten Ways Parents Can Boost
Children's Early Literacy Development.”
32. Changes were recommended
and
ECRR 2 was released in 2011
● With a focus on teaching parents and
caregivers five practices they could use with
their children to teach early literacy.
● A greater emphasis on oral language and
early literacy components
33. Teaching parents and caregivers
●Was always a focus of ECRR
●Now with ECRR 2, research reflected better
ways to teach them
●The focus turned to how to teach the skills: the
practices:
36. Having parents teach specific
literacy skills to their children
was two times more effective
than having parents listen to
their children read and six times
more effective than
encouraging parents to read to
their children.
National Institute of Literacy—The Effect of Family Literacy Interventions on
Children's Acquisition of Reading, 2006.
https://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/lit_interventions.pdf
38. Talking
● Talking is key to developing oral language.
● Adults can be most effective when they
● Talk a lot
● Incorporate gestures
● Use a wide variety of words
Ghoting. Storytimes for
Everyone.15-16, 32-34
Photo: Connetquot Public Library
Journey Into Storytime. “Baby Play
and Grow.”
Photo: Room to Grow: Making Early
Literacy Count
39. Librarians can encourage
parents to talk more with their
children
Ghoting. Storytimes for
Everyone. p. 17.
Babble with your baby; mimic
gestures & sounds.
Add to what your older child says.
Photo: Wallis
40. Strive for Five
Aim for at least 5 turns between the adult and
child. (adult-child-adult-child-adult-child...)
Photo:Tiny Steps Mommy
41. Content matters
● Fill conversations with
● Ideas, facts, connections, observations, and
feelings related to what is happening
● This kind of talk is easy while doing familiar
activities or during play.
Building Blocks: Speech, Language,
Literacy. “4 Strategies to Facilitate
Communication Skills with Toddlers.”
43. Play
● Is based on a child's own interests and in what
he or she already knows.
● Children learn best when they are building on
what they know.
Ghoting. Storytimes for Everyone. p. 23.
44. Singing and
Rhyming
● Help teach the rhythm and sounds of
language and words.
● Help teach listening skills, rhyme
and vocabulary.
45. Singing
Slows down language allowing
children to hear the smallest
sounds in words.
Printable Colouring Pages
http://printablecolouringpages.co.uk/
46. Rhyming
Most children who cannot rhyme by age 4 will
have difficulty learning to read.
Old Mother Goose
Old Mother Goose, when she wanted to wander,
Would fly through the air on her very fine gander!
Reynolds, Mary. “Effect of Instruction on the Development of Rhyming Skills in Young Children.”
47. Reading
● Reading is “the single most important activity
for building the knowledge required for eventual
success in reading.”
● Reading is a kind of language dancing.
Parent Cortical Mass. “What Is
'Language Dancing' and Why Is It
Important to Parents?”
Photo: On Raising a Smart Kid
Photo: Preschoolers
Learning
48. Shared Reading is an
opportunity for conversation
www.earlylit.net
MANY books are perfect for shared
reading.
49. Read stories more than once
● Studies showed children comprehended more
and spoke more new words after listening to a
book 3 times
● And actively involved children learned more.
Ghoting. Storytimes for
Everyone. p.19-21.
50. Reading Helps Children Learn
Photo: RIF Reading Is
Fundamental
Photo: Edu 101
Picture: Storytime
at Campbell
VocabularyPhonological
Awareness
Background
Knowledge
Letter Knowledge
Print Conventions
51. The language librarians use
changed
But the why still matters.
Ghoting, Saroj. Storytimes for
Everyone. p. xiii.
Phonological
Awareness
Print
Conventio
ns
Letter
Knowledge
Vocabular
y
Backgroun
d
Knowledge
Oral Language
52. The library setting changed, too
● Play & craft spaces with early literacy intent
● Cozy spaces for shared reading
Ghoting, Saroj. Storytimes
for Everyone. p. 36-37.
53. The books librarians use and
recommend
Include nonfiction--informational books
Ghoting, Saroj. Storytimes
for Everyone. p. 50-51.
54. Storytimes include
● Early literacy tips.
● A focus on at least one early literacy skill.
Ghoting, Saroj. Storytimes for
Everyone. p. 75-81.
Hands on activities
that teach background
knowledge
55. 30 Million Word Gap: The
Power of Parent Talk
● Quality of communication—not the number of
words.
● Parentese with infants MATTERS.
● Total number of words had no correlation with
future ability.
Quenqua, Douglas. “Quality of Words, Not Quantity. Is
Crucial to Language Skills, Study Finds.”
