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Use this Early Literacy Begins with You handout with a display of books that promote the early literacy practices, one a week. The activities are fairly general to work with different books.
Handout
In addition, I make callouts that are specific to a book and are taped to the cover.
Example of callouts
Amber Jarvis, Children’s Specialist, Moyock Public Library, North Carolina
Tree poster or handout to explain how the practices and the early literacy components/skills work together to develop early literacy.
Developed by Saroj Ghoting and the Library of Virginia.
Here is a sample handout on math concepts for parents/caregivers.
It is available in Word so you can edit it. However, sometimes the text and graphics get scrambled in Word, so there is a pdf version here as well.
The idea is that you can copy them back-to-back and then cut in half, so you get two handouts per sheet. One side is the general information on math concepts. The other side (half the sheet) you would edit to reflect whatever concept and activities you are doing in a particular storytime and an idea to keep it going after storytime is over.
Here is also a general handout of science and math concepts. Word PDF
Storytime Activity: The cubes shown here are made from 6” x 6” packing boxes. There are 6 sequences per cube, one for each side of the cube. You can see here a sequence of three for caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly and from pumpkin to carving a jack-o-lantern face, to the finished jack-o-lantern.To play, each family or small group gets three cubes as a set. A child rolls a cube and describes the picture. If the child is unable to respond, the adult helps the child reply or labels the picture with one word. Next, different people in the group look for other items in the sequence on the remaining two cubes. [For easier sequences use only two items, for harder sequences use four or more cubes.] Early Learning Aside: Talking about sequences, first, second, third, what happens next supports scientific and mathematical thinking with this cube activity. In this case we will be playing with sequences of three, three in a row. Talk together about the pictures and what pictures make sense to be in the sequence. Then line up the cubes in a row in order from left to right. [Note that a 1, 2, 3, sequence could be from less to more or more to less. It is still a sequence.] Continue the game as another person rolls a cube; repeat the process. Instructions to make and use the cubes: cubesseq
Our next story is Belling the Cat, based on an Aesop fable. What do you know about cats and mice? Yes, cats like to chase mice. Cats like to eat mice. Let's see what these mice do about the cat.Use the handout below to tell the story and to pass out to families so that they can retell the story at home.
Early Literacy Aside--Empower: Having your children retell stories is one good way for them to learn about how stories work. It's also a lot of fun. They can also try drawing and writing the story, adding their own ideas. Enjoy! Belling the Cat story and handout: bellingcat
Introduce the book The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins. Have children repeat the phrase "No one makes cookies like Grandma."
Read the book. Count the cookies on one plate as more children arrive. Early Literacy Aside--Empower: The kitchen is a great place for activities around counting and measuring whether you use recipes or not. A “handful” is a measurement! How does the amount in your handful compare to the amount in your child’s handful? The bathtub is another great place to play with measurement, pouring water from one container to another. I have a handout here to go with The Doorbell Rang. You and your children can cut out the twelve cookies and plates and see how the cookies are divided as more children come. Handout: doorbellranghandout
Read the book The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson. Have participants join in with the repeated phrase "but the cow loves cookies."
Early Literacy Aside--Empower: At the end of storytime pass out the attached handout. Tell the adults they can cut out the pictures with their children and play different games. Children can match the animals to what they eat. Use the pictures to help children retell the story, too! Young children can say the sounds of the animals. Have children say the repeated phrase “but the cow loves cookies.” Older children can retell the story using the pictures to remember the order. All these are steps to help your children retell stories and help them understand how stories work which will later make it easier for them to understand what they are reading. Handout: cowlovescookies
Read book: Joseph Had an Overcoat by Simms TabackHave children say the repeated phrase, "But it got old and worn."
Retell with flannel board: Now let's do the story on the flannel board. What happened first?
Early Literacy Aside--Empower: [As you give out the handout] I have a handout for you today for Joseph Had an Overcoat. It is the same pattern that I used for the flannel board. You can cut out the pieces and have your children retell the story. As you have your children retell other stories too, using props can help them remember what comes next. For your younger children who may not be able to retell stories, they can repeat a word or perhaps a phrase. These are all activities that will later help your child understand how stories work and also help them understand what they read. Pattern for flannel board and handout: josephovercoathandout
Early Literacy Aside--Empower: In our storytime today, we read the story of the Little Red Hen by Byron Barton. Your children also retold the story with me on the flannel board. In today's handout I have the repeated phrases and the order of what the little red hen did. There are also boxes for your children to draw the animals. You can cut them out and have the children retell the story for you. For your younger children, they can say the words "Not I" or say the sounds of the animals. Having your children retell stories helps them understand the story better and helps them learn how stories work. Enjoy!Handout: lrhenhandout
Early Literacy Aside--Empower: I have a handout for you on the topic of our storytime today--night. It has some book titles which I have also displayed here. I hope you'll like the suggestions of ideas and techniques you can do with your children at home to help develop their pre-reading skills, just as you saw me do in the storytime. You are with your children more often than I am so you have many opportunities to use some of these ideas. Let me know which ideas you enjoy doing with your children.Storytime Handout for storytime on the theme of Night/Noche Handout in English Nighthandoutkc Handout in Spanish Nochehandoutkc
Submitted by Katie Cunningham
Ideas que le ayudarán a fomentar la alfabetización temprana en casa: Al final de este parrafo encontrará un folleto con el tema de la noche. El folleto habla de algunos libros que también se presentan aquí. Espero que estas ideas y técnicas le ayuden en casa a sus ninos a desarrollar las habilidaes necesarias para que puedan aprender a leer, así como lo ha visto en nuestra hora de cuentos. Usted pasa mas tiempo consus hijos del que ellos pasan conmigo, así es que tendrá muchas oportunidades de usar algunas de estas ideas.
