1. Let’s Read a Story to Enhance Creative Art and Literacy Skills!
Early Childhood Conference
April, 2016
Dr. Gayle Bortnem
Northern State University

2. Introductions Who are you? Preschool teacher/director for 20 years
NSU professor for 16
Research in developing vocabulary levels in
4 year olds using read alouds in
non-fiction/fictional literature
Who are you?
Teachers- Infant/toddler
Preschool
Kindergarten
After school
1-3rd grade
Directors-Principals
Special Education
Other?

3. DEFINITIONS Literacy – knowing how to read
Emergent literacy –developing the skills to learn how to read
We learn language and literacy by having experiences to;
Talk
Listen
Read
Write
Visual –children observe and make meaning from pictures, movies, environmental cues

4. When did you learn that the squiggles were letters….words…had meaning?

5. I loved Reading to children
BUT……
How do I show what the children are learning from reading literature?
Are there ways to assess young children’s understanding from listening to a story?
How about using art to show
that children are learning literacy skills?!!

6. What do you do now? Read a story What do you do? Read Rainbow Fish
Example Theme: Fish
Read Rainbow Fish
Questions
Art project
Centers-
Science-fish tank
Math Counters-fish
Water table-catch fish with nets
Read a story
Questions after story?
Plan an activity to support the theme?
Art project?
Centers?
What do you do?

7. Is this a D.A.P. way to assess a child’s abilities or learning about the story ?

9. What and How do I assess art?
Literacy skills
Vocabulary
Stages of scribbling
(Beginning and ending sounds)
Sounds of words (rhyming)
Stages of writing

10. Stages of writing

11. Be careful about interpreting what the pictures mean….
Always say to the child, “tell me about your picture”
NOT
What is it? Or the worst, try to say “oh, I like your dog” and it’s a horse!!

12. Let’s do an activity. My theme is SPRING.
My learning objectives ; children share words (and drawings) of spring (vocabulary).
My assessment; observing and writing down what the children explain about their drawings.
After watching my “draw and tell” story, please make your own picture and label it.

13. Act out a movement or shape to go with type.
Learning objectives ; children share words (and paintings) of clouds (vocabulary). Assessment; observing, taking pictures and writing down what the children explain about their drawings.
Act out a movement or shape to go with type.
Flannel story
Types of Clouds; stratus, cumulus and cirrus
Use of shaving cream & glue

14. Learning objectives ; children share understanding of rhyming words by reading stories. Assessment; observing, writing down what the children say and draw.

15. A teacher has to document learning from what the story taught

16. Types of documentation for observation

17. Reading a book Leads to……..
Art in many forms;
Design and building Legos, Lincoln Logs, blocks
Clay and materials for sculpture designs
PERFORMANCE-BASED arts: Create, perform, demonstrate, learn, show…..that another session!

18. Ish by Peter Reynolds
Thank you and keep reading!!