The Literacy Ambassador's New Book, Before They Read, Wins National Award

Celebrate with Me!


Ever get a surprise, a toot on a horn, out of the blue?  It's as refreshing as a hug from a child.  This week I was humbled and honored to learn that, as a result of the interaction and sharing of great preschool teachers like those reading this blog and many years of my own experiences with children getting ready to read, I received such a treat.





A few days ago, on June 11, 2010, the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP) announced their 2010 Distinguished Achievement Awards. Before They Read  published by Maupin House won in the professional development category and was recognized as the top educational product of its kind.

A quick "pick-up-and-read" resource, this title is designed to give busy preschool teachers a BIG picture view of the most important elements of emergent literacy, those that predict later reading achievement:


Oral Language Development
Positive and Varied Experiences with Print,  and
Phonological Awareness


Because I understand the challenges of the preschool classroom, it's also packed with fun "how to do it" ideas and explanations that make you the expert, without pressing children into too high a skill before they are ready.

The best part is that it can be used as an individual read by an individual teacher OR as the focus for a staff development book club (you can even invite your kindergarten teacher friends to join you in one this summer since the book addresses needs of both preschool and kindergarten children).  You can find a free facilitator's guide for doing just that at the book page on my publisher's website.

"Calling all preschool and kindergarten teachers! 

This book will make you a better teacher and raise student achievement scores. 

The age-specific charts make it easy to track reading readiness . . .it's as easy as 1-2-3."

. . . Stacey Kannenberg, author of Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten!

This book will help you discern when the time is prime for each student to begin to read and starting a child at that best, "just right" time is the secret to children not just squeezing by with reading, but becoming proficient in a skill that is essential for the 21st century.

If you'd like to get your own copy, or learn more about this award-winning title, visit Maupin House Publishing.  And while you are at it, share this post with your friends who teach kindergarten or preschool so they will know about it too.

First Glimpse of NAEYC Conference - Washington DC

I've already met people from Ohio, Illinois, Florida, Minnesota and my own state of Alabama, all committed to quality early childhood learning. I also met a few resources I want to share with you.

Kar-Ben Publishing is an independent publishing house that is dedicated to books about Jewish themes. If you serve children who are of the Jewish faith or lineage, or if you just want to share a bit of that culture in your programs, you might want to visit their website. They are in Minneapolis, MN and are a division of Lerner Publishing Group.

I was able to see Ella Jenkins in person and hear a bit of singing. If you don't know Ella, she has a lot to share through music about life and culture and understanding.

My friend, Rae Pica (whom I know through BAM! Radio), is also attending NAEYC's conference. She's conducting a workshop entitled, "In Defense of Active Learning" at 8:30AM tomorrow morning and I'm going to drop by. She also has a great book out a couple of years ago called "Jump into Literacy"

I also ran into another friend, Mitch Bonder, in the exhibit booth for Childcraft/School Speciality at NAEYC. They have tons of new big books including one from my friend, Karma Wilson (Bear Snores On). While I was there, Mitch showed me a book his son has written about sports and friendship, and he's looking for a publisher for it if you know of anyone. It's exciting when kids become enthused enough with writing that they will produce their own material and I wish him the best.

I'm anxiously awaiting tomorrow when I'll have a chance to attend Rae's session, my own and hopefully a few additional ones. Wish you could all be here!

Promoting Listening Skills

"If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear." - Winnie the Pooh

Teaching children how to listen isn't just about making them sit quietly when you want them to.It is much more.It is about helping children attend to sounds in our language, translated those sounds into meaning, respecting the speaker, learning in internalize self-monitoring (just a little when they are preschoolers), focusing.

One of my favorite ways to get children to quiet down is with a good, quiet book. I love Bedtime in the Jungle by John Butler or Quiet by Paul Bright, just for this purpose. Think soothing, rhythmic language when you selecting books for this purpose.