56. Where ECRR Fits: the Latest
Research
● It sounded good and anecdotally it worked,
but it was time to test it.
● A study was undertaken by the University of
Washington with many supporting
organizations to study the effectiveness of
Every Child Ready to Read.
57. VIEWS2
Valuable Initiatives in Early Learning that Work
Successfully asked:
● Does intentional instruction change the
behavior of the storytime librarian, caregiver,
and/or parent?
● Does it change how children learn?
Photo: http://sfearlyliteracynetwork.blogspot.com
58. After 2 years the study shows
that
Purposeful focus on early literacy principles
makes a difference in programs and in
children’s early literacy behaviors.
60. Library Staff & Early Literacy
● Even though the practices are stressed with
parents, staff need to know
● the terms of early literacy—the skills and
components and their meaning
● the progression of development
● activities that support each early literacy
component/skill.
61. Fast Facts
Parents are their children's first and best teacher.
The ability to read does not develop naturally.
Reading with children every day is not sufficient—it
needs to be fun.
Children learn by doing and being actively engaged,
including the reading and sharing of books.
62. Talking with a child even from birth makes a significant
difference in the development of overall vocabulary.
When you talk with a child—even an infant—wait at
least 5 seconds for a response.
Children’s books contain 50 percent more rare words
than prime-time television or the conversations of
college graduates.
National Institute for Direct
Instruction. “Vocabulary/Oral
Language/Comprehension: Some
Research Findings.”
63. ● Is a parent education initiative
● Affirms that reading is an essential life skill
● Teaches that learning to read begins at birth.
● Supports lifelong learning as a primary role of
public libraries.
64. It works, it's fun, it changes
lives, and it proves that
65. Slide Show Created by
Linda Johnsen
Branch Head, Cedar Lake Branch
Lake County Public Library
www.lcplin.org
Getting Ready to Read Is Fun! @ the Library!
More at http://ecrrlcpl.blogspot.com/
66. Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library: A Workshop for Staff
Works Cited
ABC Music & Me. “Ten Ways Parents Can Boost Children's Early Literacy Development.”
Web 18 April 2015. URL: http://blog.abcmusicandme.com/ (picture slide 37)
Anne Arundel County Public Library: Life Expanded. “Every Child Ready to Read.” Web
17 April 2015. URL: www.aacpl.net. (picture slide 79)
Arsaga, Ava. What is Language Dancing and Why Is It So Important to Parents? Parent
Cortical Mass. http://www.parentcorticalmass.com/. Web 19 April 2015.
Building Blocks: Speech, Language, Literacy. “4 Strategies to Facilitate Communication
Skills with Toddlers.” Web 21 April 2015. URL:
http://buildingblockslanguage.com/2014/03/04/4-strategies-to-get-your-toddler-talking/.
(picture slide 50)
Catholic Education Commission of Victoria. Oral Language: Supporting Early
Literacy. Web 18 April 2015. URL: http://www.olsel.catholic.edu.au/ (picture slide
36)
Center for Early Literacy Learning. Implementing Effective Practices to Support
Young Children’s Social Emotional, Language, and Early Literacy Development.
Web 18 April 2015. URL:
http://earlyliteracylearning.org/TACSEI_CELL/project_files/level_3_7.html. (picture
slide 39)
67. Children Learning Reading. “The Matthew Effect in Reading.” Web 20 April 2015. URL:
www.childrenlearningreading.com.
Children of the Code. “Introductory Article.” Web 02 April 2015. URL:
www.childrenofthecode.org
Children of the Code. “The Neuroscience of Nurturing of Nurturing Neurons.” Web 20
March 2015. URL: http://www.childrenofthecode.org/interviews/shonkoff.htm.
Connetquot Public Library Journey Into Storytime. “Baby Play and Grow.” 19 April 2015. URL:
http://www.connetquotlibrary.org/childrens/services/journey-into-storytime/index.php. (picture on
right slide 42)
Dallas Public Library. Every Child Ready to Read @ Dallas: Born to Read. URL:
https://dallaslibrary2.org/ecrr/index.php. Web 20 April 2015
Edu 101. Reading to Children: A Read Aloud Guide for Teachers and Parents. Web 16 April
2015. URL:
http://edu101.hubpages.com/hub/Read-to-Your-Kids-A-Read-Aloud-Guide-for-Teachers-and-Parents
.
Edutopia. Neuroplasticity: Learning Physically Changes the Brain. May 2, 2010. Web 2 May
2015. URL: http://www.edutopia.org/neuroscience-brain-based-learning-neuroplasticity
Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library. “Literature Review (2010).” Web 25 March
2015. URL: http://www.everychildreadytoread.org/project-history%09/literature-review-2010
Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library 1st Edition.” Web 01/April 2015. URL:
http://www.everychildreadytoread.org/project-history%09/overview-every-child-ready-read-your-library%C
.
