HSPMC: Training Guide-Emerging Literacy: Linking Social Competence to Learning (Module 4)

Training Guides for the Head Start Learning Community:
Emerging Literacy: Linking Social Competence to Learning
Module 4

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Setting the Stage for Literacy Explorations

In this module, participants learn to create literacy-rich environments that support English and home language learning in home, center, group socialization, and/or FCC home settings and offer opportunities for literacy learning as they respond to children's experiences and interests.
Outcomes
As a result of completing this module, the staff will be able to:

Create an environment that demonstrates how print (written words)--in English and children's home languages--is used to convey meaning at home and in Head Start settings

Create well-stocked, inviting, and developmentally appropriate library and writing areas in preschool classrooms

Model ways that reading and writing skills are used to carry out daily activities at home and in Head Start settings

Plan engaging activities and experiences that allow children, including those with disabilities, to use and expand their language skills

Encourage children to use developmentally appropriate reading and writing materials in all areas of their homes and Head Start

Accept and value children's reading and writing efforts and support their progress with these important learning skills
Key Concepts

Many of the concrete experiences provided through Head Start--such as painting, drawing, using Play-Doh, dramatic play, exploring manipulative's, and building with blocks--help children develop the physical, cognitive, and socioemotional skills and understandings that are the foundations of conventional reading and writing.

Most preschool children are not ready to learn how to read and write in conventional ways. They go through stages while building their understanding of reading and writing.

Children learn a lot about reading and writing by being read to, watching someone write, imitating adults and older children, exploring, and experimenting.

Preschool classrooms in centers and group socialization sites should have well-stocked, inviting library and writing areas, while portable areas--such as a basket filled with paper, pencils, and junk mail--could be created at home.

Children can use reading and writing materials while they play and learn in indoor and outdoor areas and during activities--at home and in Head Start settings.

Head Start staff demonstrate how print is used to communicate by labeling cubbies, making signs, writing notes, and recording children's stories on large pieces of paper in English and in home languages.

Families and staff can help children learn how written words are used to communicate by pointing out print, in English and home languages, in the environment--signs on buses, labels on cans of food, coupons, street signs, and so on.

Families and staff can encourage children's development of reading and writing skills by accepting their efforts without correcting mistakes or providing direct instruction.

Background Information
Researchers have found that many children who are early readers were raised in literacy-rich home environments. In these homes, children had access to reading and writing materials and learned that reading and writing are valuable, useful activities. A child's success as a reader depends more on the child's exposure to print and adults who use reading and writing every day than on the parent's education, occupation, or economic status.
Literacy-Rich Homes
Literacy-rich homes have the following characteristics:

Children are surrounded from infancy by oral language, books, and print. Various reading and writing materials are available throughout the home for children and adults.

Adults share their ideas and feelings with children and encourage them to express themselves.

Children see adults reading for pleasure and for specific purposes such as to pay the bills or find out what the weather will be like.

Families consider children's emergent reading and writing to be real, valuable experiences. They accept children's efforts without correcting mistakes or providing direct instruction.

Families talk with children about the print they see around them and explain how it provides information--signs on buses, labels on food packages, coupons, street signs, and so on.
Supporting Literacy in Head Start
Child development programs such as Head Start can support children's emerging literacy by duplicating the features of the home literacy environment in center or group socialization settings. A literacy-rich classroom has the following features:

An attractive library area, located away from distractions, with books and related items displayed so children can easily choose what they want to read and use

A writing area, located near the library area, with writing tools, paper, an alphabet chart hung at children's eye level, and other literacy-related items children can use to explore writing and print

Materials for reading, writing, and exploring literacy in every interest area and outdoors

Signs and labels in English and home languages, made by adults and children, that provide information such as recipes, the names of objects, and areas where things belong

Print dictated by children, written by adults, then read aloud together. (Print could be stories, descriptions of pictures, and comments about recent experiences.)
Literacy Experiences
At home and at Head Start, children can learn how reading and writing are used to achieve goals. For example, at home, a child might see his grandmother following a recipe in a cookbook or watch his mother reading the directions for putting a toy together. From these observations, children learn that reading and writing are used to carry out daily tasks and to communicate and receive information.
As Head Start staff develop plans for implementing the curriculum, they should include reading and writing in various daily routines and activities. Some examples follow:

Write a group story about a neighborhood walk. Ask open-ended questions to help children recall what they did and saw on the walk. Write their comments on a large piece of paper. Use English and home languages as appropriate. Read the story aloud and then hang the paper where everyone can see it. Interested children can draw pictures to illustrate the story. Some children can retell the story to themselves. Staff and volunteers can reread it aloud to interested children.