Games are also the best way to teach young children to listen. Take a listening walk in your school or outside. Draw children's attention to sounds - "We must be quiet and use our ears if we want to hear anything. What do you hear? Whisper."

When you are talking with your children and you want to talk louder because they are not listening, try talking softer, even to a whisper. Do something to draw their attention. A friend of mine, Sharon MacDonald, tells a hilarious story that shows the power behind engagement. One day in her classroom, the noise level was growing too high, even for her. She liked hearing conversation because she knew learning was often happening when children were talking with one another. However, it was nearly a roar.

Suddenly, she had a bright idea: she took a simple tape measure she had in her desk (one of those stiff that has a metal measuring "tape" that extends and contracts into a square container - like they use on construction sites). She slowly starting pulling out the tape, very intently looking at it all the while. It grew longer and longer. She didn't look over at the children; she looked at the tape.


Soon, several of her children came over to see what was up. She just kept looking at the tape as it grew longer and longer. A few more children came."What are you doing, Ms. MacDonald?", one inquisitive child asked. "Shhhh." was her only reply.

When the majority (or maybe it was even the entire class) was surrounding her, all staring up at her and the growing tape, she finally stopped. The tape was about 2 or 3 feet out by that time. Again, a child asked, "what are you doing?" She replied simply, "I was just measuring how loud we were. Look at this!" Then she slid the tape back into its container. "Now we are this loud, very quiet," she said in a small voice.

For the first time, her students had an opportunity to see a visual representation of their noise level. It was more meaningful than just "be quiet now".

Isn't that a great story? It shows us as educators that the key to getting children to listen is not scolding but is creative engagement. If we are involving children in exciting, intriguing, interesting activities (and changing activities when we recognize that children need that change - in other words - responding to their limited attention spans), we will have less correcting and directing to do.

Attending to sounds is also important, as most of our children will learn to read through a method called "phonics". This method connects sounds in our language to the graphic representations of letters, teaches children how to blend those sounds into words, and connect to the words the child knows in their oral vocabulary (or grows new vocabulary).

Stay tuned! In coming weeks you'll be hearing about my new book for preschool and kindergarten teachers: Before They Read: Teaching Language and Literacy Development Through Conversations, Interactive Read Alouds, and Listening Games.


I'd love to hear how you create engaging situations in your classroom. How to you creatively get children to listen?& Do you have a listening center? Do you have a theme on listening?

WELCOME!

This blog is set up especially for preschool teachers. Its focus is not dry information but tons of practical, fun ideas. I hope it will also spark conversations about emergent literacy in the preschool environment. I welcome your comments and ideas. Let's get a dialogue going!

Part 1:

Let's start with one of my favorite topics: reading aloud to children. Today, more than ever, this essential must be an everyday thing. I'm concerned that the admonition "read aloud to children" has lost much of its meaning, with parents and with teachers. Instead of sitting down with children just to have an "academic" experience with a book, find a way every time you read aloud to be a commercial for how great reading is. I like to talk in terms of experiencing a book together.

The most effective read alouds in preschool must always start with a purpose of pleasure. Use funny voices, pick great stories, and let the words work their magic. Think aloud about what questions are raised in your mind, re-read when you make a mistake (and don't we all) to get it right, and use the secret words "Let's see what happens next" to draw children back to the read aloud before you get too far astray.

Part 2:

I want to hear about what is most difficult for you in teaching emergent literacy to young children. I'll try to address as many of these questions and postings as I can (once a week) when I visit the blog. As each of you read our interaction here and gain new information (my goal every time you visit!), look for a place you can jump in and contribute. The more, the merrier (and more beneficial to us all)!

One last tidbit:

If you haven't read Mem Fox's new picture book, Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes , search it out at your local bookstore, online (http://www.amazon.com/Ten-Little-Fingers-Toes/dp/015206057X) or at the library. It's terrific! And, if you want to see Mem performing a little song to go along with it, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3A2BBegr7U!