Fill a Tub with Water flannel board

Introduction to flannel board: Let's see what happens when you fill the tub with water. What might we see in the bathtub? Each line starts with "Fill the tub with water, what do you see?" Let's say that together.  . . . Good!

Fill the tub with water, what do you see? I see bubbles floating in the bathtub sea.                Fill the tub with water, what do you see? I see a washcloth floating in the bathtub sea.           Fill the tub with water, what do you see? I see a cake of soap floating in the bathtub sea.      Fill the tub with water, what do you see? I see a shampoo bottle floating in the bathtub sea. Fill the tub with water, what do you see? I see a little boat floating in the bathtub sea.          Fill the tub with water, what do you see? I see a pouring cup floating in the bathtub sea.      Fill the tub with water, what do you see? I see a toy shark floating in the bathtub sea.          Fill the tub with water, what do you see? I see some swim goggles floating in the bathtub sea. Fill the tub with water, what do you see? I see a watering can floating in the bathtub sea.     Fill the tub with water, what do you see?  I see a rubber ducky floating in the bathtub sea.    Fill the tub with water, what do you see? I see a nice clean baby splashing in the bathtub sea.

Early Literacy Aside--Empower: Even when you are giving your children a bath, naming the objects, describing them, talking about floating and sinking, heavy and light, as they play with toys in the bath; these are good ways to expand their knowledge and vocabulary which will later help them understand what they read.

by Amy Alapati and Virginia Krute, Montgomery County (MD) Public Library Flannel board pattern:  filltubwaterFB

Freight Train with flannel board

Preparation: Use the attached pattern to cut out large flannel board pieces. You can make the pictures smaller to cut out pieces that you will hand out to the storytime participants. Activity: We have just read the book Freight Train by Donald Crews. Now let's play a matching game on the flannel board. Here is the whole train. [Put up the cars of the train and name them. Describe their color, shape, etc. Pass out one car to each of the storytime participants. Remove your whole train. Put up one car and describe it.] I have put up the cattle car. It is green and looks like a rectangle. It has two lines in the middle that cross each other. They look like an X. Several of you have a green cattle car. If you do, come up and make your match on the flannel board. Good job! [Continue with other cars.]
Early Literacy Aside--Example: When we play matching games with children, we help them notice characteristics of objects, what is similar and different. This type of thinking will later help them notice differences and similarities in letters as they learn to identify letters and learn to read.
Flannel board pattern: freighttrainFB
small cars can be used for individual handout

Old Macdonald Had a Farm Handout

Early Literacy Aside--Empower: Today we talked about farm animals and sang Old Macdonald. Here is an activity sheet for you and your child to draw farm animals and talk about the sounds they make, which is a first stem to helping your children hear the smaller sounds in words. Don't worry if you can't figure out which animal your child has drawn. Your child will tell you what it is. Enjoy!

Old Macdonald Had a Farm Handout

Playing with Directional Words

Early Literacy Aside--Empower: We can help children learn new words as we play with them. In today's storytime we read We're Going on a Bear Hunt which had directional words. Here is a game you can play. Show your child an item (a shoe perhaps) and hide it in a room with a little of it showing. Give your child hints about where to find it using position words like right, left, above, below, and so on. You can also give clues like, "You're getting warmer or colder" as they get closer or farther away. Here is a handout with the game and some activities to support pre-reading skills.

Handout--game with five practices

Hickory Dickory Dock with Handout

You can use the figures on the handout as a pattern to make a flannel board. Then use the flannel board as another way to share the rhyme and to play a game.
Introduction: Let's say the rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock Hickory dickory dock The mouse ran up the clock The clock struck one, the mouse ran down. Hickory dickory dock. Repeat using struck two . . . the mouse said "Boo." struck three . . . the mouse said "Whee." struck four . . . the mouse said "No more!" Great! Now let's play a little game on the flannel board. I am going to put the mouse somewhere near the clock and you see if you can tell me where. [Put the mouse on top of the clock.] Where is the mouse? Right! On top of the clock. Repeat with behind, underneath, below, beside or next to, etc.
Early Literacy Aside--Example: When we use words that describe position, you are helping your children understand what the words mean. This will later help them understand what they read. Early Literacy Aside--Empower: Adults, I have a handout here with illustrations for Hickory Dickory Dock. In addition to saying the rhyme together with your children, you can cut out the figures and put the figures in different positions to help your children learn new words and build their vocabulary. Enjoy!