Empower Aside: I have a handout for you related to the book we did with a flannel board today in storytime, Too Much Noise. Using little cues like the flannel board pieces can help your children retell the story. The handout has squares where your children can draw in the animals, you can cut them out and then retell the story together. Your youngest children can say the animal sounds, slightly older children can say the names of the animals and perhaps repeat the words "too noisy" and your preschoolers can try retelling the whole story. All of these are stages in helping your children develop narrative skills which will help them later understand what they read and how stories work. Enjoy!Handout for Too Much Noise: multsttoomuchnoise
Read Llama, Llama Time to Share by Anna Dewdney.Point out some word pairs that rhyme, such as boat and moat. Ask children what other words rhyme with boat (they don't have to make sense). Early Literacy Aside--Example: Helping children hear words that rhyme is one way to help them hear the smaller sounds in words which will then later help them sound out words. storytimehandoutlorenasearsPA Early Literacy Aside--Empower: I have a handout for you with suggestions for some rhyming games and ways to help your children hear the smaller sounds in words. Lorena Sears, F D Campbell Memorial Library (PA)
Animals Storytime Handout animalhandvocabcarolwagstaffdouglascolplby Carol Wagstaff, Douglas County (CO) Public Library
Zippety Zoo Storytime Handout yadkinnchandoutzippetyzoo by Lynne Reed, Yadkin County (NC) Public Library
Junglemania Storytime Handout: yadkinnchandoutJunglemania by Lynne Reed, Yadkin County (NC) Public Library
Early Literacy Aside--Empower: Earlier in our storytime we read the book Something from Nothing and then you helped tell the story with the flannelboard. Today I have a handout for you, so that you can color and cut out the pieces from the rectangular blanket and then retell the story at home. Adults, when you give your children little aids or props, it helps them remember the story and retell it. When children retell stories they are better understanding how stories work as well as the story itself. This will help them later understand what they read. Have fun together!Handout: handsomnothpattskill
Library Staff: You can enlarge the handout to make your own flannelboard.
Submitted by Saroj Ghoting, Early Childhood Literacy Consultant www.earlylit.net
Video clip of demonstration of Empower Aside using a handout, encouraging narrative skills, using Three Little Pigs.
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Saroj Ghoting, Early Childhood Literacy Consultant
Early Literacy Aside--Empower: Today we talked about farm animals and sang Old Macdonald. Here is an activity sheet for you and your child to draw farm animals and talk about the sounds they make, which is a first stem to helping your children hear the smaller sounds in words. Don't worry if you can't figure out which animal your child has drawn. Your child will tell you what it is. Enjoy!
Early Literacy Aside--Empower: We can help children learn new words as we play with them. In today's storytime we read We're Going on a Bear Hunt which had directional words. Here is a game you can play. Show your child an item (a shoe perhaps) and hide it in a room with a little of it showing. Give your child hints about where to find it using position words like right, left, above, below, and so on. You can also give clues like, "You're getting warmer or colder" as they get closer or farther away. Here is a handout with the game and some activities to support pre-reading skills.
You can use the figures on the handout as a pattern to make a flannel board. Then use the flannel board as another way to share the rhyme and to play a game.
Introduction: Let's say the rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock Hickory dickory dock The mouse ran up the clock The clock struck one, the mouse ran down. Hickory dickory dock. Repeat using struck two . . . the mouse said "Boo." struck three . . . the mouse said "Whee." struck four . . . the mouse said "No more!" Great! Now let's play a little game on the flannel board. I am going to put the mouse somewhere near the clock and you see if you can tell me where. [Put the mouse on top of the clock.] Where is the mouse? Right! On top of the clock. Repeat with behind, underneath, below, beside or next to, etc.
Early Literacy Aside--Example: When we use words that describe position, you are helping your children understand what the words mean. This will later help them understand what they read. Early Literacy Aside--Empower: Adults, I have a handout here with illustrations for Hickory Dickory Dock. In addition to saying the rhyme together with your children, you can cut out the figures and put the figures in different positions to help your children learn new words and build their vocabulary. Enjoy!