Early Literacy Aside--Explain: Today our early literacy tip is on hearing the smaller sounds in words. This pre-reading skill will help children later sound out words when they learn to read. [The skill is called phonological awareness.] I'll be pointing out some activities you can do to support this skill as you read with your children.
Introduction:Hush: A Thai Lullaby by Mingfong Ho is our next book. It is about a mother in Thailand singing a lullaby to her baby.
Early Literacy Aside--Example: This book has both animal sounds and rhyming words. Both of these activities, hearing and saying animal sounds and hearing and saying rhyming sounds and words support one of the early literacy skills, phonological awareness.
Read the book. Have participants join in with saying the sounds of the animals. After you read the book, come back to a page and talk about two words that rhyme. Have the children think of other words that rhyme--remember they can be nonsense words.
Early Literacy Aside--Empower: Today I pointed out some activities around the early literacy skill phonological awareness: hearing different sounds such as animal sounds, as we just did and having children make those sounds. For older children, we want them to be able to hear the smaller sounds in words, the syllables, to be able to hear and make the beginning sound in a word, to be able to hear and make rhyming words, and to play with these sounds. Researchers know these are important skills for later when your child tries to sound out words. Children develop at different stages and some things will be harder for some and easier for others. It is easier to recognize a rhyme than to make a rhyme, so if your child cannot rhyme a word, say two words and ask if they rhyme. By doing these activities, you will be helping your child enter school ready to learn to read.