Hickory Dickory Dock Handout

Jack and Jill Rhyme and Song

Nursery Rhyme: Jack and Jill
Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water
Jack fell down
And broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.
Preparation: Have the words to the rhyme up on a chart. Have the group say, not sing, the words. Then have the group sing the rhyme. Ask the adults what differences they noticed when singing it vs. saying it.
Early Literacy Aside--Example: Singing slows down language so that children can hear the smaller sounds in words. This helps children later to sound out the words when they learn to read.

A Rhyming We Will Go

Early Literacy Aside--Example: Let's take an interesting word from this book we just read. [Choose a word.] Now we'll play this song game. Helping your children make rhymes or notice words that rhyme is one way to help them hear the smaller sounds in words which will help them later to sound out words.Song to the tune of A Hunting We Will Go A rhyming we will go A rhyming we will go We’ll catch a rhyme In the nick of time And this is how it goes.

I caught the word _____!  What rhymes with ______? Good, what else rhymes with _____? 

 Repeat as often as you like. Rhyming words can be nonsense words!

Early Literacy Aside--Empower: Remember the rhyming song game we played earlier? You can play this little game any place, any time you are with your children--in the car, waiting in line, at the doctor's office. These little things you do all add up to make a difference in helping your child be ready to learn to read. When you help them hear and make rhymes, you are helping your child develop phonological awareness, hearing the smaller sounds in words so they can later sound out words when they learn to read.

Old Macdonald using sounds

Early Literacy Aside--Example: Helping children hear the beginning sounds of words is one way to develop their phonological awareness--their ability to hear the smaller sounds in words. This will later help them sound out words when they learn to read. You can put new words to the tune of the song Old Macdonald. I'll say two words and you see if you can hear the beginning sound which is the same for both words. SSSSSad and SSSSSSilly. What's the sound that is the same for both words? Right! /s/ Now we'll sing a song about it. Let's try it. To the tune of Old Macdonald Had a Farm What’s the sound that these words share? Listen to these words: Sad and silly are these words Tell me what you heard. With a /s/, /s/, here and a /s/, /s/ there Here a /s/, there a /s/, everywhere a /s/, /s/ /S/ is the sound that these words share. We can hear the sound!

Try other words and sounds. It is easier for the children to join in with the sounds if you talk about the words before singing the song.

A Tisket a Tasket

Early Literacy Aside--Example: We just read a book with rhyming words and then went back to a page and talked about the rhyming words. In order to emphasize rhyming words, here is a song you can sing after you and your child have talked about two rhyming words. So let's say you have noticed that ball and tall rhyme. Here's the song.This helps develop your child's phonological awareness, being able to hear the smaller sounds in words.A tisket a tasket Let's make a rhyming basket Boy and toy share an ending sound. Rhyming words are all around!

Pop Goes Pre-Reading

Song for Explain Early Literacy Aside:To the tune of Pop Goes the Weasel
Our early literacy skill today
is letter knowledge [fill in the name of the skill].
Getting to know lots of shapes [Substitute aspect of skill being highlighted]
will HELP children read.

Add information related to skill: Researchers have found that children recognize letters according to their shapes.  Talking with young children about shapes is one way to support emerging literacy skills.

Some examples for other skills, to fill in:
Skill=vocabulary: Explaining unfamiliar words . . .
Information on skill: Researchers have found that children who have larger vocabularies, who know more words, can more easily recognize words they sound out and can also more easily understand what they read when whey learn to read.
Skill=print motivation . . . Having fun while sharing books
Information on skill: Researchers have found that children who have enjoyable interactions around books and reading are more likely to stick with learning to read even when it is difficult.
Skill=phonological awareness . . . Clapping out the parts of words . . . OR Having fun with rhyming words . . .
Information on skill: Helping children hear the smaller sounds in words will help them later to sound out words when they begin to read.
Skill=print awareness  . . . Pointing to signs all around . . . OR Pointing to words in a book Information on skill: Understanding that the written word stands for the words helps children understand how reading works.
Skill=background knowledge . . . Reading information books . . . OR Telling your children what you know . . .
Information on skill: Children are naturally curious. By adding to the information they know on topics that interest them, they will later be able to better understand what they read. Skill=background knowledge . . . Having children retell stories . . .
Information on skill: When children retell stories they learn how stories work, that the have a beginning, a middle, and an end. This will help them later when they have to write stories in school.

