Early Literacy: Perkins Panda

1
Early LiteracyPerkins Panda

• Tom Miller
• Educational Partnerships Program
• Perkins School for the Blind

2
Early Literacy

• What is Literacy????
• Literacy in its most basic form is the ability
  both to understand and to express ones feelings,
  desires and experiences to others.
• Perkins Panda Resource Guide, p. 7, 2002

3
Early Literacy

• How does literacy develop?
• Experiences are at the heart of literacy
  development.
• Perkins Panda Resource Guide, p 6, 2002

4
Early Literacy

• Language development Hierarchy
• Verbal Symbolic Behavior
• Visual Expressive language Writing
• Visual Receptive Language Reading
• Auditory Expressive Language Speech
• Auditory Receptive Language
• Comprehending the Spoken Word
• Inner Language
• Visual/Auditory Symbol and experience
• EXPERIENCE
• Myklebust, Psychology of Deafness, 1969

5
Early Literacy

• How might visual impairment and/or additional
  disabilities affect literacy development?
• Primary issue is the loss of incidental learning
  ACCESS to the full sensory experiences of life
  which enable us to build an understanding of the
  world.

6
Early Literacy

• What is our role as parents, caregivers and
  professionals in literacy development?
• As families, caregivers and professionals our
  primary role is enabling the child to read the
  world.
• Rosenketter, Learning to Read the World, p. 4,
  2004

7
Early Literacy

• The Perkins Panda Early Literacy Program is
  designed to encourage
• Connections between caregiver and child
• Literacy opportunities which focus on play and
  social interaction

8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
Early Literacy

• To enable the child to read the world you need
• PRESENCE being there when child reaches for a
  toy, smiles, and responding with acknowledgement,
  pleasure, and verbal labels.
• Music and songs create a fun opportunity for
  being present with your child.
• An opportunity for movement, concept development
  and social interaction.
• Rosenketter, Learning to Read the World, p. 6,
  2004

11
(No Transcript)
12
Early Literacy

• TIME to notice and expand on the childs
  efforts, to explain actions and words, and to
  share, label and jointly experience everyday
  activities.
• Opportunities for literacy learning exist within
  all our day to day experiences with our child.
• Rosenketter, Learning to Read the World, p. 6,
  2004

13
(No Transcript)
14
(No Transcript)
15
Early Literacy

• WORDS well chosen to encourage childs efforts,
  words combined with waiting for the childs first
  communication attempts via whole body movements,
  gesturing, vocalizations or pseudo-words.
• Rosenketter, Learning to Read the World, p. 6,
  2004

16
Early Literacy

• Literacy is more than words.
• Literacy involves the ability to read and
  communicate ones needs and desires through
  objects, symbols, pictures, sign, gestures, or
  print.

17
(No Transcript)
18
(No Transcript)
19
Early Literacy

• PRINT acknowledge and expose the child to the
  many forms of print (symbols, pictures, Braille)
  in their day to day life.
• Rosenketter, Learning to Read the World, p. 6,
  2004

20
(No Transcript)
21
Early Literacy

• Successful literacy development connects objects,
  words, symbols, or pictures to the childs
  experiences.
• Literacy gives meaning to your childs world and
  connects them to others.

22
(No Transcript)
23
(No Transcript)
24
Early Literacy

• INTENTION repeatedly and emphatically emphasize
  the lifelong importance of (for both adult and
  child) of words and print.
• (tangible symbols objects pictures, Braille)
• Rosenketter, Learning to Read the World, p. 6,
  2004

25
(No Transcript)
26
(No Transcript)
27
Early Literacy

• Key message is
• Language works. Print, objects, symbols,
  braille are fun. They make my life better.
• Rosenketter, Learning to Read the World, p. 6,
  2004

28
(No Transcript)
29
(No Transcript)
30
Early Literacy

• Literacy development is grounded in our
  interactions with the child with visual
  impairments
• and
• In how we make everyday experiences and concepts
  accessible.