68. Free Digital Photos. Web 16 April 2015. URL: www.freedigitalphotos.net. (picture slide
80)
Ghoting, Soroj. Early Childhood Literacy Consultant. “Early Literacy and You: An
Overview of Early Literacy.” Web 12 April 2015. URL: www.earlylit.net.
Ghoting, Saroj and Pamela Martin-Diaz. Early Literacy Storytimes @ Your Library.
Chicago: ALA. 2006. Print.
Ghoting, Saroj and Pamelan Martin-Diaz. Storytimes for Everyone!: Developing
Young Children's Language and Literacy. Chicag0: ALA, 2013. Print
Ghoting, Saroj. “Every Child Ready @ Your Library 2nd Edition: Thoughts from
Saroj Ghoting.” 11 Nov. 2011. Web 15 March 2015. URL: www.storytime.net.
Gloucester Library System. “Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library.” Web 16
April 2015. URL:
http://www.gcls.org/every-child-ready-read.
Grand County Library District. “Every Child Ready to Read @ GCLD.” Web 19
April 2015. (stop sign picture, slide 22)
Hart, Betty and Todd Risley. “Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience
of Young People.” Education for All. Web 25 March 2015. URL:
www.strategiesforchildren.org.
69. Hart, Betty and Todd Risley. The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap by
Age 3. “American Educator,” Spring 2003. Web 01 March 2015 URL:
https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/periodicals/TheEarlyCatastrophe.pdf
Irwin, Julia. Preparing Children for Reading Success: Hands On Activities for
Librarians, Educatore and Caregivers. Landham, Maryland: Rowland & Littlefield.
2015. Print.
Johnson Memorial Health. Our Blog. Web 20 April 2015. URL:
http://blog.johnsonmemorial.org/ . (picture slide 43)
Johnson Memorial Health Our Blog. “Early Intervention Support.” Web 20 April
2015. URL: http://blog.johnsonmemorial.org/ . (picture slide 44)
Laugh Play Read: A Stark District Library Early Literacy Blog . Web 16 April 2015.
https://laughplayread.wordpress.com/
Meyers, Elaine and Harriet Henderson. Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library.
“An Overview of Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library 1stEdition.” Web 14
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http://www.everychildreadytoread.org/project-history%09/overview-every-child-ready-read-you
.
Mid-Continent Public Library. “Every Child Ready to Read: Reading.” Web 19 April
2015. URL: http://www.mymcpl.org/blog/every-child-ready-read-reading. (picture
slide 33)
70. National Assessment of Adult Literacy. Web 23 March 2015. URL:
https://nces.ed.gov/naal/
National Institute for Direct Instruction. “Vocabulary/Oral Language/Comprehension:
Some Research Findings.” Web 22 April 2015. URL:
http://nifdi.org/news/hempenstall-blog/506-vocabulary-oral-language-comprehension-some-research-findings
.
National Institute for Literacy. “The Effect of Family Literacy Interventions on
Children's Acquisition of Reading.” 2006. web 16 April 2015. URL:
https://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/lit_interventions.pdf
National Institute for Literacy. “Learning to Talk and Listen: An Oral Language
Resource for Early Childhood Caregivers.” Web 18 April 2015. URL:
https://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/LearningtoTalkandListen.pdf
National Reading Panel. Teaching Children to Read.Feb. 2000. Web 02 april 2015.
URL: http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/nrp/documents/report.pdf.
Neufeld, Sara. “Is the Power of Parent Talk Enough to Close the School Readiness
Divide?” Hechinger Report. Web 18 April 2015. URL:
http://hechingerreport.org/is-the-power-of-parent-talk-enough-to-close-the-school-readiness-divide/
.
Northeast Library System. “Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library.” Web 20
April 2015. URL:
www.slideshare.net/NortheastLibrarySystem/every-child-ready-to-read-2nd-edition-9559275
71. On Raising a Smart Kid. “Raising a Smart Kid.” 21 April 2015. URL:
www.raisesmartkid.com. (middle picture slide 51)
Parent Cortical Mass. “What Is 'Language Dancing' and Why Is It Important to
Parents?” Web 19 April 2015. URL:
http://www.parentcorticalmass.com/2012/04/what-is-language-dancing-and-why-is-it-important-to-parents.html. .
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72. Reynolds, Mary E., Kristie Callihan, Mary E. Reynolds and Erin Browning.