Sit in the writing area with the children while making labels in English and home languages for new toys and materials. The children can watch you and ask questions about what you are doing.

Have children act out their dictated stories with props and dress-up clothes or with puppets. Children can make their own puppets by drawing the characters, cutting them out, and taping or gluing them to the ends of plastic straws. They can move the puppets by holding the other ends of the straws.

Plan and carry out a cooking activity. Make picture recipe cards that provide step-by-step directions. (Do this in the writing area so children can watch and learn.) Have children read the recipe by putting the cards in sequence and reviewing each step. After the food has been prepared and eaten, children can talk about what they did first, next, and so on and how the food looked and tasted. Some children may want to make their own recipe cards to take home.

Provide something interesting to talk, write, and read about. Sit on the floor with a small group of children. Pass around a variety of fruit and vegetable seeds (for example, an avocado pit, apple seeds, squash seeds) for children to touch, smell, and examine. Say that these are mystery items. Ask children to describe these items by comparing their size, color, shape, and texture. Show children the fruits and vegetables that go with each seed. Serve a snack featuring these fruits and vegetables with dips. Read a book about seeds such as The Carrot Seed, by Ruth Krauss.

Invite children to talk about whatever is of interest to them--their families, what they did yesterday, what they will do tomorrow, something they saw on the way to Head Start, a funny thing a baby brother said. Write their personal stories on a large piece of paper and read them back to individuals or the group.

Record children's questions, thoughts, and ideas as they take part in an in-depth study. At the beginning of the study, write down children's questions and comments and post them next to photographs of the children engaged in activities. As the in-depth study proceeds, continue documenting what's happening--what the children say and do. Read the words to children and talk about what they are learning.
Supporting Emergent Writing
Young children draw and write on their own, talk about print with adults and other children, and watch other people writing. Through trial and error, they discover many of the rules of conventional writing--the way adults write. Although direct instruction in reading and writing is inappropriate for preschool children, it is important to respond to their interest in writing. Here are some examples of adults responding to children:

While talking with his grandchild, a grandfather points to the letters on a box of crackers and says, That's an R like in your name, Roberto. Roberto says, There's another one. And another one.

Two children stand next to an alphabet chart hung at their eye level in the writing area of their classroom. One child traces the letter B as she says, This is a B. Like in my name, Brittany. The other child says, Help me find a J. Jordan begins with a J.

A teacher watches a child placing magnetic letters on a tray. The child says, Where's the X? I can't find the X. The teacher asks, What does the X look like? When the child picks up the X, the teacher says, I knew you could find the X.

A child tells a volunteer at a group socialization session, I want to write a letter. The volunteer shows her where she can find paper and a pencil and sits and writes with her. They take turns reading their letters aloud.

A child sits at the kitchen table, writing. She asks her older brother, How do you spell my name? As he writes her name at the top of her paper, he says each letter out loud, N-I-K-K-I. Nikki. That's your name.

Two children play lotto, a game they made with their FCC provider, using pictures cut from magazines.

A child dips a paint brush in a bucket of water and writes a B, backward, on the side of the building. His teacher traces the B and says, The B is almost dry, but I can still see the curves. She does not tell him the B is facing the wrong way because she knows that over time he will learn the conventional way to write letters.

Two children play a patterning game on the classroom computer. Their teacher walks by and asks them to tell her about what they are doing.
Once children recognize that written marks have meaning, they can participate in a daily sign-in procedure. This gives each child the opportunity to practice writing a word of great personal importance--his or her name. It also allows children to use writing to achieve a goal--taking attendance. Depending on ages and skill levels, teachers can set up an effective system such as the following:

The children each have a card featuring a picture, symbol, or photograph and their name. They sign in by choosing their own card from a box or chart and placing it in another one.

