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<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">This morning I received two emails containing news about national initiatives that are encouraging parents and caregivers to talk, read (tell stories), and sing with babies
and toddlers. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Here are a few highlights I copied and pasted from the articles that relate to the early literacy work we do. Below is a link to one article and the full text of the other.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black">Research has taught us that one important factor associated with disparities is the frequency and quality of adult-child interactions, both parent-child
and teacher-child interactions. “Parent talk”—described as how often adults talk and engage in back and forth interactions with young children— is an especially important practice for “brain building” and reducing the earliest disparities.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black">A compelling and widely cited study found that in the first three years of life, children from low-income households heard roughly 30 million fewer
words and engaged in fewer back-and-forth conversations than their higher-income peers (Hart & Risley, 2003). This gap in what is
<i>heard</i> has consequences for what is <i>learned</i>.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black">Bridging the gap in baby-directed talk is a challenging but conquerable task. The good news is, talking, singing, and interacting with babies is free
and reading is low cost. [Reading is FREE when families can walk to a public library!]</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">The American Academy of Pediatrics <a href="http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20140624/pediatrics-group-wants-parents-to-read-to-their-children-every-day">issued
its first official position on literacy</a> this week, telling pediatricians to advise parents to read aloud to their children every day, starting at birth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">But Oregon, led by
<a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2013/09/nancy_golden_replacing_rudy_cr.html">
Chief Education Officer Nancy Golden</a>, plans to barrage parents of young children with a slightly different message: Talk, sing and tell stories with your babies, toddlers and preschoolers every day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">The difference is an important one that Oregon leaders learned by listening to parents and cultural leaders in diverse Oregon communities, including low-income,
rural, Latino and Native American [leaders]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1"><![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">A campaign that emphasizes reading books to babies and young children could sound off-putting, [Nancy] Golden says. But you don't have to sit down with your child
and read highbrow literature to build crucial pre-literacy skills, she says. Talking while playing outside, singing silly songs, making up rhymes and telling stories all do that, she says.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">[The Oregon Education Investment Board] plan to kick off a campaign this fall promoting singing, talking and storytelling as the best way for families to help their
young children prepare for kindergarten.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Getting all students to read well by the end of third-grade is Golden's No. 1 priority<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Here are a couple things these articles made me think about in our practice:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Encouraging caregivers to tell stories may be more culturally appropriate than pushing book reading (although we hope they’ll start reading too!).
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Storytelling is in important activity that fosters the development of early literacy skills and should be encouraged.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Wordless picture books are great tools to help adults who aren’t comfortable with their storytelling skills get started. They may also be great way to encourage
parents who “expect teachers to shoulder the load of teaching reading” to start sharing books with their young children.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<![if !supportLists]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><![endif]><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Research continues to indicate that in-person adult-child interactions are critical to early learning. Many professionals disagree about the use of technology in
early learning; especially with children 2-6 years old. Regardless of where we stand on this issue, it’s important to remember that the adult-child interaction, or lack of them, around whatever learning tool or experience is going to have the most significant
impact on early learning. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">What did these two articles make you think about in our practice?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="color:black">Katie Anderson, Library Development Services<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="color:black">* Youth Services Consultant * Oregon Center for the Book Coordinator *<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="color:black">Oregon State Library, 250 Winter St. NE, Salem, OR 97301<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="color:black"><a href="mailto:katie.anderson@state.or.us">katie.anderson@state.or.us</a>, 503-378-2528<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="color:black"><img border="0" width="110" height="86" id="Picture_x0020_3" src="cid:image007.jpg@01CF911D.64DE19B0" alt="Fizz Boom Read"><img border="0" width="69" height="90" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image008.jpg@01CF911D.64DE19B0" alt="Girlandcloud"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">Summer Reading 2014 at<span style="color:#1F497D">
</span><a href="http://libdir.osl.state.or.us/">Oregon libraries</a><span style="color:#1F497D">!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">Find a<span style="color:#1F497D">
</span><a href="http://www.summerfoodoregon.org/">summer food site</a><span style="color:#1F497D">.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">DOCTORS SAY 'READ' DAILY TO BABIES AND TODDLERS, BUT OREGON SAYS 'TELL STORIES' (Portland Oregonian)
<a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2014/06/doctors_say_read_daily_to_babi.html#incart_river">
http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2014/06/doctors_say_read_daily_to_babi.html#incart_river</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">The American Academy of Pediatrics issued its first official position on literacy this week, telling pediatricians to advise parents to read aloud to their children every day, starting at birth.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Bridging the Word Gap, One Baby at a Time