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Rhyming Skills in Young Children. Contemporary Issues in Communication
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http://www.asha.org/uploadedFiles/asha/publications/cicsd/2003SEffectofInstruction.pdf
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earlyliteracycounts.blogspot.com. (picture on left slide 42)
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word-gap
Notes de l'éditeur
According to the latest National Assessment of Adult Literacy report 4 out of 10 U.S. adults are living lives socially and economically disadvantaged due to poor reading skills.
According to this report they are significantly more likely to live in poverty, engage in crime and other forms of social pathology and to live unhealthy and shorter lives.
Children of the Code: www.childrenofthecode. org
National Assessment of Adult Literacy:
https://nces.ed.gov/naal/
According to a study conducted in late April by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy, 32 million adults in the U.S. can't read. That's 14 percent of the population. 21 percent of adults in the U.S. read below a 5th grade level, and 19 percent of high school graduates can't read.
The current literacy rate isn't any better than it was 10 years ago. According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (completed most recently in 2003, and before that, in 1992), 14 percent of adult Americans demonstrated a "below basic" literacy level in 2003, and 29 percent exhibited a "basic" reading level.
According to the Department of Justice, "The link between academic failure and delinquency, violence, and crime is welded to reading failure." The stats back up this claim: 85 percent of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate, and over 70 percent of inmates in America's prisons cannot read above a fourth grade level, according to BeginToRead.com.
Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/06/illiteracy-rate_n_3880355.html
Among the research was the landmark study conducted by Hart and Risley to analyze the lackluster success rate of Head Start programs.
They found astounding differences in language achievement along socioeconomic levels and that these differences began from infancy
The researchers asked why kids from low income families, despite the gains they made in Head Start were unable to close the achievement gap with children from more advantageous backgrounds. To find our, they decided to investigate what happened to families before preschool.
Additional studies and research focused on the preschool years and what children needed to know to develop those skills noted in the panel's report.
Children of talkative parents heard almost 45 million words spoken during their first three years, while children of taciturn parents heard about 13 million words—a gap of over 30 million words.
Hart, Betty and Todd Risley. The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap by Age 3. “American Educator,” Spring 2003. Web 01 March 2015.
Children in the home of professionals were exposed to an average of more than 1500 spoken words per hour than children in low socioeconomic homes.
In one year that amounted to a difference of nearly 8 million words.
Although there were talkative and taciturn parents in all three groups, overall, professional families were much more talkative than the other two groups, and working class families were more talkative than low income families.
In four years, an average child in a professional family would accumulate experience with almost 45 million words, and average child in a working-class family 26 millions words, and an average child in a welfare family 13 million words.
The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap by Age 3. Betty Hart and Todd Risley. American Federation of Teachers. Spring 2003.
Marilyn Jagger Adams, Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning about Print
Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experiences of Young American Children , Copyright 1995, Brookes.
The words these children heard was mostly 'business talk'--what needs to get done, such as “Wash your hands,” “Don't touch that!”
In talkative families, there was a lot of extra talk—chitchat, commentary, expressions of affection, wordplay, open-ended questions, and storytelling. Hart and Risley named this extra talk language “dancing”.
Their research showed that in the 3 family groups business talk took the same number of words, about 600 per hour. S for children to hear more words than that, parents needed to engage in language dancing. This was the difference. The additional 30 million words spoken in professional families were the chatty, language-rich kind.
Extra talk referred to conversations between parent and child that were face-to-face, engaged, and chatty, as if the child was listening and participating like an adult. These chats start with phrases like, "What if..." "Do you remember...?” "Wouldn't it be better if…?”
Hart and Risley named this extra talk language dancing.
The data showed that business talk naturally included more prohibitions and extra talk more encouragements. So the extra talk provided not just exposure to more words, but also to more encouragements.
Children in professional families heard 500,000 encouragements compared to 80,000 discouragements. Children in low-income families heard 80,000 encouragements compared to 200,000 discouragements.
After 4 years the average child in a professional family would have accumulated 560,000 more instances of encouraging feedback than discouraging feedback.
An average child in a working-class family would have accumulated 100,000 more encouragements than discouragements.
What is Language Dancing and Why Is It So Important to Parents?
An average child in a welfare family would have accumulated 125,000 more instances of prohibitions than encouragements. The Early Catastrophe
Later studies would add significantly to this body of work. We will discuss this in a bit.
Hart and Risley believed their research made this a compelling argument.
A brain cell is called a neuron. Here is a drawing of a brain cell. Neurons have a cell body, they have a long stem called an axon, they have one end that branches out called terminals and another end that branches out called dendrites. Very few new brain cells are created after we are born.
