March 2008 — News

Print this article

Click here to receive your FREE subscription to T.H.E. Journal

PBS Launches Professional Development for PreK Literacy

by Dave Nagel

Extra Credit
Early Literacy Research

Is it ever too soon to start developing literacy skills in children? Research suggests not. The American Library Association provides links to several studies on childhood development, and the Public Library Association and the Association for Library Service to Children have set up a program called "Every Child Ready to Read" to promote early literacy.

More Information:

ALA Research Pages

PLA/ALSC Every Child Ready to Read Wiki

EduHound's Literacy Resources

--D. Nagel

PBS Teacherline and PBS Kids have combined forces to launch a new preschool literacy professional development program. Dubbed "Raising Readers: Preparing Preschoolers for Success," the program includes one asynchronous online course, available now, with two more courses slated to roll out later in the year.

Raising Readers: Preparing Preschoolers for Success is part of a five-year literacy initiative for preschoolers and young learners aimed at teachers, parents, and caregivers. It's funded in part through a grant from the United States Department of Education's Ready To Learn grant. It's supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS, and the Ready To Learn Partnership.

PBS TeacherLine is an online resource that offers professional development services and other resources for teachers in K-12 and higher education. PBS Kids Raising Readers is an early literacy program that includes a television series, Web content, and a preschool curriculum designed to develop literacy skills in kids aged 2 to 8.

The first professional development course offered in the Raising Readers series, "Preparing Preschoolers for Success," focuses on preschool teachers and child care providers to help them "understand key concepts about early literacy and learn an array of practical strategies for developing children's early literacy skills." It was tested initially in a pilot program last fall involving 91 child care providers in four PBS markets.