Get Ready to Read! Previews Online Back to School Campaign

The Back to School season has arrived. The GRTR! team has assembled an assortment of early literacy resources and related information that are easy to find, easy to understand and are free.

Are you an early educator interested in new Spanish resources for the classroom and home? Are you a parent looking for early literacy checklists to bring to a PTA meeting? Are you a day care center director looking for cost-effective opportunities for professional development? Well, look no further than the GRTR! Web site.

Below you'll find a list of the new resources that will be available on GRTR! Web site, beginning September 19, as well as descriptions of upcoming online events.

Three Webinars on Building Pre-Literacy Skills

A series of three Webinars will be offered to teachers and child care providers, focused on various aspects of building literacy skills of pre-K children. These Webinars are being developed in partnership with the Stern Center for Language and Learning in Williston, Vermont. The Stern Center is a nonprofit literacy center with over twenty years experience dedicated to helping children and adults with learning differences reach their full potential.

Each Webinar will focus on a different topic in early literacy. 

• The first, being held on September 27 at 1:30 pm ET, will focus on Shared Book Reading.
• The second, being held on October 25 at 1:30 pm ET, will focus on Sound Awareness.
• The third, being held on November 29 at 1:30 pm ET, will focus on the Print to Speech Connection. 

Each Webinar will last approximately sixty minutes and are appropriate for practitioners-- anyone interested in expanding their understanding of early literacy. Participants are encouraged to send in questions ahead of time as well as submit questions during the Webinar. All Webinars will require advanced registration and will be filled on a first come first served basis. Those unable to attend the day of will have access to the content on the GRTR! Web site following the discussion. 

Details regarding registration will be available on getreadytoread.org on or before September 19.

Spanish Version of the Online Get Ready to Read! Screening Tool

The GRTR! team is thrilled to unveil the online Spanish version of the GRTR! screening tool. The screening tool, the foundation of the GRTR! program, screens children the year before kindergarten for essential pre-literacy skills. It has been available in both English and Spanish in print, but the new online Spanish version now makes it possible to screen children in Spanish for free. In pilot work conducted in Arizona, California and Georgia, the Spanish tool proved to be just as effective for children whose first language is Spanish as it is for children whose first language is English.

Transitioning to Kindergarten: A Toolkit for Early Childhood Educators

The Transitioning to Kindergarten Toolkit is a new, easy-to-use resource to help educators and child care providers prepare their children for the first year of school. The toolkit is made up of several sections, which can be mixed and matched to fit the needs of each classroom.

Too often, preparation for the transition to kindergarten begins in the few months leading up to the beginning of kindergarten. Research shows the most effective transition strategies begin early in the pre-kindergarten year. With the toolkit, caregivers and teachers can create a plan for skill-building and information exchange throughout the pre-kindergarten school year. In addition to highlighting age-appropriate skills that are an important precursor to learning to read and write -- like emergent writing, print knowledge and linguistic awareness -- the toolkit also contains a section with skill-building activities, checklists and worksheets to engage parents in their child's learning and transition to kindergarten. All of the pieces of the toolkit will be available to download at no cost.

Additional Resources for the GRTR! Activity Cards

Just when you thought using the GRTR! activity cards could not get any easier, the GRTR! team has added word lists and downloadable pictures to ensure educators and parents have all the tools they need to use the cards in the classroom and at home. Previously, if an activity required rhyming words and matching pictures for a matching game, parents would have to search out age-appropriate rhyming words and pictures. Now, all parents have to do is print the word list and pictures from links provided. These updated cards provide appropriate pictures and word lists for each card and are easily accessible in one place.

Online Training Center

The Online Training Center on the site will make GRTR! training materials available to anyone who is interested in providing workshops and professional development to teachers and child care providers, making the GRTR! program available to the widest possible audience. The downloadable training materials give professionals the ability to conduct complete training and orientation sessions conveniently and at no cost. The GRTR! team believes this area of the Web site will help encourage people around the country to introduce early literacy screening and resources into their schools, homes and communities.

Mapping to Get Ready to Read!

Two new papers will be available on the Web site, each describing how the GRTR! screening tool relates to other early childhood assessments being used in the field. These documents, one for educators and one for researchers, are important additions to the GRTR! resources because many people have questions about how the GRTR! screening tool differs from or is similar to what they are already using in their classrooms. These documents will also provide educators with concrete information to justify using the tool in their setting or with parents.

The GRTR! team is excited about the launch of the Back to School campaign. Please visit the getreadytoread.org Web site to learn more about these resources and events.