Doors to Literacy

1. Doors to Literacy An Overview

2. Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. Benjamin Franklin

3. Doors to Literacy-a resource for pre-school learning activities.

4. Each season of the year has 12 books assigned to it. There is a total of 48 books. Some aren’t finished yet and some have been revised due to book availability and selection. Organization of the Materials

5. For each storybook there are: • 10 Small Group Time activities* *some specialized books have 5 activities • 5 Story Time/Read Aloud activities for Monday through Friday • Recipes, Songs and Fingerplays • a list of needed materials and • 6 “at home” activities to share with parents.

6. Small Group Time • 10 activities based on the theme or topic of the book for the week. • Each activity is identified by the season, the number of the book, and the number of the activity. • For example, A Dark, Dark Tale is book #10 in the fall collection. Below is activity number 2 from A Dark, Dark Tale Fall 10-02 Copy Cat

7. In the following lesson plan sample, you can see how the activity is listed. • This identifier can be used on lesson plans instead of writing out the entire activity.

8. Doors to Literacy

9. A materials list is provided for ease in acquiring needed items. • You’ll notice more recently completed activities include back up materials. Back up materials were added to coincide with the High Scope concept of small group time. • Always include back up materials even if they don’t appear on the materials list. If you think of some great ones, send them to penney@rcma.org. I’ll try to include them when I go back and add back up materials to all the book activities.

10. Each activity has a beginning, middle, and an ending segment. • New staff may find the words printed in bold as helpful in knowing what to say and/or ask children. • Each activity also provides an idea for extending the learning into the classroom or home environment. • The major LAP3 domains represented in the activity are included to help staff with individualization.

11. Let’s Look at One! • Activity: Spring 12-02 Make Mine Berry • Materials: blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, paper towels, tongs for each bowl of berries, chart paper divided into columns and labeled with the name of each type of berry. Back up materials: bingo markers in red, blue, purple, black, paper. Be aware of food allergies and follow proper sanitation measures. • Directions: • Beginning: Give each child a paper towel, a pair of tongs and a bowl containing one or two of each type of berry. Ask children if they can name the different types of berries. Give the correct names, if necessary. For example, “Cory said that is a blueberry.” • Middle: Observe as children work with the tongs and berries. Some children may count them and some may make comparisons of the different types of berries. The paper towels will absorb different colors from the berries. Make sure to comment on this as children take notice of it. Encourage children’s language development to describe the different berries. Provide bingo markers and paper to children who tire of this activity. • Ending: Gather around the labeled chart paper. Ask each child to give you a word to describe each of the berries. Do one berry at a time. Write down children’s descriptions. • Extended Activity: Place the completed chart paper in the language area. • Domain: Language, Fine Motor

12. Recipes, Songs, and Finger Plays • To continue the book theme/topic during all parts of the day, additional recipes, songs, and fingerplays are included for use during outside, large group/circle time or work time.

13. Story Time/Read Aloud Activities • One activity per day Monday through Friday. • Activities are focused on language and literacy. • Each is presented with a learning objective in mind. • The selected book is read every day and enhancement activities are provided.

14. Sequence for presenting activities during read aloud. From the Head Start CIRCLE Manual • Suggested sequence for read aloud • Day 1: Read for enjoyment and to introduce book and theme/topic. • Days 2-5: Read book. Have a planned purpose or learning objective, i.e. graphic organizers, dramatization, recording of student responses, etc. Incorporate charts, graphs, vocabulary, puppets, story re-tells, role playing, etc., etc.

15. Sample 5 day Read Aloud Time

17. Vocabulary words from The Mitten: Mitten, wool, mole, burrowed, snowshoe rabbit, kickers, hedgehog, prickles, commotion, glinty, talons, badger, diggers, bulged, knitting, silhouetted I bet you are thinking “those look like some difficult words.”

18. Did you know? • The #1 predictor of how well a child will do in school is vocabulary.

19. FAQs about the vocabulary words from Doors to Literacy. • Where did you come up with that word? • All the selected words come from the book that is being used for the week.

20. Do I have to use all the words? • No, you can pick and choose. About 5 should be enough.

21. Some of the words are hard to define. What can I do to help children understand them? • Most nouns are easy to describe because they are concrete items. Other words like verbs, adverbs, prepositions and adjectives may be easier to demonstrate or role play. • Sometimes, using the context of the story and talking over the meaning of words will help children gain an understanding of particular vocabulary words.

22. Whichever words you choose from the list and however you are able to define them, the important thing is children are hearing them and (hopefully) understanding them. • At this age, exposure to new words is critical. It doesn’t mean children will memorize them and repeat them when called upon.

23. “At Home” • When classroom learning is extended into the home, concepts are reinforced. • 6 parent/child “at home” activities are provided for each book. • Materials, if any, are usually simple and available in the home. If not, provide them from your classroom. • Explain to parents how the activities relate to what you are doing in the classroom.