Literacy Initiatives
Alphabet Literacy Play
With funding from a National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Literacy Award, Dr. Mary Katherine Duncan and a workgroup of Bloomsburg University (Chapter 202) Phi Kappa Phi students assembled eight alphabet literacy kits. Inspired by Dr. Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, each kit was designed to teach letter recognition and phonemic awareness to pre-readers and emergent readers by focusing on one of eight different forms of intelligence—linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic. Click on the pictures below to learn more about the activities and resources included in each kit. Click on the pictures below to learn more about the activities and resources included in each kit.
As always, we welcome your ideas and feedback! Please send your comments to butoylibrary@bloomu.edu.
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Linguistic Intelligence
Logical-Mathematical Intelligence
Spatial Intelligence
Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence
Musical Intelligence
Interpersonal Intelligence
Intrapersonal Intelligence
Naturalistic Intelligence
Print Motivation Literacy Play
With funding from the Jones Center for Special Education Excellence, Print Motivation Literacy Play totes have been designed to support the development of children’s print motivation. Print Motivation is an early literacy skill that refers to children's interest in reading and writing. Strategies for promoting print motivation focus on helping children to experience reading as an enjoyable activity. Building literacy activities into pretend play is one way to encourage print motivation because children learn best through hands-on experiences.
Click on the image below to view a PDF version of the Print Motivation Literacy Play booklet. The document showcases the BU Toy Library’s collection of role play costumes, literacy and play resources, as well as a list of literacy activities related to each of several professions. Check out the totes today!
As always, we welcome your ideas and feedback! Please send your comments to butoylibrary@bloomu.edu.
Vocabulary Literacy Play
With funding from a College of Liberal Arts’ Faculty Enhancement Grant, Vocabulary Literacy Play totes have been designed to support the development of children’s vocabulary skills.
Vocabulary is an early literacy skill that refers to the number of words that a person uses and understands. Vocabulary includes words for people, animals, occupations, things (e.g., clothes, vehicles, furniture, food, etc.), places, actions, feelings, and concepts.
Click on the image below to view a PDF version of the Vocabulary Literacy Play booklet. It showcases the BU Toy Library’s collection of Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie books, play and literacy resources, as well as story-related activities to support children’s vocabulary development. Check out the totes today!
As always, we welcome your ideas and feedback! Please send your comments to butoylibrary@bloomu.edu.
Diversity and Kinship Literacy Play
With funding from a Bloomsburg University Margin of Excellence Award, Dr. Mary Katherine Duncan, Dr. Sheila Dove Jones, Dr. Yanhui Pang, Ms. Nancy Edwards, and Ms. Jean Downing in consultation with Ms. Nina Edgerton of the James V. Brown Library (Williamsport, PA) identified dozens of children’s books that celebrate human diversity and highlight human kinship. In collaboration with students enrolled in Early Child Development (PSYCH211), project leaders designed and assembled literacy theme kits for each book. Jump over to Amazon to view book descriptions and images.
As always, we welcome your ideas and feedback! Please send your comments to butoylibrary@bloomu.edu.
Diversity and Kinship Literacy Play Booklet
Click on the image below to view a PDF version of the document.
Diversity Literacy Play
Kinship Literacy Play
Health Literacy Play
Health literacy refers to the ability to read, understand, and act on health-related information. Individuals with low functional health literacy (e.g., children) are less likely to understand health-related information and to act in accordance with health professionals’ recommendations and instructions. Access to developmentally appropriate reference materials on childhood physical morbidities (e.g., asthma and obesity), psychological morbidities (e.g., ADHD and anxiety), and developmental conditions (e.g., learning disabilities and pervasive developmental disorders) may advance children’s knowledge about common health conditions, encourage children to take a more active and positive role in safeguarding their health, and promote children’s sensitivity and responsiveness to those affected by a broad range of health issues. Funded through the Bloomsburg University College of Liberal Arts’ Curricular Enhancement Fund, Dr. Mary Katherine Duncan and students enrolled in Developmental Psychopathology (PSYCH337) created a reference library of health literacy materials for families, children, and youth. All titles are published by Magination Press, an imprint of the American Psychological Association. Full descriptions of these books can be found here.
As always, we welcome your ideas and feedback! Please send your comments to butoylibrary@bloomu.edu.
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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Learning Disabilities
Adoption and Foster Care
New Baby/New Home
Grief, Bereavement, and Depression
Therapy
Toileting
Parental Conflict, Divorce, and Remarriage
Friendship and Social Skills
Food and Diet
Illness and Hospitalization
Fear and Anxiety
Oppositional Behavior and Anger
Trauma and Traumatic Events
Stress and Coping
Special Needs Children
Parental and Grandparental Illness
Repetition and Rhyming Books
Jump over to Amazon to view book descriptions and images.
BU Bibliotek
With funding from a Bloomsburg University TALE Teacher-Scholar Award, Dr. Mary Katherine Duncan developed BU Bibliotek to provide a resource for the children and youth in our area who experience traumatic events that threaten their psychological well-being. The selection of books was informed by Janoff-Bulman’s cognitive theory of traumatic stress. Briefly, Janoff-Bulman posited that basic assumptions such as ‘the world is a safe and predictable place,’ ‘others are benevolent and trustworthy,’ and ‘the self is competent and worthy of love’ are learned and confirmed through early and ongoing interactions with caregivers. Over time and with experience, these assumptions are gradually modified into more guardedly optimistic beliefs such as ‘the world is a relatively safe, place but unexpected things happen,’ ‘others are generally kind, but not everyone and not always,’ and ‘the self is competent at many things, but incompetence is also a reality.” In contrast, traumatic events elicit an abrupt shattering of these basic assumptions and yield maladaptive beliefs such as ‘the world is unsafe,’ ‘others are malevolent,’ and ‘the self is incapable of doing anything about it.’ Children’s literature provides a safe and familiar medium with which parents, professionals, and paraprofessionals may begin restoring children’s more guardedly optimistic perspectives on the self, the world, and others. Jump over to Amazon to view book descriptions and images.
As always, we welcome your ideas and feedback! Please send your comments to butoylibrary@bloomu.edu.
BU Bibliotek Booklet
Click on the image below to view a PDF version of the document.
Book List