Thursday, February 5, 2009

AT in the EC classroom:literacy

Literacy:
Emergent literacy is an increasing focus in today’s early childhood classrooms. Devices such as slant boards (to hold books), books on tape, AAC pre-recorded chants (e.g. for “The Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle), interactive books with corresponding picture buttons, books with textures (i.e. touch and feel books), using the computer for storytelling (digital narration) and creating stories (e.g. “On A Green Bus” by Don Johnston, Inc.), books with raised pictures, and interactive reading books (coordinating pictures with Velcro for attaching to pages) enable children of all abilities to access this area of the curriculum. If your child needs assistance to turn the pages of a book, perhaps the use of a page-turner, a device that enables the user to turn the pages of a book independently using various methods (e.g. baton, joystick, switch, sip & puff, push button, etc.), may be desirable.

Story time, whether it is at circle time or one-on-one in the library, is a special time to relate with characters and storylines with friends. Children have the opportunity to reflect on what they would do in the situation, laugh at funny events, and predict what the outcome will be while asking questions and making comments to their classmates and teachers. If your child uses an AAC device, it should be programmed to include requests to have a book read to them, titles of books for them to choose, answers to various questions that might be asked by the teacher, questions that your child might have, etc. At this age, many children like the repetition of a particular chant in a book and/or the repetition of reading a familiar book over and over again. Finding a friend who shares a love for the same story is a wonderful way for children to establish a connection with one another.

If you found this post helpful, tell others! use the "share this" link below the post.

No comments:

Post a Comment