Tying in literacy

Allison Billman, from Berkeley, gave a wonderful, impromptu presentation last night during our monthly meeting on the ties between language and literacy, and how we can incorporate language into science and art activities.

Many of her suggestions involved giving children the words they need. For instance, blocks can be labeled by shape, such as ‘rectangle’ or ‘square,’ which reminds parents and older siblings to use these words when playing with the blocks. She also recommended giving parents the words to use, labeling items such as an ‘inclined plane’ or explaining why things happen, such as ‘friction slows the ball down.’

She introduced two activities that we’ll be incorporating during Books Alive (not this Saturday but the next). The first is an origami book—one sheet of paper folds up nicely into a little book in which the child will tell her own story. The second is a story cube—each side of the cube has a picture which helps the child to share a favorite story with others by reminding her of what comes next. Inside the box can be additional cues, such as Red Riding Hood’s (miniature) basket.

During Books Alive, children will be making their own costumes and acting out their favorite stories using props and puppets. Kids will have the opportunity to sing and dance along with Lee Knight’s original music. Books Alive is on Saturday July 18th in the Bugbee Auditorium at 11am. Get tickets ($3) at The Green Toad or give us a call or email (more info).