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Early Childhood Book Reading Practices (early childhood)
In this workshop early childhood educators will explore quality children’s literature and best book reading practices.
Overview
Book reading in the early childhood classroom is not only one of the most important practices for building later reading success, but it is probably one of the more enjoyable experiences for both teachers and children. In this workshop early childhood educators will explore quality children’s literature and best book reading practices. Participants will learn ways to share various genres of books in the classroom. They will learn the importance of multiple re-readings and strategies to foster children’s vocabulary knowledge, print concepts, phonological awareness, and reading comprehension during large and small group readings. Workshop assignments will invite participants to research quality children’s literature and develop book reading planners with specific goals for children’s learning.
Goals and Products
This course will enable participants to:
- Understand how book reading impacts children’s language and literacy development
- Learn effective strategies for utilizing different book genres in the classroom
- Understand how multiple readings of the same book can enhance children’s cognitive and literacy skills
- Learn how to implement interactive book reading sessions that deepen children’s comprehension
- Learn ways to support vocabulary development through book reading
- Learn ways to integrate books and book reading into classroom curriculum activities
As a final project for this workshop, participants will create a curriculum unit for classroom use that incorporates a topic covered in each session of this workshop.
Format and Requirements
This course is divided into six one-week sessions which each include readings, an activity and an online discussion among course participants. The time for completing each session is estimated to be two to four hours.
The outline for the course is as follows:
| Session 1 | Effective Read-Aloud Practices |
| Session 2 | The Classroom Book Area |
| Session 3 | Getting the Most Out of Nonfiction Books |
| Session 4 | The Importance of Multiple Readings |
| Session 5 | Vocabulary through Book Reading |
| Session 6 | Putting it All Together |
Prerequisites
This is an introductory course for teachers, technology specialists, curriculum specialists, professional development specialists, or other school personnel. Participants are expected to have regular access to computers and proficiency with e-mail and current web browsers.
Content and Technology Standards
Alignment with the Standards for English Language Arts from the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE) and International Reading Association (IRA)
1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
