Language of the Heart Storytimes Dana Bjerke, HCL Bernie Farrell, HCL

Go to and scroll down to Recent Staff Presentations Public Library Association, March 27, 2008 Supporting Early English Language Learners – Lillian Duran, PhD, Minnesota State University, presenter Presentation (PPS - 9.4MB) Language of the Your Library – Dana Bjerke and Bernie Farrell, Hennepin County Library, presenters Presentation (PPS - 5.3MB) Favorite Books and Music for Spanish Storytime (DOC - 308KB) Best Practices for a Successful World Language Storytime (PDF - 87KB) Components of a Successful World Language Storytime Guidelines (PDF - 87KB) Resource List (DOC - 15KB)

Be an innovator in your community! The library is uniquely positioned to assist families with preparing their children for school, emphasizing the importance of home language in early literacy development. Take advantage of the possibilities!

Demonstrate to parents and caregivers how to effectively share language with their children. Support families as they help their children with early reading success through home language usage. What is the role of storytime?

Six steps to a successful storytime!

Find organizations, however informal Meet community leaders Step 1: Know your neighborhood

Find the program leader, someone who is a native speaker, either paid or a dedicated volunteer. Step 2: Finding a partner

The librarian works closely with the community partner to train them in early literacy development, including the importance of native language programs. The librarian is the expert on early literacy, storytime procedures, and resources available. The community partner is the expert in the way language is shared with young children in that culture. Step 2: Finding a partner

Start small Leave your comfort zone Plan and practice with your community partner Step 3: Preparing for storytime

In many cultures, reading is not done for fun, but more for gathering information. Use nonfiction books as part of the storytime. Explain the fun component of storytime. For some families, libraries were either non- existent or a resource for academic use only. Families may not be familiar with the public library concept and services, especially services for young children. Step 3: Preparing for storytime

Give clear guidelines about how the storytime is set up and the goals. Include culturally traditional stories or songs, not just translations. Step 4: Introducing the storytime

Parents and caregivers may need to be encouraged to participate and need an explanation about why their participation is so important. Step 4: Introducing the storytime

NATIVE LANGUAGE AUDIENCE: Entire story, dialogue, and follow-up activities will be presented by the native-speaking partner in the target language, including early literacy tips. The librarian may use some English to welcome families, introduce storytime, describe library resources or events and to coach the native- speaking partner. Special efforts should be made to thoroughly explain library services and resources, for both adults and children. Step 5: Doing the storytime

IMMERSION AUDIENCE: Librarian will lead the discussion, and the native-speaking partner will read the stories and lead songs and other activities. Dual language education indicates that children learn two languages best when they are kept separate. –Read book entirely in target language and then discuss book in English. –In a sentence or two, introduce the book in English. Then have the native-speaking partner read the book entirely in target language. Step 5: Doing the storytime

Use books with more literal themes Themed storytimes may work well for highlighting new vocabulary words and allowing families to continue conversations at home. Step 5: Doing the storytime

Step 6: Come back soon…