Early Literacy Materials Selector (ELMS): A Tool for Review of Early Literacy Program Materials
About this ebook
Learning to read and write is too important to be left to chance, so it′s absolutely critical that the early literacy curriculum and literature you use in PreK and kindergarten environments reflect the very best research and instructional practices. But, with the proliferation of new products, what′s the best way to start? What criteria should the curriculum meet? Which research-based best practices should be represented? Early Literacy Materials Selector (ELMS)—the first dedicated evaluation tool for early childhood literacy materials—provides all the answers.
Step by step, this one-of-a-kind toolkit will help you:
- Recognize the characteristics of high-quality literacy materials
- Work in teams or individually to evaluate your resources
- Understand the importance of the research base
- Establish a baseline against which new literacy materials can be compared
All in all, there′s no better resource to ensure we put our youngest students on the right path to school readiness and success.
"Teachers, administrators, and curriculum directors will appreciate the clear guidance for conducting a systematic review of core program materials. A highly effective tool for examining the quality of early literacy materials, ELMS is the first of its kind, and will be a welcome resource."
—Susan B. Neuman, Professor
University of Michigan
"A much needed resource for considering features of curriculum materials in a systematic way. I know of no other tool like it for early childhood materials."
—Judith A. Schickedanz
Boston University
Ratings and reviews
About the author
Kathleen Roskos teaches courses in reading assessment and instruction at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. Formerly an elementary school reading teacher, Dr. Roskos has served in a variety of educational administration roles, including director of federal programs in the public schools, department chair in higher education and director of the Ohio Literacy Initiative at the Ohio Department of Education. She has developed and coordinated numerous educational grants, most recently an online literacy specialist endorsement program. Dr. Roskos established one of the first public preschools in Ohio (Bridges and Links). She has been instrumental in the design and development of statewide online professional development in reading for P-12 teachers. Her more recent activities involve professional development in Early Reading First programs in Arizona, New Mexico and Ohio. Dr. Roskos studies early literacy development, teacher learning and the instructional design of professional development for educators, and has published numerous research articles, chapters and books on these topics. She recently completed service as a lead writer of the 2010 Educator Professional Standards of the International Reading Association.
Lisa Lenhart is a professor in the College of Education at the University of Akron. She is currently the Director of the college’s Center for Literacy and is PI on numerous grants. For the past several years, she has been engaged in creating online professional development for teachers. She has co-authored several books including Oral Language and Early Literacy in Preschool with Kathleen Roskos and Reading and Learning to Read, a popular textbook. Prior to her work at The University of Akron, Lisa taught in Ohio’s schools for more than 10 years. In her free time Lisa likes to read, bake and hike. She is married to Matt and the mother of two daughters, Hannah and Emma.
Dr. Brandi Noll is an Assistant Professor at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio where she teaches literacy courses. She is a former teacher, reading specialist and literacy coach. Dr. Noll earned her masters of Reading at Malone University in Canton, Ohio and her PhD in Elementary Education with a focus in Literacy at The University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. Dr. Noll has presented both locally and nationally at a variety of literacy related conferences including the International Reading Association’s National Conference. She has also published articles in a variety of journals and online sites. Dr. Noll lives near Canton, Ohio with her husband and three children, and enjoys working onsite with local teachers in order to bring research into their classrooms.