Choose only one skill to highlight (to say the aside).

Videoclip of Hickory Dickory Dock--Interaction

Videoclip of making Hickory Dickory Dock more interactive between adults and children.In order to keep adults as well as children involved in storytime, it is good to have some storytime items interactive between the adults and the children. This encourages language interactions between them. We can encourage them to continue this kind of interaction even after storytime is over.

Videoclip of Explain Aside Using Host Puppet

To view a videoclip of using a host puppet to convey early literacy information in the Explain Aside during storytime, click here.

ABC Look at Me by Roberta Intrater

Early Literacy Aside: Explain Aside: Noticing that the same letter can look different, like upper and lower case, is a beginning step for letter knowledge, one of the early literacy skills that children need to be able to learn to read. 
Early Literacy Aside--Example Aside: One way we can help children learn what the letters look like and the letter names is by sharing alphabet books. When sharing alphabet books with children, we tend to focus more on the print than with any other type of book. Let’s share an alphabet book together.
Share the book ABC Look at Me by Roberta Intrater.  Did you notice that when I read the book, I pointed to the letter? As we read alphabet books, we tend to point out the letter on the page as we say its name. This does not come so naturally while reading other kinds of books. As you talk about the letter you can point out that the same letter can look different. For example, here’s the letter R. It can look like R or r.
Empower Aside: When you read alphabet books, don’t worry if your child does not recognize the letters and the different ways they look. You are just introducing the idea that the same letter can look different. Alphabet books do not need to be read from A to Z. You can give the book to your child and let them choose a page that looks interesting. Then talk about the picture and the letter. As your child grows, keep pointing out and talking about letters. Let your child see your interest in them and they will follow your lead in learning them.

Goodnight Max by Rosemary Wells

Introduction: Let's look at the cover of this book Goodnight Max by Rosemary Wells. What shapes do you see? Yes, the blanket has colored squares, the moon is a crescent shape; Max's nose looks like a triangle.
Read the book.
Early Literacy Aside--Example Aside: You don't need a book about shapes to talk about shapes. Talking about shapes with your child as we did at the beginning of this book, is the beginning of being able to recognize letters. Children begin to recognize letters by their shapes.

Sound in a Bag/Box

Preparation: Put some items in a bag or box, some of which starting with the sound /p/ (for example). Some examples include: pretzel, popcorn, paper, pig. Also include some items for words that do NOT begin with /p/.
Introduction: Ohhhh, here is my sound bag/box. Let’s see what’s in it today. Our llama in the book we just read was wearing red pajamas (Llama, Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney). Pajama starts with the sound /p/. Let me hear you say /p/. Good! I am going to pull out different things from my sound box. Let’s see which ones have the same beginning sound as pajama, /p/.
Play Game: As you pull items out of the bag, say what it is; or ask the children what it is. Repeat the word and emphasize the first sound. Our next item is a car. Car. Car. Car starts with /k/.  Are /k/ and /p/ the same sound? That’s right! They are not. Let’s look for our next item. What else do I have in here? What is this? Right, a pencil. Pencil. Pencil. Pencil starts with /p/. Do pencil and pajama sound alike at the beginning? Yes, they do!
Early Literacy Aside--Example Aside: Helping your child hear the beginning sounds of words, in a playful way, like with this game, is one way that you can help your child develop [phonological awareness,] hearing the smaller sounds in words.
Early Literacy Aside--Empower Aside: We played the sound in a bag game today. You can play this game with any items you have around the house. Or you can have a sound day--today is /d/ day. Throughout the day you and your children look for or think of words that start with the /d/ sound. Remember, you're not thinking about how a word is spelled, just the beginning sound. Keep it fun, not frustrating. This game is one way to help your children later sound out words when they learn to read.

