2. Parents
want their
children to
succeed in
school.
They want
their
children to
develop
strong
literacy
skills. Let’s
help them
understand
how this
develops in
infants and
toddlers.
3. ACTIVITY/ DISCUSSION 1
Bring out the apples you purchased at the grocery
store.
Have available a paring knife and paper towel.
Pretend that you have never seen an apple before.
Explore the apple in all the ways that occur to you to do.
In Discussion 1 on Moodle,
List all of the characteristics of the apple that you were
able to learn.
Post additional characteristics on at least 2 other
discussion posts.
4. ACTIVITY/DISCUSSION 2
Explore the toy apples
Post on your discussion entry the characteristics
you could no longer identify if you were only using
pretend apples.
5. ACTIVITY/DISCUSSION 3
Looking at this
photo, what
characteristics of an
apple must you cross
out if this is your only
source of information.
6. Children learn first through real life experiences
If this were your first exposure to an apple, what would
you know about an apple?
Infant and Toddler Literacy activities must be based on
real life experiences.
Symbolic reasoning is developed as we learn that symbols
(pictures or letters that mean words) stand for real things –
nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc)
Children’s first literacy experiences are important.
Children’s literacy has a strong link to their family’s literacy
experiences.
7. WHAT IS THE
”FAMILY LITERACY INITIATIVE ?”
Work with at-risk families
Have broad goals
Offer multifaceted services that meet
educational and other-than educational need of
both parents and children
Provide intensive, long term program services
www.familylit.org
8. WHY IS MOTHER’S LITERACY
IMPORTANT TO INFANTS AND
TODDLERS?
66% of children under age six whose
parents did not complete high school live in
poverty
23% of the 191 million adults in this country
demonstrated skills in the lowest level of
prose, document, and quantitative
proficiencies
Early deprivation stacks the deck against
poor children and families. They more
often suffer poor health and later
academic failure
9. The most powerful
predictors of
children’s academic
success are the
educational
achievement and
socio-economic level
of their parents.
The mother’s
education is
particularly
important.
10. WHAT CAN INFANT CARE TEACHERS DO TO
ENCOURAGE MOTHERS AND OTHER ADULTS’
LITERACY RELATIONSHIPS TO INFANTS
AND TODDLERS?
In your assigned groups, in the assigned wiki,
create a list of ideas that you can do in your family
child care home or you center.
11. WHAT ABOUT
FAMILIES FOR WHOM
ENGLISH IS NOT
THEIR FIRST
LANGUAGE?
THERE ARE MANY BOOKS
FOR CHILDREN AVAILABLE
IN SPANISH. WHAT IF THE
CHILDREN YOU SERVE SPEAK
OTHER LANGUAGES IN THE
HOME?
12. WHAT ABOUT ADULTS WHO ARE NOT
COMFORTABLE WITH THEIR OWN LITERACY
LEVEL?
Simple books, with stories that can be made up, with content
that is interesting to the adults
13. WHAT ARE “PRELITERACY”ACTIVITIES?
Support the development of
the Concept of Symbolism
Introduce real objects
Introduce books
What is to the left of this
text?
If you answered “a Dog” you
were not correct. It is a
photograph!
As an adult, you have made the
automatic transition from the
real thing (dog) to the picture of
the dog. This is what literacy is
all about.
14. EMERGENT LITERACY SKILLS
Book Handling Behaviors
Touching, chewing, turning pages, front to back turning of
pages
Looking and Recognition
Looking at pages
Showing signs of recognition – pointing, making a
sound, early word efforts
Picture and Story Comprehension
Growing awareness of the symbols of pictures and words
to create meaning
Story Reading Behaviors
Sitting and turning pages of a book, with or without
meaning.
How will you foster these behaviors in your family child care
home, center classroom, or during your home visit?
15. LITERACY DEVELOPMENT OVERVIEW
Developing Oral Modeling Literacy
Language Skills
Developing a Sense of
Using Decontextualized
Story
Language
Constructing & Testing Using Literacy
Hypotheses Tools
Reading & Writing
Are all of these elements present in your home or classroom?
16.
17. Books
Opportunities to handle books
Opportunities to cuddle with
an adult and look at special
books
Songs and Fingerplays
Repetitive rhyming and songs
Active fingerplays
18. RESOURCES FOR SONGS AND FINGERPLAY
http://www.sqedunk.com/FingerPlays/Nursery-
Rhymes.htm
http://www.educationoasis.com/curriculum/Music_M
ovement/fingerplays_actionverses.htm
http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/preschool-
rhymes.htm
19. Hands-on activities
Mommy is at work
What does that mean?
What does it look like?
Does she still think of
me?
What is at the zoo?
Park? Store?
20. Crawling
Oppositional
movement
activities, support
later literacy skills,
http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=212
21. INFANTS ENJOY
Nursery rhymes and finger plays
Use rhythm and rhyme to captivate & charm
infants
Made up stories about objects
Made up tales can be very simple
Songs that tell stories
Stories with sounds, gestures, and facial
expressions
Have fun with your voice & enjoy the telling –
infants will responds to your changing voice and
enthusiasm
22. Left to right
concepts
When putting
things in a row,
place left to right
Trace the words on
the page when
reading
**If the home language writes in a
left to right, front to back format
23. Front to back
concepts
Talk about starting
at the title pages in
the front, and
finishing at the
end, at the back
24. Be awarene of child’s
home language,
potential
differences in
literacy in family
members
25. Nursery rhymes
Bring out the story line – tell a nursery rhyme
like a story
Stories about themselves
Invite them to join you in telling – include
actions or repeated lines that they can say with
you
Familiar Tales
(like the Three Bears)
Storiesthey can join in or act out (like the
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Keep it short
26. •Books that reflect the
child’s own experiences
•Books that honor and
observe the diversity
the child will
experience
•Books that can be
touched and chewed
•Books that are
beautiful
27. What do these book pages represent? If you were a child, what would
interest you about them?
28. LIST/ACTIVITY
Think of your favorite books as a child
Think of the books you like to read to children now
What are the characteristics of the books?
Why do you like them?
On Discussion 2
Make a recommendation of 3 of your favorite children’s
books, and why
29. STORYTELLING: ENHANCING RESILIENCY
Fosters a sense of inner strength
Creates a positive connection with others
Identifies with traditions
Exercises the imagination
Provides a means to plan for the future
Encourages laughter, ability to laugh at self
Enhances good problem solving skills
31. REFLECTION FOR YOUR JOURNAL ENTRY
Was there an “aha” moment during this
presentation/activities/discussion?
Something that was new and will make a difference in
how you think about books an literacy
Something that reinforced a belief or value?
What actions will you take as a result of this
information?
Editor's Notes
The request to have apples available is made prior to this presentation
Request that they obtain some of the apples from the dramatic play areas of their classrooms/family child care homes