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| Parents and Teachers: Early Literacy |
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The Barrie Public Library has adopted Every Child Ready to Read, an early childhood literacy programme developed by the American Library Association (ALA).
Early literacy is what children know about reading and writing before they can actually read and write. Studies have shown that children get ready to read years before they start school. Parents and caregivers play a critical role in developing early literacy skills in children beginning at birth.
According to research, there are six pre-reading skills children must know in order to learn to read:
| Print Motivation: A child’s interest in the printed word. |
| Narrative Skills: Encompasses the ability to retell stories, sequence items or events and describe things. |
| Vocabulary: Knowing the names of things. |
| Print Awareness: The ability to recognize that words on a page follow a particular order (left to right and top to bottom) and how to handle printed material. |
| Letter Knowledge: The ability to recognize that the shapes that form letters have names to identify them and they have specific sounds. |
| Phonological Awareness: Being able to hear and manipulate the smaller sounds in words. |
How can the library help?
The Every Child Ready to Read programme is modeled in the library’s registered storytimes. Each week, one of the six pre-reading skills will be highlighted through stories, songs and rhymes in our storytimes for babies, toddlers and children up to age 4.
Right from the start, you are your child’s best teacher! Show your child how important reading is by reading to them every day and also let them see you reading. Not sure which books are best for your child’s age and development? To check out our list of suggested titles available from the library click on one of the skills listed below.
Other resources and background information about the Every Child Ready to Read programme can be found on the American Library Association web site.
For more information, including additional book suggestions, visit the library and talk to the Children’s staff or call 728-1010 ext. 7019.
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