The children's photographs and names are displayed on a chart with pockets under each one. They sign in by placing an index card in their own pocket. Later in the year, they may scribble, use scribble writing, or write some or all of the letters in their name to sign the card before placing it in the pocket.

The children sign in on a blank attendance sheet by drawing, scribbling, scribble writing, or writing some or all of the letters in their names. After a few days, the teachers will be able to recognize each child's unique mark.

A daily sign-in routine benefits children in many ways. It:

Contributes to their sense of self and confidence in their skills

Lets them practice writing their names

Helps them understand that printed words can represent something concrete (These scribbles, letters, and/or words are my name.)

Leads them to notice that the letters in their names also appear in other printed words

Encourages children to write during other activities
Literacy Discoveries
Children can learn a lot about print, writing, and reading when they have opportunities to observe and explore literacy-rich home and Head Start environments. Understandings such as the following lead children to eventually use conventional writing:

Drawing and writing are different.

Letters are combined to make words.

Letters are written right-side up and face in certain directions.

The letters in words are written in a certain order. Words are written and read on a page from top to bottom and from left to right in English and many other languages.

There are spaces between written words.
Head Start staff and families can support these discoveries by encouraging children to use reading and writing materials and modeling how they use reading and writing for pleasure and to accomplish goals. They can point out print in the environment, and answer children's questions about language. More information on children's writing appears in Appendix I: Learning about Writing.

Trainer/Coach Preparation Notes: The primary focus of this module is encouraging the emerging literacy of preschool children at home and in Head Start settings. Although some of the information can be adapted for infants and toddlers, most of the strategies are developmentally appropriate for preschoolers and not for younger age groups.

Activity 4-1:
Creating a Literacy-Rich Environment Purpose: In this activity, participants learn to create literacy-rich environments that support the emergent reading and writing skills of preschool children.

Outcomes:
Participants create an environment that demonstrates how print (written words)--in English and children's home languages--is used to convey meaning at home and in Head Start settings.
Participants create well-stocked, inviting, and developmentally appropriate library and writing areas in preschool classrooms.
Participants model ways that reading and writing skills are used to carry out daily activities at home and in Head Start settings.
Participants encourage children to use developmentally appropriate reading and writing materials in all areas of their homes and Head Start settings.

Trainer Preparation Notes: Slides or photographs of literacy-rich home and Head Start environments can greatly enhance the presentation and discussion of ideas presented in this workshop activity. Trainers can bring slides or photographs from their own collections or ask participants to bring pictures of their classrooms, homes, or the homes of Head Start families.

Materials:

Chart paper, markers, tape (enough for the trainer and small groups)
Art materials: chart paper or butcher paper, thick and thin markers, index cards, stickers, labels, scissors, glue, and so on
Catalogs showing supplies for early childhood programs
Handout 19: Creating a Literacy Environment
Handout 20: Setting Up a Library Area
Handout 21: Setting Up a Writing Area
Handout 22: Encouraging Literacy in All Interest Areas
Handout 23: Using Print in the Environment
Handout 24: Helping Your Child Become a Reader

Explain to participants that this activity will focus on strategies for creating literacy-rich environments at home and in classrooms at centers and group socialization sites. Participants will learn about each strategy and work in small groups to design ideal environments.

Write the following statement on chart paper:
Children are most likely to make their own discoveries about reading and writing when . . .
Ask participants to think about how they would complete this statement. Record their responses on the chart paper.
Use the Background Information in this module to review the features of home and Head Start environments that support emerging literacy. Also discuss how adults (families and Head Start staff) can encourage children's literacy explorations.

Ask participants to form small groups according to their interest in the following topics:

Encouraging families to create home literacy environments
Setting up a classroom library area
Setting up a classroom writing area
Encouraging literacy in all areas of the classroom environment
Using print in the environment

Distribute Handout 19: Creating a Literacy Environment. Review the four steps described on the handout.
Distribute Handout 20: Setting Up a Library Area, Handout 21: Setting Up a Writing Area, Handout 22: Encouraging Literacy in All Interest Areas, Handout 23: Using Print in the Environment, and Handout 24: Helping Your Child Become a Reader. Participants will use the handout that is related to their interest to complete the four steps described on Handout 19. They can use all of the handouts as resources after the workshop is over. Handout 24 is written so participants can give copies to families.
Give each group art materials and a catalog of early childhood supplies. Give participants 45 minutes to complete the assignment.

