Early Childhood Playgroup Literacy Tips

Access to the Early Childhood site where some Playgroup literacy tips are is easy when you click on the link on the side bar to the right of the screen. Once you have gained access into this site you will need to left click on Playgroups on the top menu bar. From there click on Learning environment for Playgroups on the side bar at the left of your screen. Scroll down the list of links and you will find links to literacy, books and many more exciting things. Happy reading!

P.S. You may like to explore the Centre-Based link on the top bar on the home page of this site too because that contains further information for your viewing.

What should I look for in a book?

For young children who are developing their literacy skills and knowledge it is important to choose stories that will capture a child's interest and imagination through its bright colorful pictures, its story line (plot) and its use of language. At an early age children love rhyming text and this is very good for supporting children's predictions of text (words) and in developing knowledge about families of words (word patterns - e.g. like, bike, hike, Mike).

Books with a few lines of words on each page work best but in saying that don't eliminate reading longer stories. Just think about your child and their capabilities. Can they concentrate long enough to read the story? Is the story captivating enough that their attention span will last?

Books with humour are enjoyed by young children particularly from 3years onwards. They also love stories where some problem is solved. They enjoy stories that have lots of excitement and suspense moments. Animals that talk appeal as do the stories that contain real experiences that they can relate to.

Non-fiction books should not be overlook because young children are very curious to know about real things and events as well as the imaginative ones.

Traditional tales which are well known such as The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella and Red Riding Hood are also well loved by young children. And be sure to include New Zealand books that reflect our unique bicultural identity when reading. Children also love to read about other cultures that are different from their own.

Well known authors or book series can also be fun to read with your child. Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd is one such series which young children seem to adore and DR Suess remains a solid favourite author of children.

What should I read to my child?

Your child will probably help you with this as they like to choose what you will read to them. It could be an old favourite that you seem to have read every night for the past ten weeks, or it may be one that has caught their current interest. If you are selecting remember to include some factual (non-fiction) books so that real information is being shared rather than all imaginative fantasy type stories. Vary the themes of what you read and don't be scared to tackle stories with not so nice themes or outcomes. Children can learn from stories where others may be challenged or there is some adversity to overcome. For example if a story tackles the issue of bullying it may well be that the story or your subsequent discussion with your child supports them to learn new strategies to deal with difficult situations. Furthermore those scary nightmarish sort of stories often appeal to children who love to be scared from within a secure haven such as home or kindergarten AND children can tell whats real and whats make believe pretty accurately!

Purposeful writing

Children love to imitate adults and writing is no exception. How many times have you seen a littlie park themselves beside mum or dad at the bank or post office and fill out their deposit/withdrawal form? This is literacy in action in the real world. It becomes meaningful and children can see it has a real purpose.



Ideas

*as you write a shopping list let your child write theirs

*write letters/txts/e-mails to family and friends AND post them! (Grandparents love the letters with drawings and beginning writings)

*supply them with their own calendar to mark special events

*have notepads, paper, old envelopes,cellotape, pens, pencils and rubbers available for them

*help them write their own stories maybe even make them into books to share

*If you have an old key board let them play with that so they can role play on the computer at home or work

*Show them how you use your diary or checklists

*let them see you writing notes to remind yourself or others

*record phone messages so they see the connection between the verbal message and the written ones

Concepts about Print

This is a term often used by teachers, particularly in junior classes. The Concepts of Print is a set of knowledge about books, letters and print. They include:

*directionality - knowing that we start reading and writing by going from the left-hand side of the page to the right-hand side and we start at the top of the page and read down the page)

*Front/back of book - knowing which is the front of the book and which is the back

*Knowing which is the title page - usually the first page in the book before the story begins

*Being able to identify the title (name) of the story (i.e.Where is the story's name?)

*Knowing the difference between a letter and a word e.g. B is a letter, big is a word

*Being able to identify the picture

*Knowing where to start reading if the text isn't at the top of the page

*knowing where the page ends and where to start reading after that

*knowing that the print carries a message or story that is constant

*knowing how to handle and care for books

*Recognizing things that don't 'fit' with our predictions

What one expert has to say about reading to children

Cosgrove (1989) suggests there are many benefits to reading to our tamariki. Some of these are:

#children have a wider more complex vocabulary and language repetoire

#children have a better understanding of what they hear

#children who are read to have greater success in learning to read than those who have not been read to

Reference

Cosgrove, M.S. (1989). Read out loud? Why bother? New England Reading Association Journal, 25, 9-22.

Play and Literacy

Playing has benefits for children's writing and reading because not only does it broaden children's experiences and knowledge, it also allows for purposeful engagement in literacy activities. Teachers and parents have a critical role in supporting this by providing materials to encourage this.



Children learn about themselves and others through play and being read to. They challenge their thinking, kick start their imaginations, develop greater understanding about their world and the wider world