Storytime Share

Introduction Aside: Today I’ll be pointing out some activities we are doing that support ealry literacy in the area of vocabulary. This is the term that researchers give to knowing the names of things. You can see what we do here in storytime and you may get some ideas of what you can do with your children throughout the day.
After reading the book Who Is Driving?: As you can see, I don’t just read the book. We talk about the pictures and ask questions. Allow time for your child to say something back.
Closing Aside:  Our youngest children learn words that name things they can see (pig, tractor, hippopotamus). As children get older they understand words for feelings and concepts, and older still, they understand words for ideas.
Submitted by Saskatchewan Library Association conference participants

Aside: As your baby begins to talk, respond by elaborating on what he says. For example, if your baby points to a picture and says “dog” respond by saying, “Yes, that’s a little brown dog.” This will help build your child’s vocabulary.
Submitted by Cindy Christin, Bozeman (MT) Public Library

Aside: Board books are a great investment for babies! They allow babies to handle books freely, and even chew them. Good first choices are board books with pictures of everyday things. Try pointing to the pictures and then to the real objects around you.This hleps babies get the idea that pictures and words are symbols for real things.
Submitted by Cindy Christin, Bozeman (MT) Public Library

Aside: Make reading with your child a postive experience by allowing your child to make comments and ask questions. Try to focus all your attention on your child for that time.
Submitted by Cindy Christin, Bozeman (MT) Public Library

Aside: Rhymes help teach “phonological awareness”–an awareness of the sounds that make up words. You may have noticed that your child enjoys the way a nursery rhyme sounds even if it doesn’t make much sense to him. When you introduce a new rhyme or song, repeat it at least twice. Three times is even better. And be sure to keep repeating the old, familiar rhymes too.
Submitted by Cindy Christin, Bozeman (MT) Public Library

Aside: Singing songs and saying rhymes are good ways for children to become aware of the different sounds that make up words. We call this phonological awareness. It also helps them get a feelf or the rhythm of language, how words are divided into syllables.
Submitted by Cindy Christin, Bozeman (MT) Public Library

As you read the book have children repeat the phrase, “I do. I’m a . . . ” with each animal.
Aside: Having the children participate by guessing the animals and responding when the animal appears helps them enjoy the book. This helps support their print motivation.
Submitted by Tara Smith, Roanoke County (VA) Public Library

Aside: I am going to read one of my favorite children’s books. I love reading this book; it is a lot of fun. When reading with your children, choose books YOU enjoy. Your child picks up on your feelings and understands the enjoyment of books and reading. This supports print motivation, a love of books.
Read the book.
Submitted by Linda White, Washington County (VA) Public Library

Introduction Aside:  Researchers have found that one of the six early literacy skills is phonological awareness. This is the ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words, like rhyming, playing with syllables or parts of words, and hearing beginning sounds of words. The beginning of this skills starts with children hearing and saying the sounds of animals.
During storytime sing “Old MacDonald” with the children, including several animals–cow, pig, sheep, chicken, duck, etc.
Aside:  Making the sounds of animals contributes to phonological awareness and hearing sounds in words. Researchers have found these skills help with reading later on.
Closing Aside:  Take advantage of opportunities to play with rhyming words and saying the sounds of animals.
Submitted by Kimberly Burnette-Dean, Roanoke County (VA) Public Library

Aside: What a fun and noisy book this is! Listen to the different kinds of sounds that music can make like plink, plink and bang-a-bang along with the jazz rhythm of Doo-dat, diddy-dat, diddy-dat, doo! As children learn to hear and make not only animal sounds but sounds of many different things, they are developing phonological awareness which will later help them sound out words as they learn to read.
Submitted by Saroj Ghoting