2007 Printable Manual - Texas State Library and Archives ...

Sail Away With Books!
Phonological Awareness
• Sing songs that allow children to hear how words are broken into syllables. For example,
sing “The Eensy Weensy Spider" and clearly enunciate the syllables.
• Read a book or present a flannel with rhyming words. Repeat the rhyming words when
the story ends.
• Recite Mother Goose and other simple rhymes. Ask the children to repeat them.
Vocabulary
• If a book contains a word that the children may not know, introduce the word before
reading the book and tell the children what the word means. Ask them to listen for the
word in the story. After you finish reading a book, repeat the word. Let the children
repeat the word and briefly talk about its meaning again. Describe the word in context to
the story.
• Connect new words to something the children may have experienced.
• Display objects or pictures representing new words.
• After you read a book or finish a flannel board story, ask the children to name the objects
in the story.
Print Awareness
• Run a finger under the title of the book as you read it aloud.
• Point to a repetitive word in a story and let the children say it each time you read the
word, or have them repeat a refrain.
• Pull a book out of the storytime bag, have a big book placed upside down on a stand, or
open a book backwards and hold it incorrectly. Watch to see if the children react. Then
show the children the correct way to display or hold a book.
Help parents feel comfortable with their role in their child’s literacy development by providing
take-home sheets and handouts whenever possible. The handouts can include song lyrics,
rhymes, fingerplays, games, and suggestions for additional activities that parents or caregivers
can practice with the child between storytimes. In addition to the resources available through the
Every Child Ready to Read @ your library web site, materials in manuals provided by the Texas
State Library may be used in your library. Copies of past Texas Reading Club manuals, along
with other early literacy resources such as “Read to Your Bunny” and “El día de los niños: El día
de los libros,” are available online at www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/pubs/index.html.
Legalities
We don’t mean to rain on your parade, but several legal issues may affect your programs. If you
have questions about a specific situation, please seek legal counsel. The Texas State Library and
Archives Commission shares this information but is unable to offer legal advice.
The Bingo Enabling Act
Bingo games fit so many areas of our programs; it is an easy game to play, and can be tailored
for almost any topic. While you may be tempted to play “Sports Bingo,” “Nutrition Bingo,” or
even “lotería de leer,” as you plan your summer programs, please be aware that it is a third
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