Early literacy does not mean teaching young children how to read. Instead, it means helping children develop the skills they will need to become successful readers. Early literacy activities build rich language skills: vocabulary, self-expression, and understanding (comprehension). These skills help children make sense of printed words when they start reading.

Children’s Librarians have identified five early literacy practices that help children get ready to read. Here is a list of the five early literacy practices, and some activities you can do with your child to develop his or her language skills:

 

Playing Children learn how to express themselves when they play. They also discover the meaning of words, and how to tell stories. When they learn new words through play, they will recognize those words in print when they start reading. Learning how to tell stories builds reading comprehension.

 

Singing helps children hear how words can be broken down into smaller parts. This skill will help them sound out words when they start reading on their own. Songs also teach new vocabulary, and introduce new concepts. 

 

Reading with your child is one the best ways to help children get ready to read on their own. The language in books is much richer than the language we use every day. This means reading expands your child’s vocabulary. Hearing lots of “rare words” in early childhood will help your child recognize words in print when he or she starts reading. This means he or she will understand what they read.

 

Talking with your child is one the best ways to develop language and early literacy skills. Conversations help a child express thoughts, learn what words mean, and gain new information about the world. Talking also gives children a rich foundation of knowledge they can apply to their independent reading. The more children know about the world, the more words they will recognize on a printed page or digital screen.

 

Writing activities help children learn letter names and sounds. Writing, or scribbling and drawing, also helps children learn that marks on paper represent spoken language. This knowledge will help them decode words on pages and screens when they start reading.

 

 

 

OHIO WEB LIBRARY RESOURCES

                     

 

OTHER HOMEWORK HELP SITES

   

 

OHIO WEB LIBRARY RESOURCES

Early World of Learning - Three interactive learning environments for preschoolers and children in early grades.

Explora Primary Schools - A trustworthy environment for students and educators in grades K through 5 to look up facts for class projects or homework.

Gale In Context: Elementary -Gale In Context: Elementary (formerly Kids Infobits) is an easy-to-use digital resource featuring age-appropriate, reliable, curriculum-related content covering a broad range of educational topics. The modern design and simple navigation make it easy for users to explore content and gain comfort with database searching.

Science Reference Center - Contains full text for hundreds of science encyclopedias, reference books, periodicals and other sources.

What Tree Is It? - Ohio tree identification guide.

What's That Snake - Ohio snake identification guide

What's The Point? - Identifying flint artifacts.

World Book Kids - Thousands of colorful illustrations, diagrams, and maps enrich thousands of articles, with teacher guides.

 

OTHER HOMEWORK HELP SITES

Fact Monster - Factmonster is part of the FEN Learning family of educational and reference sites for parents, teachers and students.

Wonderopolis - Wonderopolis.org is a neat nonprofit website that answers all sorts of questions submitted by children with fact-filled, kid-friendly articles and fun-to-watch videos. There's the "Wonder of the Day," plus an archive of hundreds of past "wonders."

 

Raise your children to be lifelong readers by bringing them to Storytime at the Library!

 

Storytimes introduce young children to books, rhymes, music and other fun interactive activities!  HBMLibrary offers programs that match the attention spans and developmental levels of different ages of children. Storytimes model how adults can sing, talk, read, write and play with children in order to develop early literacy skills, for example hearing different sounds, learning new vocabulary words and more among other 'fun'damentals! These skills build the foundational knowledge to prepare children to learn to read.

Visit the Calendar of Events for the next Storytime!

 

Storyline Online is a children's literacy website created by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, which provides free storytelling videos and resources for parents and teachers to foster a love of reading in children. The pages come to life as the story is read! 

We are pleased to announce an opportunity to enjoy videos of popular children’s books, recorded in both English and American Sign Language. The videos are available for viewing in a unique Niche Academy hosted by the SEO Service Center. The new videos are presented in partnership with Ohio Citizens for Deaf Cultures, Worthington Libraries and the State Library of Ohio. 

The entertaining videos were created and edited by Worthington Libraries with Ohio Citizens for Deaf Cultures providing the ASL interpreters. Each video contains the illustrated story, ASL interpretation, audible narration, and closed-captioning.

 

Websites of Interest

ALA/ALSC sites for Parents, Caregivers, Teachers & Others
The American Library Association, along with the Association for Library Services to Ohio Children, offers an extensive list of sites for parents, caregivers, teachers, and more.

Day By Day Ohio Family Literacy Calendar
With a perpetual calendar featuring songs, activities, book suggestions, and videos, this website supports early literacy skills and helps families, caregivers, and educators get young children ready for school.

Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library
This site provides caregivers with a list of background information on early literacy topics to encourage the learning of pre-reading skills. Includes books, videos and websites.

Family Education Network
Activities, crafts, recipes and games for children and their families. 

Help Me Grow
Help Me Grow is Ohio's free parent support program that encourages prenatal and young child care (birth through age 3), as well as parenting education that helps you prepare your child for success in school and later in life. Once you're part of the program, they'll visit you at your house... no need to load up the car every time you have an appointment!

Ohio Web Library
Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN) connection to numerous, reliable research databases for doing homework or other information gathering needs.