Early brain development is all about CONNECTIONS between brain cells.
The brain cells communicate with each other by sending electrical signals from one neuron to another across a small space called a synapse.
Oregon Library Support and Development Services
As we grow older, there are fewer synapses; they are cut away or cut back—they are pruned. This pruning helps them become more organized.
By age 20, we are down to 500 trillion synapses.
Brain cell connections that are used a lot are kept; the others are pruned.
“Cells that fire together, wire together.” “Practice makes permanent.” Edutopia
Children who fall behind in 1st grade have a one in eight chance of ever reaching grade level.
The rich get richer—good readers become better readers
The poor get poorer—poor readers fall further and further behind.
As children become older, their reading deficiencies become deficits in most other subjects.
Irwin. Preparing Children for Reading Success: Hands-On Activities for Librarians, Educators, and Caregivers. p. 6-7.
In 1997 Congress convened the panel to discover the most effective ways to teach children to read.
On April 13, 2000, the National Reading Panel concluded its work and submitted its final reports.
The National Reading Panel’s analysis made it clear that the best approach to reading instruction is one that incorporates:
Explicit instruction in phonemic awareness
Systematic phonics instruction
Methods to improve fluency
Ways to enhance comprehension
The Panel found that a combination of techniques is effective for teaching children to read:
Phonemic awareness—the knowledge that spoken words can be broken apart into smaller segments of sound known as phonemes. Children who are read to at home—especially material that rhymes—often develop the basis of phonemic awareness. Children who are not read to will probably need to be taught that words can be broken apart into smaller sounds.
Phonics—the knowledge that letters of the alphabet represent phonemes, and that these sounds are blended together to form written words. Readers who are skilled in phonics can sound out words they haven't seen before, without first having to memorize them.
Fluency—the ability to recognize words easily, read with greater speed, accuracy, and expression, and to better understand what is read. Children gain fluency by practicing reading until the process becomes automatic; guided oral repeated reading is one approach to helping children become fluent readers.
Guided oral reading—reading out loud while getting guidance and feedback from skilled readers. The combination of practice and feedback promotes reading fluency.
Teaching vocabulary words—teaching new words, either as they appear in text, or by introducing new words separately. This type of instruction also aids reading ability.
Reading comprehension strategies—techniques for helping individuals to understand what they read. Such techniques involve having students summarize what they've read, to gain a better understanding of the material.
We knew methods that work to teach reading and we knew that there is a great disparity between vocabulary among children. Now studies turned to skills children needed to know before they learned to read—early literacy skills.
Children whose parents read to them become better readers and perform better in school. Other family activities, such as telling stories and singing songs, also encourage children’s acquisition of literacy skills.
Research into human brain development is proving that parents truly are their children’s first teachers. What parents do, or don’t do, has a lasting impact on their child’s reading skill and literacy. For example, there is considerable evidence of a relationship between reading regularly to a child and that child’s later reading achievement (National Research Council, 1998).
Early Literacy Storytimes @ Your Library. p. 3-6, 12-15.
Print Motivation—a child's interest in and enjoyment of books.
Vocabulary—knowing the names of things
Narrative Skills—the ability to describe things and events and to tell
stories.
Phonological Awareness—the ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words.
Print Awareness—noticing print, knowing how to handle a book, and understanding how to follow the written words on a page.
Letter Knowledge—knowing that letters are different from each other, that the same letter can look different, and that each letter has a name and is related to sounds.
Stop sign—every child ready to read @ gcld: print awareness
letters—Laugh Play Read Stark County District Library Early Literacy Blog
Children clapping—slide share—www.slideshare.net/NortheastLibrarySystem/every-child-ready-to-read-2nd-edition-9559275
In response to the National Reading Panel's report, the Public Library Association partnered with the National Institute of Health and Human Development to disseminate information from this report. In addition, the program set out to incorporate this research into model pubic library programs.
The purpose was for libraries to help parents and caregivers be more effective "first teachers" with their children, and increasing the public library’s impact in early literacy development with children. The intent of this program was to help firmly establish public libraries as a partner in the educational continuum, and to validate our contributions by linking our activities to relevant research and evaluation.
Focused on teaching the skills to parents and caregivers through intentional instruction and modeling best practices during storytimes and workshops
The purpose was for libraries to help parents and caregivers be more effective "first teachers" with their children, and increasing the public library’s impact in early literacy development with children.
This early literacy initiative targeted libraries as the primary teacher of the parents and caregivers to instruct them in teaching early literacy skills to their children.