Have the small groups take turns sharing their literacy environments with the full group. Use their presentations to reinforce the key features of these environments and emphasize how they support children's literacy learning.

Ask participants to select one strategy or idea from the workshop to implement in their Head Start program. Encourage participants to share what they have learned with colleagues and families.

Building Bridges with Families: Suggest that participants plan a workshop for families on simple ways to create home literacy environments. Provide materials families can use to make bookshelves, family journals, and portable baskets of reading and writing materials. See Handout 24: Helping Your Child Become a Reader for more ideas.

Activity 4-2:
We Want to Read and Write Purpose: In this activity, participants provide or enhance environments in home and Head Start settings that encourage children to make their own discoveries about reading and writing.

Outcomes:
Participants create an environment that demonstrates how print (written words)--in English and children's home languages--is used to convey meaning at home and in Head Start settings.
Participants create well-stocked, inviting, and developmentally appropriate library and writing areas in preschool classrooms.
Participants model ways that reading and writing skills are used to carry out daily activities at home and in Head Start settings.
Participants encourage children to use developmentally appropriate reading and writing materials in all areas of their homes and Head Start settings.
Materials:

Chart paper, markers, tape
Handout 20: Setting Up a Library Area
Handout 21: Setting Up a Writing Area
Handout 22: Encouraging Literacy in All Interest Areas
Handout 23: Using Print in the Environment
Handout 24: Helping Your Child Become a Reader

Explain to participants that this activity will focus on creating literacy-rich environments that encourage children to make their own discoveries about reading and writing. Participants will assess the literacy-related features of a classroom at a center or group socialization site and change it to enhance children's literacy discoveries. Participants will learn about literacy-rich home environments and encourage families to nurture their children's literacy learning at home and in the community.

Use the Background Information in Modules 3 and 4 and participants' knowledge and experience supporting children's literacy development to review how children make sense of conventional reading and writing. Ask participants to help you generate a list of concepts children learn about reading and writing. Here are some examples:

Words can be spoken, read, and written.

Drawing and writing are different.

Words are symbols for real things, feelings, and actions.

Writing is talk written down.

We read the words in books and not the pictures.

We combine letters to make words.

Letters are written right-side up and face in certain directions.

The letters in words are written in a certain order.

There are spaces between written words.

Words are written and read on a page from top to bottom and from left to right in English and many other languages.

For each example you and the participants come up with, discuss how children might make the discovery. For example, a child might discover that we read the words in books and not the pictures after numerous read-aloud sessions with a parent or teacher.

Use Handout 24: Helping Your Child Become a Reader and the Background Information for this module to review the characteristics of literacy-rich home environments. Explain that Head Start staff can encourage the literacy learning that children experience in literacy-rich home environments through the following key strategies: setting up well-stocked library and writing areas, placing reading and writing materials in all interest areas and outdoors, and using print throughout the classroom to provide meaningful information.

Distribute and discuss the information provided on Handout 20: Setting Up a Library Area, Handout 21: Setting Up a Writing Area, Handout 22: Encouraging Literacy in All Interest Areas, and Handout 23: Using Print in the Environment.

Ask participants to choose one of the following tasks to complete in their classroom during the next week. Develop a plan to:

Work with a family to enhance the literacy learning opportunities in their home or to help them learn a skill such as reading aloud

Create or enhance the library area

Create or enhance the writing area

Provide or enhance the reading and writing materials available in all interest areas and outdoors

Provide or enhance the use of meaningful print in the environment
Explain that they can use the handout related to the chosen task as a reference. Have participants complete the assignment before the next coaching session.

Meet with participants to discuss their plans for their chosen task. Suggest changes and/or offer resources as needed.

Ask participants to implement their plans and conduct at least three observations of children to assess the impact of the changes they have made. Have participants complete the assignment before the next coaching session.

