Friday, Jan. 27 is Family Literacy Day in Alberta! There are many ways in our community and beyond, to access activities to support literacy development. We would like invite you to celebrate with us this week by trying out some family literacy activities curated by the CBE Literacy Team.
Foundations Friday: Calgary Reads Foundation created this family-friendly video to introduce Scarborough’s Reading Rope. This video shares information on how we learn to read and ideas on how we can bring reading to life at home and school.
Sounds Good Saturday: Listening to podcasts and audiobooks builds vocabulary and background knowledge. They provide the opportunity to use our minds to visualize & organize what is going on while we are listening. Pop one on during lunch or in the car & enjoy!
Sunday Funday: Playing games together develops social skills, a sense of sequencing, & oral language. Card games, word games, and board games are a great way to spend the weekend, or anytime together.
Messaging Making Monday: Communicating through written messages is a gift we share with our children. Writing is our thoughts made visible to others. This can be done through writing and drawing, and is often most powerful when we combine them.
Talking Tuesday: Conversation is essential to literacy & critical thinking development. Embedding discussion into any of the week’s topics increases the potential for growth. Also, try to ask open- ended questions to deepen discussion.
Watching Wednesday: Viewing and listening are great ways to learn. Watching shows together can create opportunities for conversations and questions, as well as increase our vocabulary & understanding of topics and skills.
Thinking Thursday: Background knowledge is info that is already stored in our brains. It helps us make sense of what we read, see, & hear. Increasing it is one way to help expand our ability to read, write, & think. Fact-filled videos are one way to do this.
Family Literacy Day Friday: Today is officially Family Literacy Day! To celebrate let’s share any amazing books you have read (in class or at home) with a Tweeted book blurb, a conversation with a friend or at home tonight to help others in the #CBELiteracy community find their next great read. We would like to remind you that our Calgary Public Library is a tremendous resource to support all areas of literacy in our #WeAreCBE community! Check them out (online) for details.
