*NEW* Fostering Readers Resources

At Keeping Up with Kids blog from WI's own IFLS library system comes this blog post describing some great new free and downloadable resources to help you in providing great content and programming for Gr. K-3 kids. This IMLS grant funded project announced that "These resources are designed to help you plan and implement fun research-based literacy programs for children in K-3rd grade who are learning to read."

To read all about these resources which include activities, handouts, videos ideas and the research behind them, click here.

Print is All Around Us

Pixabay image

Environmental print is what all the words, letters, and numbers that surround us in daily life are called. From street signs to cereal boxes, there are abundant sources of environmental print for emerging readers to use. Parents and other caregivers can foster a child's awareness of and interest in recognizing them in a multitude of ways because print awareness and letter knowledge are key components of early literacy. Two short articles that offer tips and ideas for using environmental print to support emergent literacy and struggling readers are linked below:

Environmental Print by Reading Rockets
and
Helping Struggling Readers with Environmental Print by John Funk, Educator and Teacher Trainer

The YSS Early Literacy Calendar (available HERE) is another excellent resource full of tips expressly for increasing early literacy activities in fun ways as children and their caregivers go about their days. This free resource is a project of the Youth Services Section of the Wisconsin Library Association.