Meyers, Elaine and Harriet Henderson. An Overview of Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library 1st Edition. Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library. Web 01/April 2015. available: http://www.everychildreadytoread.org/project-history%09/overview-every-child-ready-read-your-library%C2%AE-1st-edition
Direct parent education was not the primary intent. With ECRR the focus changed to educating parents and caregivers in an effort to have a more direct impact on early literacy.
The intent of this program was to help firmly establish public libraries as a partner in the educational continuum, and to validate our contributions by linking our activities to relevant research and evaluation.
Early Literacy Storytimes @ Your Library. Preface.
I ain't gonna paint no more
Retell very hungry caterpillar, it looked like spilt milk
Stop and go game with signs
Ok book
Bear snores on
froggy
Children need to hear and use
Rich & abstract vocabulary
Increasingly complex sentences
Words to express ideas and ask questions
Words to answer questions about things that are not just in the here-and-now
Extended conversations
Turn-taking
Back-and-forth turns in which the adult builds on and connects with the child's statements, questions and responses
Children learn different kinds of sentences and richer descriptive language
One-on-One: .
The adult repeats what the child says—extending and revising, and adding to it.
Children hear their own ideas reflected back.
Description:
Narrating activities
Builds vocabulary
Illustrates sentence structure
Helps children understand sequence and structure of activities—and stories
Letter Knowledge, Print Awareness, and Phonological Awareness mostly help decoding and predict early achievement until about second grade
Vocabulary, comprehension, and background knowledge can grow throughout life and are more significant predictors of reading success.
Constrained skills help a child to decode—recognize or sound out a word. They are finite skills. Decoding is converting the printed word into spoken language. Through 2nd grade children are learning to read, which is most directly supported by constrained skills. Beginning in 3rd grade, they read to learn, which is most directly supported by unconstrained skills.
What to teach then?
To become successful readers, children need to
Learn a code
Understand its
meaning
Earlylit.net
Even more surprising was that the most powerful of extra words were the ones spoken in the first year, before the children could even speak.
When you hear these results now, you think, didn’t we know this? That’s what makes the study so remarkable. Until these results came out in 1995, no one really understood the cognitive advantages imparted by the sheer quantity of words children heard in their first three years of life. What is language dancing and why is it so important to parents?
Materials that encourage constructive activity, greater social interaction and cooperation, and a wide access to literacy tools and books encourage complex language interactions and routines.
Play helps develop critical skills especially when adults engage their children in conversations encouraging, questioning, predicting, and guiding children's exploration and problem-solving.
Pic from Oral language: Supporting Early Literacy. www.olsel.catholic.edu.au
Dialogic reading, picture book walk, repeated readings, introducing children to a wide variety of books in different genres such as information books, poetry and folk tales.
Storytimes for Everyone 5-6
Pic from blog.abcmusic.com
—especially phonological awareness and print conventions.
Interactions in 'drifting'--drawing and writing—encourage important language interactions.
Last several slides are from ECRR Literature Review 2010 http://www.everychildreadytoread.org/project-history%09/literature-review-2010
Pic from
Implementing Effective Practices to Support Young Children’s Social Emotional, Language, and Early Literacy Development http://earlyliteracylearning.org/TACSEI_CELL/project_files/level_3_7.html
Storytimes for Everyone xiii-xiv
Researchers called the ways of teaching the skills 'practices' and identified five practices that are especially effective in teaching children early literacy skills.
In the 1st edition, the approach was to start with the skills and then look for activities that supported those skills. With the 2nd edition adults are encouraged to use these five activities to help their children get read to read.
Next slides about the practices are from Storytimes for Everyone
Librarians were encouraged to teach parents HOW to teach their children early literacy skills using the five practices. Studies leading up to ECRR2 showed that many librarians thought the language of ECRR was too complex.
ECRR2 updated the language of early literacy to emphasis oral language as underlying all the other early literacy skills and components. Some of the words stayed the same. Print Conventions includes Print Awareness and things like knowing how to hold a book and that print is read from left to right and top to bottom. Background Knowledge is what children already know. Children learn by building on what they know, so the more background knowledge they have, the easier learning to read—and learning are. Narrative Skills is part of background knowledge, but background knowledge encompasses much more and became an important part of ECRR2.
When children draw or scribble, they are using symbols as a way to express ideas and thoughts. Small & large motor activities ready children for learning.
Play talk, not business talk
Business talk is about what needs to be done—it's commands.
Play talk teaches. Right Picture from Connetquot PL Journey Into Storytime
L. pic from Room to Grow: Making Early Childhood Count earlyliteracycounts.blogspot.com
Add two enriching or positive sentences to what they are saying.
