Website Archive - March, 2008

Spotlight on Language and Literacy

Children

Here are some websites for children with online activities promoting language and literacy.

 

PBS

PBS Kids has several interactives games promoting emergent literacy that can be played by preschoolers.

• Elmo Rhymes from Sesame Street: Play a rhyming game with Elmo, listening to pairs of rhyming words and matching words that rhyme with each other.
  
• Big Picture with Curious George: Practice visual discrimination skills by selecting an enlarged image of part of an object and matching it to the smaller picture.

 

Pig’s Riddle from Word World: Practice comprehension and emergent reading skills with this interactive story. Help Pig and Bug get to the ball game by completing rhymes and matching letters to sounds.

 

Parents

Here are some activities and ideas to encourage the development of language and literacy concepts with your preschooler.

 

Get Ready to Read

Get Ready to Read, an initiative of the National Center for Learning Disabilities, Inc., is a national program that builds early literacy skills of preschoolers. There are 36 activity cards that are fun and easy to do at home. You can print all of the activity cards as a set or pick individual activities via the index. You can also choose activities based on the skill area (linguistic awareness, print knowledge, and emergent writing) or a skill level.

 

PA Office of Commonwealth Libraries

The Office of Commonwealth Libraries, within the Pennsylvania Department of Education, has Resources for Early Childhood that includes a list of recommended books for preschoolers and easy activities to do at home.

PBS Kids

PBS Kids’Between the Lions aims to foster early literacy skills in 4 - 7 year olds.  Although the read-along stories, interactive games, activities, and songs are related to a specific Between the Lions episode, all of these activities can be used independently to encourage early literacy development.

 

Teachers

There are so many websites offering resources on language and literacy, and we’ve highlighted just a few.  So check them out!

 

Gryphon House

Gryphon House has a free activities page with games, activities and projects taken from their books. Scroll down to the Language Arts section (near the bottom of the page) for story stretchers, fingerplays and other activities.

KinderPlans.com

KinderPlans.com has Literacy Centers for Kindergarten and Preschool that include phonemic awareness and pretend reading. These activities are excerpts from the KinderPlans member’s area, but there are descriptions and instructions to use the activities.

Michigan Department of Education

Family FUNdamentals for Summer Learning, a School-Home Literacy Connection, was a pilot project of the Michigan Department of Education. The document contains preschool literacy activities related to phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary that can be used in a classroom or at home.

There is also an Additional Learning Tools document with lists of word play books, wordless books, and familiar story books.

North Central Educational Laboratory

North Central Educational Laboratory has Literacy Activities for Preschool and Day Care Settings, including reading, extended opportunities, language play, writing, and dramatic play.

PBS

On PBS Teachers there are 80 lesson plans, activities and projects on emergent literacy to do with preschoolers to Grade 2.

Preschool Zone

The Preschool Zone has a literacy checklist of teaching practices for preschool special education classrooms that can easily be adapted for child care settings. There are also activities that are to be used with the list.

READ*WRITE*NOW! Activities for Reading and Writing Fun

Although the Read*Write*Now! booklet was developed as part of the America Reads Challenge in May, 1997, it still contains many great ideas and activities for reading and writing development from birth through preschool.

Washington Learning Systems

Washington Learning Systems has materials for Supporting Early Literacy in Natural Environments Activities for Caregivers and Young Children in English and Spanish. These materials encourage early language and literacy development in young children and include an activity description, hints for making the activity fun and developmentally appropriate, and a brief self-evaluation. The materials also address language development, phonological awareness and general print awareness.

Webbing Into Literacy (WIL)

Webbing Into Literacy (WIL) is a multifaceted program that addresses in-class instruction, home-school connections, and transition support for Head Start children entering kindergarten. It is a downloadable program that provides teachers with materials and instructions for literacy development both in the classroom and at home. It includes:

• A Rhyme-A-Week designed to develop phonological awareness
• A-Book-A-Week designed to introduce children to printed text
• Alphabet Books
• 101 Best Books
• Supporting Families’ Literacy Adventures with game-like activities for each of the 101 Best Books.

 

 

[Posted on March 7, 2008]