<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">By Shantel Meek, PhD, Policy Advisor for Early Childhood Development<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">Today, the White House released
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhC3n7oUm9U"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">a video message by President Obama</span></b></a></span><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">
</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">stressing the importance of learning and development in the earliest years of life and pledging his partnership in making sure every single child has access to adequate
support, equal opportunity, and a fair shot to fulfill his or her dreams. In particular, he discusses the “thirty million word gap”-- the early disparities between low- and higher- income children in the number of words they hear-- and how high quality early
learning experience can help us close that gap. The release of the President’s video is part of a campaign organized in partnership with
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><a href="http://toosmall.org/"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">Too Small to Fail</span></a></span><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">,
</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">a joint initiative of the
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><a href="http://www.clintonfoundation.org"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation</span></a></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">
and </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><a href="http://thenextgeneration.org/"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">Next Generation</span></a></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">,
to raise awareness of the importance of closing the word gap. </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><a href="http://toosmall.org/news/commentaries/obama-clinton-mccain-and-frist-appeal-to-parents-to-closethewordgap"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">Videos
by Secretary Hillary Clinton, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and Cindy McCain,</span></a></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black"> each focused on the positive influences that the early language environment,
characterized by talking, reading, and singing to babies, can have on child outcomes, were also released.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">As most of you know, the beginning years of a child’s life are critical for building the early foundation needed for success in school and later in life. During
these years, children’s brains are developing rapidly, influenced by the richness of their experiences at home, in early learning settings, and elsewhere in the community. Unfortunately, not all children get the rich early learning experiences that facilitate
school readiness and success later in life. In fact, disparities in cognitive, social, behavioral, and health outcomes, between lower-income children and their more affluent peers, are evident as early as 9 months of age and may grow over time (Halle et al.,
2009). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">Research has taught us that one important factor associated with disparities is the frequency and quality of adult-child interactions, both parent-child and
teacher-child interactions. “Parent talk”—described as how often adults talk and engage in back and forth interactions with young children— is an especially important practice for “brain building” and reducing the earliest disparities. We also know that reading
and singing are important contributors to children’s early language environments. A compelling and widely cited study found that in the first three years of life, children from low-income households heard roughly 30 million fewer words and engaged in fewer
back-and-forth conversations than their higher-income peers (Hart & Risley, 2003). This gap in what is
<i>heard</i> has consequences for what is <i>learned</i>. Studies show that children who experience this drought of language in their environment have vocabularies that are half the size of their peers, putting them at a great disadvantage, long before their
first day of kindergarten. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">But while vocabulary and early language development are critical, we know that the word gap has consequences far beyond the number of words a child knows.
Each time a parent or caregiver talks, sings, or reads to- and shares a positive interaction with- a child, it builds and strengthens important connections in their malleable brain, which in turn, impacts learning and child development more broadly, influencing
things like social-emotional and cognitive development. Babies do not soak up information from their environment on their own; rather, they learn through
<i>actively</i> <i>interacting </i>with their environment, most importantly, the adults in their lives. Talking, singing, and reading to babies are three easy techniques that facilitate these fruitful interactions.
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">While much of the American public is aware that reading to children is an important activity that should be done regularly, not everyone knows the power of
talk and positive back and forth interactions, especially with <b><i>infants</i></b><i>.
</i>Now is the perfect time to change that.<b> </b>Bridging the gap in baby-directed talk is a challenging but conquerable task. The good news is, talking, singing, and interacting with babies is free and reading is low cost. Equipped with awareness and the
right information, every parent and teacher has the ability to communicate with their baby and provide a rich and stimulating early environment that will best equip them to succeed in school and realize their full potential.
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">The Obama Administration is committed to making sure that children have the supports and tools they need to thrive. Join us by helping
<b>raise awareness to bridge the word gap</b> so that every child has the earliest possible start to a bright future. To read more about the Administration’s work on the word gap, click
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/06/25/empowering-our-children-bridging-word-gap"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#0070C0">here</span></b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">.</span></a></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:black">
If you’re interested in joining this effort or sharing the great work you’re already doing, email us at
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><a href="mailto:wordgap@ostp.gov">wordgap@ostp.gov</a>.
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