#3 - Ready, Set, READ!

            This week I read an uplifting article about four preschools in Napa County, California giving English language learners a head-start in early literacy.  In the article, Courtney (2019) reports that the preschools are run by the Napa County Office of Education which offers free access to an early literacy app called Footsteps2Brilliance (F2B).  The main function of the app is an e-reader which is used by the teachers in the classrooms and the families at home.  Each preschool was recognized for reaching 1 million words read over the course of the school year!  The app helps level the playing field for English learners and other students from low-income families by giving them exposure to vocabulary and patterns of language that more affluent students are naturally exposed to.  The app can be used on most devices, including mobile devices, and includes eBooks, songs and learning games in both English and Spanish.  Sounds like an amazing program that makes my heart happy! 

           

            I wanted to learn more about F2B so I headed on over to their website.  Almost instinctually I checked the menu bar to see if they had a BLOG and was pleasantly surprised that they do!  I’m pretty sure I never would have done that before this class.  (I guess an old dog can learn new tricks!)  Before heading on over to the blog, I checked out the F2B page which highlights their use of research-based strategies for language learning combined with an approach that involves families.  Results are measurable and impressive!  A third-party study showed students who used the app for 1 month demonstrating a 7-month growth in vocabulary!  Way to go F2B!

             Finding myself excited to head on over to their BLOG J, I was even more excited to find the category tag on the side panel for “Early Learning Technology”.  I felt like I hit the Million Dollar Jackpot…Okay, maybe I’m going overboard, but I was pretty excited!  The first blog post I checked out was about the Summer Slide which is a concern for pretty much any grade level teacher of any subject!  F2B offers three approaches for using the app to turn the Summer Slide into the Summer Climb!  They have solutions for summer school, at-home reading challenges, and community-wide reading goals.  Personally, my third child (a boy) has been a slow-starter to early literacy and the summer slide is a personal concern of mine as a mother on top of a professional concern as a teacher.  My son loves the Epic! app which is also an e-reader for kids. 

           

            The second blog post I checked out was about the connection between reading and writing.  An updated version of F2B offers enhanced writing opportunities through Create-A-Book and My Journal features.  Not only do these activities foster early writing skills, they also help students develop word processing skills.  An interactive word bank supports emergent writers.  The updated version also offers dozens of new games, including ones developing early literacy skills in rhyming and classification.  Another win for F2B if you ask me!  Slide…or maybe climb…on over and have a look!

References

Calling all Writers! Version 7 Is Finally Here! (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2019, from https://www.footsteps2brilliance.com/version7/

Courtney, K. (2019, June 19). Napa County preschool program celebrates 1 million words read. Retrieved June 20, 2019, from https://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/napa-county-preschool-program-celebrates-one-million-words-read/article_8d268840-05dc-5b2b-91f1-6987daf0370b.html

Transform the Summer Slide into the Summer Climb. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2019, from https://www.footsteps2brilliance.com/transform-the-summer-slide-into-the-summer-climb/