Early Book Stages (0-5 Years) [Video]
Roxanna Holguin
Using a lighthearted and simple approach, this 23-minute videotape in English and Spanish versions presents interactions between parents and children while reading books. The children in the videotape range in age from 0 to 5 years. The video is introduced by scenes of children enjoying books while a narrator discusses the impact of reading to children at a very early age. The remaining portion of the video is divided into segments by years: 0-1, 1-2, 3-4, and 4-5 years. The video covers the developmental stages and reading behaviors children go through in each period. The video shows infants chewing books and learning how to open books, older infants naming pictures and holding books upside down or turning pages backwards, and still older children gradually using books and listening to stories in a more traditional way. Interaction with the child is stressed in the video. A review of the entire footage is seen at the end of the video (about 1 minute in length) where it is easily observed that children who are read to early on go from "chewing books" to "reading books." The video uses graphics to make developmental points for each year. The video shows clearly what to expect children to do with books at different ages and how parents can facilitate their children's language skills and love of books by reading to them.
Roxanna Holguin. Early Book Stages (0-5 Years) [Video] (1995). Roxanna Holguin: Rio Rico, AZ.
Language: English
Reading Level: Easy
Formats Available: Videotape
Roxanna Holguin
c/o Early Book Stages
285 Calle Cappella
Rio Rico, AZ
85648
Phone: (520) 377-9616
Languages Available: English, Spanish
Creciendo con libros (0-5 años) [Spanish] [Video][Early Book Stages]
Intended User Audience:
The intended user audience is parents and early childhood educators from all disciplines. The videos are meant to be used with children from all cultural and linguistic groups.
Product Development:
These videos were developed by the author, a speech pathologist. In their home setting, she observed children (4 mo-5 years) from both genders who are from a variety of cultures, linguistic groups, sibling groups, home environments, etc. In the English video, the children are from European American, African American, Native American, and Hispanic backgrounds. In the Spanish video, the children are Hispanic and are mono-lingual Spanish speakers.
Product Evaluation:
The videos have not been formally evaluated, though they have been used by a wide range of early childhood programs.
Product Dissemination:
Approximately 500 copies have been distributed nationwide
Review #1
About the reviewer:
The reviewer is one of the Co-Investigators in the Research and
Assessment Core of a 5-year research project examining the
acquisition of English literacy by children who speak Spanish
as their native language. Her research in the last six years
has investigated the following areas: assessment of young
children’s first and second languages, the relationship between
bilingual children’s cognitive and linguistic development, the
use of play in helping children acquire thinking skills and the
use of computer and internet technology in language testing.
The reviewer is a native of the Philippines and has a Ph.D.
in developmental psychology from George Mason University.
Audience:
The developers intend the video to be used by parents and educators from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The video is especially appropriate for teen moms and first-time parents and immigrant parents who are learning English. It is likewise appropriate for use by older siblings of young children and other preteens and teenagers who are interested in babysitting young children. Needless to say, it is appropriate for use by trainers of the above-mentioned groups.
Strengths of the Material:
The video presents basic information about what young children can do at different ages from 0-5 and the appropriate and effective methods that older siblings, parents and educators can use to read to children at each age group. The narrator presents video clips of siblings and parents reading to children. She then points out the actions of the children that illustrate their capabilities at that age. The narrator also draws attention to the correct strategies that the siblings and parents are doing (in the video) to help young children read and appreciate books.
The information is presented in very easy English and is well illustrated by the actions of the parents and children in the video. Therefore parents and other users who are not very fluent speakers of English and have limited education will benefit greatly from this video. The narrator also presents the information in bite-size pieces. That is, she gives a summary of children's capabilities and the appropriate methods to use for each age group, and summarizes the information for children of all age groups at the end of the video.
Limitations of the Material:
Although European, African, Hispanic and Native American families are represented in the video, Asian and Arab American families are not. The influence of a first language (e.g., Spanish) on the children's reading of English books is not discussed in the video.
Although the video emphasizes the importance of reading to young children, there is no mention where immigrant or low-income families can obtain free or inexpensive books (e.g., public libraries, yard sales, literacy councils, reading organizations). Middle class parents routinely buy books for their children or their children receive books as gifts, but this situation is not necessarily true for struggling immigrant or low-income families and teen moms.
Adaptations:
Users of this video who are trainers of families for whom English is a second language should supplement it with other materials that provide more information about the interaction of a first language with learning to read in English (e.g., Snow, Burns & Griffin, 1998). Moreover, trainers of immigrant or low-income parents and teen moms should inform these parents about where they can obtain free or inexpensive books.
Generalizability:
The information in the video about children's abilities at various ages and appropriate methods in encouraging children's love of reading is fairly universal and can be generalized to the different cultural and linguistic groups in the United States. The information that the narrator presents is so basic that middle-class, more advanced, and more educated audiences will not profit from the video.
Recommendations:
Because the information presented in the video is very useful and basic, the reviewer would recommend this video to the older siblings, parents, and educators of young children from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds in the United States. However, trainers of such persons should be aware of the video's limitations and should make the necessary adaptations suggested above.
REFERENCE
Snow, C., Burns, S., & Griffin, P. (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in
young children. Washington DC: National Academy Press.
Producer's Response:
The feedback given for the Early Book Stages and Creciendo Con Libros videos is greatly appreciated. I am pleased with the general evaluations. In particular, I appreciate the extensions and related sources and ideas given, which would complement the content of the videos.