Verbalize their child's gestures
Imitate the child's sounds and actions
Repeat what the child says
Ask open-ended questions
Think out-loud
Talk about it and model it. Everyone has the opportunity to do this.
The adult can ask questions or respond to what the child has said--”Tell me more,” That's interesting,” “I remember when...”
OWL (Observe. Wait. Listen.) is an incredibly effective strategy parents can use with their children to support communication growth. It’s also incredibly simple. Tune in. Observe your child’s actions, gestures, words, & facial expressions before you start the interaction. Once you figure out what your child is interested in, get face-to-face and give your child with plenty of wait time to respond to your comments or questions. It may seem counterintuitive, but getting comfortable with more silence, not more words, is an important part of helping your child learn language. Stop talking. Lean forward. Wait. Listen to your child’s sounds or words. When you stop to tune in to your child, you are sending an important message: you care about what he or she has to say. When your child knows that you care what he has to say, it reinforces his effort to keep trying to communicate, even when you don’t understand him the first time.
Pic and above from Building Blocks. http://buildingblockslanguage.com/2014/03/04/4-strategies-to-get-your-toddler-talking/
Children develop oral language skills as they talk about what they are doing.
Children learn to think symbolically—
one object represents another.
Children develop background
knowledge through role play.
Children learn to categorize, sort, and problem solve with blocks, puzzles, games, & other manipulatives
Adults can help by building
on the child's interests and
following their lead while
adding early literacy elements.
Adults can put words to what children are doing, offering information they might not know, and encouraging more complex scenarios while following the child's lead. Storytimes for Everyone p. 37
Picture from storytimesecrets.blogspot.com
Sing nursery rhymes—vocabulary and phonological awareness
Words are separated into syllables, often with a different note for each syllable.
Singing slows down the pronunciation of words so each part of a word is easier to hear/
Researchers have shown that children who know nursery rhymes have an easier time learning to read. Storytimes for Everyone p. 224
Studies showed that children who know how to rhyme will learn the smaller sounds in words and letters more easily.
Rhyming and phoneme awareness are part of
a single construct of phonological awareness, with rhyming
preceding phoneme awareness developmentally, it follows
that young children who have mastered rhyming skills will
learn phoneme awareness skills more efficiently than will
children who have not first mastered rhyming skills.
Therefore, early acquisition of these skills should increase the likelihood of later proficiency in reading
Old Mother Goose
Old Mother Goose, when she wanted to wander,
Would fly through the air on her very fine gander!
Jack in the box,
You sit so still.
Won't you come out?
Yes! I will!
Image: www.plymouthpubliclibrary.org, www.kiimballlibrary.com
Stick children: Pawling Free Library http://www.pawlingfreelibrary.org/children/wigglerhymes/
Extra talk referred to conversations between parent and child that were face-to-face, engaged, and chatty, as if the child was listening and participating like an adult. These chats start with phrases like, "What if..." "Do you remember...?” "Wouldn't it be better if…?”
Hart and Risley named this extra talk language dancing.
Even more surprising was that the most powerful of extra words were the ones spoken in the first year, before the children could even speak.
What about television. Words spoken in the background don't wire in the same effects as language dancing. So televisions can't be a source of extra talk.
What is Language Dancing and Why Is It So Important to Parents?
Build oral language with shared reading:
Ask children to recall, predict, speculate, describe, and ask questions.
Tell the child what a new word means.
Ask children to imagine what characters might be thinking or feeling.
Ask children, “What would you do?”
Choose books with
lots of interesting illustrations and simple text.
interesting content, rich vocabulary and detailed illustrations—they are great for encouraging young children to talk about what is happening. They also help children build oral language and vocabulary.
Books like these help children understand the meaning of words they hear and read and how language works, such as how sentences are formed, how are language uses punctuation and the like.
They comprehended even more and learned more vocabulary when they were actively involved in the readings.
Last several slides from Learning to Talk and Listen: An Oral Language Resource for Early Childhood Caregivers from National Institute for Literacy, 2009
Learn letters and their sounds
Learn phonological awareness
Increase their background knowledge
Build a large vocabulary
The practices are less intimidating than the skills, BUT
Showing the connection between the practices and early literacy skills is still important—the WHY still matters.
From the 6 Skills to the 5 components—3 constrained
Phonological Awareness—the ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words.
Print Conventions—knowing that print has meaning, seeing environmental print, knowing how to handle a book
Letter Knowledge—knowing that the same letter can look different and that letters have names and represent sounds.
& 2 Unconstrained:
Vocabulary—knowing the meanings of words, including words for things, concepts, feelings, ideas
Background Knowledge—prior knowledge, or what a child knows from his or her experiences with living and language
The more vocabulary words children know, the more vocabulary they will gain.