Meet with participants to discuss their observations. Offer assistance in making further changes, if appropriate. Suggest that they work with colleagues and families to plan, implement, and evaluate changes to other elements of the literacy environment.

Building Bridges with Families: Have participants think of a way to support families who want to encourage their children's literacy learning at home and in the community. For example, a participant might create a bulletin board display, make an album using photographs from families' homes (with their permission), hold a workshop, or make a series of one-page information flyers that provide simple, useful tips.

Activity 4-3:
Making Our Mark Purpose: In this activity, participants learn about the stages that children pass through while learning to write and plan experiences that enhance children's language learning.

Outcomes:
Participants plan engaging activities and experiences that allow children, including those with disabilities, to use and expand their language skills.
Participants encourage children to use developmentally appropriate reading and writing materials in all areas of their homes and Head Start settings.
Participants model ways that reading and writing skills are used to carry out daily activities at home and in Head Start settings.
Participants accept and value children's reading and writing efforts and support their progress with these important learning skills.

Trainer Preparation Notes: When participants sign up for this workshop, ask them to bring some examples of children's writing to share with the group.

Materials:

Chart paper, markers, tape
Handout 25: Planning Literacy Experiences
Appendix I: Learning about Writing

Explain to participants that this activity will focus on how children learn about writing and how these discoveries relate to oral language and reading. Participants will plan literacy experiences that build on children's interests and activities.

Ask participants to imagine the following scenario:
Someone has given you some vegetables from his or her garden. They have green, leafy tops, and the bottoms are round, hard, and red. You forgot to ask the name of the vegetable, but you want to cook it for dinner. What can you do?
Have participants work with others at their tables to answer the question.

Lead a discussion about the process each group used to answer the question. Most likely, they relied on what they already knew about vegetables and cooking to construct knowledge about how to cook the mystery vegetable. Explain that the process they used to answer the question is similar to the process children use when constructing knowledge about writing. Point out that just as you might make some mistakes while learning the correct way to cook the vegetable, children also make mistakes as they learn to write in conventional ways. For example, a child may write letters backward because he or she has not figured out that they must face in a certain direction.

Use the Background Information in this module and Appendix I: Learning about Writing to review the stages children pass through as they learn about writing and how this learning is related to discoveries about speaking and reading. Use the examples of children's writing (yours and those brought by participants) to illustrate the early scribbling, controlled scribbling, basic forms, and pictorial stages. Emphasize the importance of supporting emergent writing in conjunction with emergent reading.

Distribute and review the instructions for Handout 25: Planning Literacy Experiences. Have participants form four small groups and randomly assign a situation to each group. Give participants 30 minutes to complete this assignment.

Ask each group to share their plans for encouraging children's emerging literacy. Have participants from the other groups take turns providing feedback on the plans.

Ask participants to think of a recent experience the children shared or something they seem particularly interested in. Use the planning format on page two of Handout 25: Planning Literacy Experiences to help participants develop some ideas for encouraging children's emerging literacy as they build on this experience or interest.

Summarize the topics discussed in the workshop and answer participants' questions. Distribute copies of Appendix I: Learning about Writing as a reference.

Building Bridges with Families: Suggest that participants revise page two of Handout 25: Planning Literacy Experiences so families could use it to plan ways to enhance their home literacy environments. Areas of the environment could become rooms in the home, outdoors, and places in the community. Environmental print would be the words found on items such as the labels on food containers, street signs, and advertising posters. The activities section could be revised to focus on everyday family routines.

Activity 4-4:
Language All around Us Purpose: In this activity, participants learn about the stages children pass through as they construct knowledge about writing and develop a planning web for incorporating literacy experiences in new ways.

Outcomes:
Participants plan engaging activities and experiences that allow children, including those with disabilities, to use and expand their language skills.
Participants encourage children to use developmentally appropriate reading and writing materials in all areas of their homes and Head Start settings.
Participants accept and value children's reading and writing efforts and support their progress with these important learning skills.
Materials:

Chart paper, markers, tape
Handout 26: Children Learn about Writing
Handout 27: Emerging Literacy Planning Web
Appendix I: Learning about Writing

Explain to participants that this activity will focus on the stages children pass through as they explore writing and on opportunities for encouraging children's literacy development while responding to their interests and shared experiences.

