Very young children want to learn, so finding the elements that stimulate that eagerness even further is what stimulates early learning professionals like Sandi Klatt and Kristy Johnson.
The two women visited with the South East Cornerstone Public School Division trustees on May 21 to provide updates on the early learning programs featured in the division, especially those designed for children under the age of six.
Klatt, the co-ordinator for the early learning program, and Johnson, an early literacy consultant, provided a one-hour walk through one of the projects that have rolled out in the public school division, which engages the earliest of the early learners and how they intervene and engage.
Klatt said the early learning and care team consists of four people filling 3.6 full-time equivalent positions.
There are 96 children in the current caseload, up from 31 four years ago. The program is also currently supporting six expectant teen mothers who are completing high school. There are 25 First Nations students in the program that assists vulnerable children up to the age of six.
There are three early literacy consultants in the division, including Johnson.
“There aren’t any more positions, we have just re-assigned some,” said Klatt, referring to the growth in the programs and materials and how they are being delivered.
Klatt said the focus right now is on reading and the presentation of reading materials and stimuli for the early readers.
“We follow the I do, we do, you do model,” said Klatt, explaining how teachers and consultants deliver the assistance and how they get home support activated for reading programs.
Many of the reading projects are introduced to small groups, or even in one-on-one sessions. Getting students to read to themselves is a major step and any kind of material may be used, material that the student will relate to and enjoy. The material is not as important as the structure, Klatt said.
Guided reading programs, aimed at the student’s level of competence is another key, so there is plenty of flexibility as the youngsters move from one skill-set group to another in an ascending fashion. With students and teachers setting the goals, there is immediate feedback along with an increase in interest from the youngsters.
Saskatchewan Reads, is a provincial program for Grades 1 to 3, said Johnson. It provides reading materials and instructional materials and support for teachers.
Johnson, who has been engaged in the educational field for 14 years, spoke of the instructional reading and writing approaches used and how poetry and music is used during what she referred to as a “gradual release model” that helps youngsters get involved and build fluency in reading and comprehension as well as assessing their own skills and then reflecting on what they have learned. They begin making connections between what they read and the real world around them, she explained.
“Explicit modelling gets them engaged,” she said, using a few video examples recorded in actual classroom settings as early learners “got it” and attached themselves to the experience.
Manipulating letters, for example, becomes a fun experience for the children and with strong IT support from the school division, the possibilities are opened even further, she said.
Johnson said on occasion she’ll get to spend several days in a school to assist the educators and students on the reading and writing guided instructional paths.
By “delivering focused instruction, they’re taking steps to independence,” she said.
“Then they get the child to write with a purpose and they read material they want to read and develop good browsing habits,” she added.
Before long, the youngest readers are, “reading accurately and reading stuff they can understand and relate to and they read not only the words, but also the pictures and are able to retell stories and it’s not by accident, structure is necessary, but they are learning how to do something and are able to back it up,” said Johnson. “Teach, reflect and adjust,” she said near the end of the presentation.
The two women were thanked by Cornerstone’s board chairwoman Audrey Trombley who remarked on their positive and animated enthusiasm for the jobs they had.