Background knowledge is a result of several skills. Narrative skills and print motivation are included in this broader category, which includes experiences with stories and books. Research shows that one of the best predictors of student learning is what children already know before studying new material. Children learn best when they can add new material to what they already know.
Ghoting, Saroj. Storytimes for Everyone. p. xiv, 4-5.
Language skills become relatively more important than code skills for
reading over time. The shift from learning to read to reading to learn.
(Storch & Whitehurst, 2002; Catts et al., 2006; Vellutino et al, 2007). Language and Literacy: Why 3rd Grade Reading Starts at Birth. http://earlysuccess.org/sites/default/files/Hirsh-Pasek%20Language%20and%20Literacy.pdf
Crafting and writing areas to help teach early literacy skills within the library environment.
Studies show that nonfiction has even more unusual vocabulary than picture books
Research shows that oral interaction around a book occurs significantly more often with nonfiction.
Activities that help children learn about themselves and their world—such as easy science experiments & observations
Interactive activities around stories and books
In the meantime, there has been a renewed focus on the 30 million word gap.
The quality of the communication between children and parents and caregivers is of much greater importance than the number of words a child hears.
One-on-one interactions and the use of parentese with infants predicted future language ability of one-year-olds. Total number of words had no correlation with future ability.
Have fluid conversations around shared rituals and objects, like pretending to have morning coffee together or using the banana as a phone.
Parentese-slow high-pitch voice commonly used with babies
White House initiative involving Bridging the Word Gap
verbal interaction with a baby – whether it’s talking, singing, or reading – neural connections of all kinds are strengthened within the baby’s rapidly growing brain.
From Empowering Our Children by Bridging the Word Gap The White House Blog June 25, 2014 https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/06/25/empowering-our-children-bridging-word-gap
Photo:mommygarten.com
Does intentional instruction change the behavior of the storytime librarian, caregiver, and/or parent?
Do children progress faster when they are around adults who provide opportunities for them to develop early literacy concepts?
This was a two year research project that was conducted by the University of Washington along with many supporting organizations. Forty libraries were selected for study. Storytimes were observed and assessed before and after focused training in ECRR. Librarians in the experimental group received focused training; those in the control group received no extra training. Interestingly, many of the libraries in the study were already purposefully implementing early literacy into storytimes. The difference was that the experimental group received significant training in ECRR.
Study Results:
“When comparing the observations from Year 1 and Year 2 for the control group…NO statistically significant changes in the librarians’ programs or the children’s behaviors” were found. AND
“When comparing the observations from Year 1 and Year 2 for the experimental group…there WERE several statistically significant changes in both the librarians’ programs and the children’s behaviors.”
There was a strong correlation between the focused ECRR program and early literacy behavior exhibited by the children.
We learn as we have fun. We have fun as we learn.
The goal of the website is to be informative to everyone working with young children to increase the effectiveness of their read-alouds, storytimes and daily interactions by adding simple behaviors that will have a large impact. Links on the right of the page describe developmental levels, behaviors, and suggested activities and interactions to teach each early literacy skill.
The terms for early literacy skills or components are not used in the ECRR2 parent workshop. But staff need to know and understand them to be best equipped to share early literacy information and respond to questions. Then relate the practices with the skills and components. As time goes on, more and more has been published showing and encouraging the use of using both the language of early literacy and the how—the practices with parents and caregivers. Ghoting, Saroj. “Every Child Ready @ Your Library 2nd Edition: Thoughts from Saroj Ghoting.”
Research shows they need about 12 exposures to a word to add it to their vocabulary bank.
Ability to read not natural—reading rockets, Learning to Read and Write: What Research Reveals, http://www.readingrockets.org/article/learning-read-and-write-what-research-reveals
Pic from Anne Arundel County Public Library.www.aacpl.net Every Child Ready to Read
Children encounter 9 rare words/1000 on TV and in ordinary conversation vs. 27/1000 in books Stoytimes for Everyone- p. 225
Pic from freedigitalphotos.net
By age 3 children of parents with a professional educational level have an 1100 word vocabulary vs 525 words in welfare families.
By 6 these children have a vocabulary of 20,000 words vs. 3,000—ECRR 1
It is so exciting to be a part of the cutting edge of research that empowers librarians to be the leaders in early childhood literacy that we have always been, but now with the authority that gives us confidence and enthusiasm to do what we need to do with focus and intent to make a big difference in early literacy and life long learning for our youngest patrons.
Gailene Hooper
Senior Librarian,
NCRL Republic Branch
VIEWS2 Experimental Librarian