Ask participants to imagine themselves in the following situation:
You are teaching yourself a new skill (for example, knitting, indoor gardening, jewelry making, auto repair). You just spent a long time figuring out something (knitting a difficult stitch, potting some plant clippings, welding two pieces together, changing a spark plug). You are so proud of the results of your hard work that you show it to someone who is an expert in this area. This person sees that you have made some mistakes. What could the person say that would encourage you to keep learning about this skill?

Explain that children are in a similar position when they learn about oral and written language. When figuring out the conventional ways to use language, they make what adults may consider to be mistakes. Adults need to resist the urge to correct children. Instead, they should encourage children to continue their trial and error explorations. Ask participants how they would offer encouragement in the following situations:
A child makes a drawing and does some scribble writing alongside the picture. She asks you to read the scribble writing.
A child writes his name. All of the letters are there, but they are in the wrong order.
A child writes a series of words using all the letters she knows. Each word is different from the others. She reads them to you, but the words she speaks are not tied phonetically to the written words.
A child looks at the brand name label sticker on the skin of an banana and says, That says banana.
A child sees the first letter of her first name on a sign. She says, Look, there's my name.
Ask participants to share examples from their own experiences of how they responded to children with encouragement rather than correction.

Distribute and discuss the information in Appendix I: Learning about Writing. Distribute and discuss the examples of children's writing on Handout 26: Children Learn about Writing. As you look at each example, ask participants to say what the child who wrote it knows about writing.

Discuss the following examples of planned literacy experiences that were provided in the Background Information for this module:

Writing and reading a group story
Inviting children to talk about their interests
Acting out stories with props and dress-up clothes or puppets
Leading a cooking activity
Talking about an interesting object

Ask participants to think of an experience the children recently shared or something they seem particularly interested in. Distribute Handout 27: Emerging Literacy Planning Web and help participants develop a planning web that shows how they can encourage children's emerging literacy while building on this experience or interest. Reproduce the web on a piece of chart paper if you need more room to write the plans. Ask participants to implement their plans during the upcoming week.

Meet with participants to discuss what happened when they implemented their plans.
What did the children do?
How did they use and enhance their emerging literacy skills--speaking, listening, reading, and writing?
How did the adults encourage children's literacy explorations?

Building Bridges with Families: Suggest that participants involve families in using the planning web as a tool to make sure that their environment, planned activities, and interactions with children respond to experiences and interests and encourage emerging literacy. The suggestions offered by families are likely to enhance the multicultural aspects of the literacy environment.

Next Steps:
Ideas to Extend Practice Participants can build on the skills developed through this guide by completing the following activities, independently or with other staff. Some of these activities can contribute to participants' professional portfolios.

Write and Talk with Children
You can learn a lot about children's thinking and writing skills by writing with them and talking about what you are doing. Ask open-ended questions or make comments that encourage children to talk--That's the first time I've seen you make the letter P. Talk about your own writing, too--I need to send a note to Ms. Parker. First, I'll write, Dear Ms. Parker. There's a P at the beginning of her name.
Possible Portfolio Entry: Samples of children's writing
Bring Literacy Outdoors
Examine the outdoor area used by children and think of ways to offer literacy-related activities and materials outdoors. For example, children can trace letters in the sandbox, look for shapes in nature that look like letters (for example, in tree branches), paint (and write) with water on the side of the building, paint (and write) at easels, use chalk on the sidewalk, and read under a shady tree or at a picnic bench.
Possible Portfolio Entry: Photographs of children engaged in outdoor literacy learning
Make Your Own Books
Plan and lead a book-making activity so children can write, illustrate, and bind their own books. Help children put clear adhesive paper on the covers so the books will be durable. Have children take their books home to show their families. Provide simple, illustrated directions and basic materials (paper, cardboard, laces, clear adhesive paper) so children can make books at home. If children bring their books back to Head Start, place them in the library area where children can read to themselves and others.
Possible Portfolio Entry: Copy of the instructions children took home to their families
Handouts

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