Hush, A Thai Lullaby by Mingfong Ho

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.

Shapes Flannel Board and Matching Game

Preparation for Presenter: Using cutouts of different shapes (see attachment below) make shapes you can use on the flannel board. If you want to play the matching game in addition to talking about shapes, make more than one of each shape.
Introduction: Today we talked about shapes and alike and different. So let’s see what shapes you see up here. Depending on the size, age-level and attention span of the group, you can put the shapes up yourself or hand them out to the toddlers and have them put the shapes up on the flannel board. Say the name of the shape as well as some additional description. For example, "Here is a circle, a small blue circle.” Have the children repeat the name of the shape and/or the description.]
Early Literacy Aside--Example: Helping your child notice and talk about shapes later helps them identify letters. When you think of an upper case A, there is a triangle shape in it. For Matching Game: You keep one copy of each shape and pass out the additional copies of the shapes. Put up one shape, say what it is and describe it. Then have those children who have the same shape come up to the flannel board to add theirs to yours. Don't forget to clap for each person. Adults are welcome to help their children.
Early Literacy Aside--Example: Playing matching games helps your child notice what is alike and different. This is one part of developing letter knowledge.
Matching Game Variation: You can make the matching more challenging by making patterns on your shapes. For example, you may color a couple of circles on a square, or make a design on two copies of the same shape. You can make the matching more or less challenging by how intricate or obvious the differences are. Use the handout of shapes for parents and children to cut out and play with at home. Early Literacy Aside for Shape Handout--Empower: This handout has several shapes you can cut out at home. You can use them as patterns and cut them out of different color paper. You can draw on them to make different patterns to match as well. You might ask your toddler to put all the circles together, all the ones with straight lines, all the ones with the same color. Sorting is one way of noticing what is alike and different. When children try to recognize letters they will need this skill. Think of a lower case h and a lower case n. They look similar but they are also different.

Shapes for Flannel Board

Shapes for Parent Handout

Look at Me (Begin Smart Books)

Early Literacy Aside--Explain: Making book sharing times enjoyable times helps to develop your child's print motivation, enjoyment of books and reading. Research shows that children who have had enjoyable experiences around books are more likely to stick with learning to read, when that time comes.
Early Literacy Aside--Example: One thing that helps to keep book time enjoyable is to have your child participate in reading the book. This can be done in several ways. For example, having your child turn the pages, letting your child choose the book to be read or a picture to talk about, or having your child chime in with animal sounds or a word or two. Our book today is called Look at Me. This book lends itself to playful interaction because it has a repeated phrase, "Look at me," AND it's a book-a-boo book, making it a game. Everyone, all together, let me hear you say look at me! Good, try it again. Look at me. Good! Now you'll say that as I read the book with you. Share book using peek-a-boo game, having children say the animals and make the animal's sound. [The lion is the first animal. If that is scary for some children, start with a different animal. Some children may be afraid if you cover your own face. Suggestion--Use a doll or stuffed animal and cover it's face to play peek-a-boo.]

My First ABC Board Book (DK)

Early Literacy Aside--Example: Sharing alphabet books is one way to introduce children to letters. This book My First ABC Board Book has bright, clear photographs of things that interest young children.
Share a page or two: For example, on the B page, we see a baby, bananas, a ball, and bread. We see both the upper and lower case letter so children see that the same letter can look different. You can give the book to your child and let him choose a page to talk about. Talk about the pictures and point out the letter.
Early Literacy Aside--Empower: Naming the letters and pointing to them is a first step to developing your child's letter knowledge, one of the six early literacy skills. You can do this with books and also with signs whenever you are out and about. Remember to keep it enjoyable and stop when your child has had enough. No need to quiz your child on the letters, just expose them to the letters.

Alphabet Song

Early Literacy Aside--Example: Singing the alphabet song is one way to introduce children to letters. Part of letter knowledge, one of the early literacy skills that helps children be ready to read in school, is knowing the names of letters. At first your child may not relate the letters they sing to the written letter. That's ok; this is a first step.The alphabet song is to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.
Sing Alphabet Song. Now let's sing it again to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb. The letters come out in a different rhythm. They are less likely to lump l m n o together. Sing Alphabet Song again to new tune.