PRESCHOOL LITERACY

1. A Seminar for Preschool Teachers About Dialogic Reading Presented By: Darlene Shank PRESCHOOL LITERACY

2. The urgency of preschool literacy instruction The opportunity of teaching preschoolers The solution to the problem Why is This Important?

3. In 1999, only 53 percent of children aged 3 to 5 were read to daily by a family member. Children in families with incomes below the poverty line are less likely to be read aloud to everyday than are children in families with incomes at or above the poverty line. - The National Center for Education Statistics, NCES Fast Facts, Family Reading The Urgency Of Preschool Literacy Instruction

4. 44 million adults in the U.S. can't read well enough to read a simple story to a child. - National Adult Literacy Survey (1992) NCED, U.S. Department of Education Urgency

5. Children who have not developed some basic literacy skills by the time they enter school are 3 - 4 times more likely to drop out in later years. - National Adult Literacy Survey, (2002) NCES, U.S. Department of Education Urgency

6. Interactions Hart & Risley compared the mean number of minutes of interaction per hour in the three groups.

7. Cumulative Language Experiences

8. By the age of four, there is already a noticeable difference in children's vocabulary, and it remains fairly fixed throughout a child's life. Bortnem, 2008 Urgency

9. The majority of the students who come from lower SES homes present larger gaps in their reading abilities than other children. Whitehurst et al., 1994 Opportunity

10. The most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but rather the first one, the period from birth to the age of six. -Maria Montessori Opportunity

11. The early childhood years-from birth through age eight-are the most important period for literacy development. International Reading Association and the National Association for the Education of Young Children, 1998 Opportunity

12. “Considerable literacy-related development occurs before children receive formal reading instruction.” Dickinson and Smith,1994, p. 105 . Opportunity

13. Reading stimulates general cognitive growth—particularly verbal skills

14. Quality preschool lays the foundation for future learning. Preschool teachers can make impressive contributions in the lives of their students. Four-year olds from lower SES homes made measurable gains one year after being involved in interactive read-alouds. Dickinson and Smith, 1994 Solution

15. How can preschool teachers make those impressive gains in a child's vocabulary? With a technique called dialogic reading. Solution

16. Dialogic reading techniques guide the parent or teacher to engage in “dialogue” about the pictures and stories in books.

17. Prepare for read-alouds; don't just use them as time fillers. Select appropriate books. Plan how to present the vocabulary words. Let's Get Started

18. Too often teachers use read-alouds as time fillers and don't give much thought to the content of the book. Plan times during the day to incorporate dialogic reading into your schedule. Ideally it works best with small groups of about six children. Intentionality

19. The books you choose should be “sophisticated” ones; that is they should contain rich vocabulary, detailed pictures, and an interesting plot with good characterization. Appropriate Books

20. Learning to read is like learning to play the piano; one has to be actively involved. Whitehurst, 1992

21. How we read to children is as important as how often we read to them.

22. Dialogic Reading One technique to guide children in a dialogic read-aloud is the acronym PEER.

23. The teacher prompts the child with a question about the book or a picture in the book. P is for Prompt

24. E is for Evaluate The teacher evaluates the response of the child.

25. E is for Expand The adult rephrases the child's response and expands it with more information.

26. R is for Repeat The teacher repeats the prompt to make sure the child understands the expansion.

27. Types of Questions The National Institute of Literacy (2008) provides the acronym CROWD to help the adults know what type of questions to ask.

28. “CROWD” Questions Completion questions: Encourage children to complete a phrase or sentence from the story. Recall questions: Check children's understanding of the story. Open-ended questions: Ask children questions that require more than “yes” or “no”. “Wh” questions: Who, what, when, where, why Distancing questions: Encourage the children to relate the story to another story or to something in their own lives.

29. Three Different Readings Day One: Enjoy the book for its meaning. The teacher should read expressively and use gestures and/or props to help with the definition of unfamiliar words. Interject thoughts into the story to model good reading skills. After reading use a “why” question to help the child infer information from the story.

30. Three Different Readings Day Two: One or two days later. Remind the children that they have already read this book and that they might remember some of the things about the book. Make sure you use the same vocabulary and verbally define more words. Continue making comments and ask more questions. These may focus on the characters. Ask a predicting question.

31. Three Different Readings Day Three: A few days later. Prompt children to reconstruct information by asking for detail from the pictures. As you show the picture, ask what will happen next. There is actually less reading during this reading. The children are talking more and using the new vocabulary. Use the new words in a context outside of the book.

32. Needs of Preschoolers “Preschoolers need food, shelter, love; they also need the nourishment of books.” Whitehurst, 1992

33. References Bortnem, G. M. (2008). Teacher Use of Interactive Read Alouds Using Nonfiction in Early Childhood Classrooms. Journal of College Teaching and Learning, 5(12), 29-43. Dickinson, D. K., & Smith, M. W. (1994). Long term effects of preschool teachers' book readings on low income children's vocabulary and story comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 29(2), 104-122. Iannucci, C. K. (2007, January 1). Reading rockets: Repeated interactive read alouds in preschool and kindergarten. Retrieved May 2, 2010, from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/16287 International Reading Assoc, & National Assoc For The Education Of Young Children (1998). Learning to read and write: Developmentally appropriate practices for young children. , , . National Institute For Literacy (2008). Developing Early Literacy; Report of National Early Literacy Panel. A Scientific Synthesis of Early Literacy Development and Implications for Intervention, , 41-50. Whitehurst, G. J. (1992). Dialogic reading: An effective way to read to preschoolers. Reading Rockets, , . Retrieved May 8, 2010, from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/400?theme=print Whitehurst, G. J., Arnold, D. S., Epstein, J. N., Angell, A. L., Smith, M., & Fischel, J. E. (1994). A picture book reading intervention in day care and home for children from low-income families. Developmental Psychology, 30(5), 679-689.

34. Acknowledgments Slides 6, 7, and 13 were prepared by Dr. Joseph Torgensen from Florida State University and The Florida Center for Reading Research