Early Literacy
Professional Development Workshops
MAKE WAY FOR BOOKS workshops provide comprehensive instruction for teaching early literacy skills. Most professional development workshops are held at the MWFB headquarters in Tucson, Arizona and conveniently scheduled throughout the year.
If you are interested in hosting or remotely attending a workshop, please send us an email. MWFB will keep you informed of future plans to offer the workshops via the Internet or in other southern Arizona locations.
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Workshops
A Healthy Child Is Read to Every Day
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Storytime is the cornerstone of quality early literacy education. This fun workshop models effective read-aloud strategies and is chock-full of tips and tricks for storytime. Participants come away with the tools and skills to incorporate early literacy experiences in their everyday teaching. The workshop discusses early brain development research and why it is vitally important to read aloud to young children; how to select books based on developmental levels, and how to implement daily storytime in ongoing curriculum.
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- Early brain development research
- Tips and tricks for storytime and book selection
- Teaching children to take care of books
- How to involve parents
- Setting up a lending library
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Making Books Come Alive: The Fun of Storytelling Together
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Engage children in books through songs, puppets, and other activities. This workshop provides ideas on how child-care providers can provide interactive stories through music, dramatic play, and art. Additionally, the workshop addresses techniques to encourage children to tell and create stories through the use of non-fiction and wordless books.
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- Tips on how to encourage dramatic play and retelling stories
- Incorporating music into a story
- The power of drawing while telling a story
- The use of wordless/pictorial books to support co-narration in children
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Reading Readiness Through Storytime and Play
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Fostering the development of key pre-reading skills is critical to kindergarten readiness. This essential workshop focuses on the six reading-readiness skills identified by the Arizona Department of Education. Educators learn how to assess reading readiness and monitor progress; integrate classroom strategies and play activities that help children develop specific reading-readiness skills, and effectively use the accompanying lessons and activities. Additionally, the workshop models storytime best practices and fun play activities.
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- Print awareness
- Book handling
- Phonological awareness
- Letter knowledge
- Vocabulary development
- Comprehension
- Teachable moments
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Promoting Peace Through Picture Books
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Mahatma Gandhi said: "If we are to reach real peace in the world, we shall have to begin with the children." And what better place to start than with our youngest children? This unique workshop focuses not only on how to use books to help preschoolers develop reading readiness skills but also on how to help them acquire the social-emotional skills they need for successful learning in kindergarten and beyond. Teachers learn how to use picture books with themes of kindness, cooperation, and diversity to engage children in reflective and creative activities to become peacemakers.
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- Using books to teach peaceful behaviors
- Building a peaceful classroom community
- Teaching methods of self-control
- Modeling positive conflict resolution
- Fostering respect for others
- Teaching respect for the environment
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A Curious World: Exploring and Discovering Through Books
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Extending beyond the traditional storytime, teachers will be instructed on how to use non-fiction books to spark children’s curiosity and answer their burning questions. The workshop encourages teachers and children to use books to discover their world together. The activities in the workshop demonstrate the use of books in conjunction with art, science, and cooking to support meaningful and exciting new learning opportunities for children.
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- Incorporating factual books in fun and meaningful ways
- Using books to celebrate diversity
- Strategies for connecting books to different learning areas
- Using books to encourage a natural sense of wonder
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MAKE WAY FOR BOOKS professional development workshops are free to early childhood educators and childcare providers. However, conducting the workshops and developing the related teaching guides involve significant costs. One workshop (including the teaching guide) for one educator averages $150. Because MWFB relies on donations to provide its early literacy resources, we ask that you consider making a donation today. Any amount will help MWFB continue to provide these workshops and establish additional professional development opportunities.
Make Way For Books is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. As such, all gifts are tax-deductible, as allowed by law.
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All of the MAKE WAY FOR BOOKS Teaching Guides include sections on "Suggested/Core Books," "Things to Get Ready," "Getting the Children Ready to Listen," "Read-Aloud Guide," "Extension Activities," and "Related Books."
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