Office of Curriculum, Technology, & Assessment

Overview: All parents want their children to become good readers and writers. During recent years, researchers have learned a great deal about how adults can help even our youngest children develop a strong foundation for later success in reading and writing. The term "emergent literacy" refers to the period of time from birth through about age five or six when young children begin to explore oral and written language. In this program, parents, caregivers, and early childhood professionals will explore strategies for supporting development during this important stage of each child's life.

Children's literature is central to the literacy environment. Literature serves as a model for language learning and provides a strong motivation for learning to read and write. In this program, we will explore a variety of picture books that can serve as both an instructional tool in the reading program, and a springboard for many kinds of literacy-related activities. In addition, five essential components of scientifically based reading research that are a part of No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 will be discussed.

NSDC Standards for Staff Development

Context Standards
Staff development that improves the learning of all students:

• Organizes adults into learning communities whose goals are aligned with those of the school and district. (Learning Communities)

• Requires skillful school and district leaders who guide continuous instructional improvement. (Leadership)

• Requires resources to support adult learning and collaboration. (Resources)

Process Standards
Staff development that improves the learning of all students:

• Uses multiple sources of information to guide improvement and demonstrate its impact. (Evaluation)

• Prepares educators to apply research to decision making. (Research-Based)

• Uses learning strategies appropriate to the intended goal. (Design)

• Applies knowledge about human learning and change. (Learning)

• Provides educators with the knowledge and skills to collaborate. (Collaboration)

Content Standards
Staff development that improves the learning of all students:

• Prepares educators to understand and appreciate all students, create safe, orderly and supportive learning environments, and hold high expectations for their academic achievement. (Equity)

• Deepens educators' content knowledge, provides them with research-based instructional strategies to assist students in meeting rigorous academic standards, and prepares them to use various types of classroom assessments appropriately. (Quality Teaching)

• Provides educators with knowledge and skills to involve families and other stakeholders appropriately. (Family Involvement)

NOTE: Each site must audio mute upon connecting to the session to prevent voice activated moving of the cameras from site to site.

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