The videos were developed with simplicity in mind for parents to be able to clearly see that even with books, there are definite developmental stages children go through. Reading to children is the theme, though I took particular note of comments made about elaborating on print awareness in the environment. I would strongly encourage my videos be used as a piece of a literacy program, not as a total program for early literacy. It was meant to be a stepping stone for more extensive or in-depth conversations about literacy in general. The videos were developed to show parents visually, in a simple format, how reading to a child is an "interactive" as well as a nurturing time with a child. The benefits to a child over time become obvious as the viewers see the four and five year olds on the verge of reading simply because they were read to from an early age. Hopefully this will be a further reward to parents if this is pointed out to them, in addition to the bond that is developed with their children over books.
I would like to thank all the reviewers who took the time to view the videos and make their suggestions, which complement the video content. I will be using much of this information and have already begun modifying books for children with augmentative communication needs.
Review #2
About the reviewer:
The reviewer was born and raised in Taiwan. She had 15 years
classroom experience teaching preschool, kindergarten, elementary
school and college in Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. She also
has had 12 years of experience coordinating multicultural and
multilingual services in a large urban California school district.
She holds a master's degree in early childhood education and a Ph.D.
in education.
Audience:
This video is intended for parents, early childhood educators, early childhood education/child development students, and speech and language teachers and students. It is meant to be used with children from all cultural and linguistic groups.
Strengths of the Material:
The video presents succinct descriptions and illustrations of typical developmental stages of children's "book behaviors." It shows how children learn to use books and how their parents read to them from birth to age five. It also provides suggestions for selecting developmentally appropriate books for children at different ages. The format of mini-lectures with accompanying bulleted key points of book behaviors, then followed by video illustrations of the key points, is very effective in conveying the information. The mini-lectures are very brief, free of jargon, and very easy to follow and comprehend. The video segments further illustrate and reinforce the main key points of book behaviors at different developmental stages.
Children and families in the video are from European American, African American, Native American, and Hispanic backgrounds. Boys, girls, and parents, including three adult males (presumably fathers) from 15 families were featured in the 20 short episodes of the 30-minute video. In terms of cultural and linguistic diversity, the video does have a Spanish version, which features Hispanic and monolingual Spanish children and their families.
Limitations of the Material:
While the video does an effective job demonstrating the typical developmental stages of children's book behaviors, it falls short on providing specific strategies, techniques, and tips on HOW to read to children. It does mention this topic informally and indirectly. But, the main focus is on how children use books at different ages. Strategies regarding HOW to read to children and how to encourage a love of books in children could have been incorporated easily, and thus further extended the usefulness of the video. Even though promoting emergent literacy is not what this video is intended for, it can also be piggybacked easily by pinpointing a few things without greatly increasing the total video time or diverting the main focus. Some mentioning of print awareness and school readiness is noted. However, more concerted efforts probably could have been highlighted briefly to promote emergent literacy.
Another limitation is the exclusion of Asian American children and families in the video. Although a Spanish version video is available for monolingual Spanish speakers, the material does not address how other non- or limited-English-speaking or non-literate parents can and should also read to their children (assuming all children go through the same universal book stages even without the availability, accessibility and opportunities to use either English books or books in their primary language at their homes). Finally, the selection of the featured families also fails to acknowledge family diversity such as different family structures, multi-generation families, and families with disabilities.
Adaptations:
To further stretch the potential and practicality of this video, this reviewer proposes the following adaptations for users of this video:
· Develop a flyer and handout on different strategies, techniques and tips on HOW to read to children and how to encourage a love of books in children. Specifically, reading tone and pace, selection of vocabulary, animation, and dramatization are just a few suggestions to be addressed.
· To address the support for the non-or limited-English-speaking and non-literate families, provide suggestions about strategies to share books with children, such as looking at pictures and talking about pictures together with children, looking at pictures, and telling stories or making up stories with children.
· Present information and strategies on facilitating children's phonemic awareness when reading to children.
· Discuss how one can connect book reading with print awareness and children's development of writing.
Generalizability:
The video is useful in illustrating the book stages of children from birth to age five in all communities across the U. S. With adaptations, its potential is even greater for parents, educators, and students interested in knowing the developmental stages of how children use books and how adults can use books with children.
Recommendations:
In general, this video is a good resource for parents. This reviewer recommends it with the adaptations.
Producer's Response:
The feedback given for the Early Book Stages and Creciendo Con Libros videos is greatly appreciated. I am pleased with the general evaluations. In particular, I appreciate the extensions and related sources and ideas given, which would complement the content of the videos.
The videos were developed with simplicity in mind for parents to be able to clearly see that even with books, there are definite developmental stages children go through. Reading to children is the theme, though I took particular note of comments made about elaborating on print awareness in the environment. I would strongly encourage my videos be used as a piece of a literacy program, not as a total program for early literacy. It was meant to be a stepping stone for more extensive or in-depth conversations about literacy in general. The videos were developed to show parents visually, in a simple format, how reading to a child is an "interactive" as well as a nurturing time with a child. The benefits to a child over time become obvious as the viewers see the four and five year olds on the verge of reading simply because they were read to from an early age. Hopefully this will be a further reward to parents if this is pointed out to them, in addition to the bond that is developed with their children over books.
I would like to thank all the reviewers who took the time to view the videos and make their suggestions, which complement the video content. I will be using much of this information and have already begun modifying books for children with augmentative communication needs.
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