Children’s Literacy Initiative (Day of Blogs ’08 #42)

Won’t someone please donate to Children’s Literacy Initiative?

Straight from their website, here is how CLI’s Professional Development Program works:

• Developing Engaging Read Alouds Because being read to adds directly to children’s knowledge and vocabulary, experts stress the importance of reading aloud to students.

At the writing center, a first-grader has word books, a dry-erase board and pen to work with. Activities can include writing a letter or writing about a book. We instruct teachers to promote children’s interest in books by reading aloud expressively, and to use books to build comprehension and vocabulary by asking open-ended questions. • Encouraging Writing Skills It is important to develop writing skills in young children, as language and literacy work together. Starting from infancy, almost everything that children learn about listening and talking contributes to their ability to read and write. CLI trains teachers to incorporate writing in every classroom center, and to provide ample writing opportunities for their students.

• Creating a Literacy-Rich Environment in the Classroom Displays of children’s writing, labeling, signs, and books in all areas of the classroom help immerse students in print conventions (such as punctuation and the way words are read) while providing them with a context for new vocabulary and letters. A literacy-rich environment includes interactive instructional materials created by the teachers and a collection of quality books on display with their covers facing outwards.

• Designing a Center-Based Classroom Work centers are physical areas of the classroom designated for learning and practice with specific instructional goals. Early childhood centers include such areas as a Library Center, Writing Center, Science and Discovery Center, and a Math Center. Classroom centers should be challenging and purposeful and the objective of each center activity should be targeted towards reaching classroom literacy goals.

At the science center, reading and writing are tools for learning. A book on frogs, alphabet tiles to spell with, tadpoles in a water tank, and paper and pens provide a purposeful learning opportunity. The results of a kindergartner’s tadpole study are displayed on the classroom wall.

CLI professional developers not only visit classrooms to help teachers rearrange and refine their classrooms, they also provide useful literacy instructional materials and activities that are theme- or content-related. Teachers learn classroom management skills in order to provide effective individual and small-group reading instruction and to promote independent learning.

I had centers in kindergarten – they were a lot of fun, and in hindsight focused our learning so clearly.  I just can’t say enough good things about CLI – won’t you consider sponsoring me?

This post is for the Day of Blogs 2008! I am blogging for Children’s Literacy Initiative. For more information about what I am doing, please click here, or you can sponsor me!