Training Opportunities

This is the place for early literacy training and education opportunities for library staff. Ohio Ready to Read trainers are available to provide a content-rich, fun, educational one-day or half-day workshop at your library. There is no charge for ORTR staff training workshops! Schedule a training at your library today to help you and your staff build a firm foundation in early literacy.

Early Literacy 101 - A new Ohio Ready to Read workshop for library staff

This is a hands-on workshop to help build a firm foundation in early literacy. Participants will learn about research that shows how brain development impacts how young children learn, and will explore effective, research-based early literacy resources and activities. The workshop covers the Six Early Literacy Skills presented in the PLA/ALSC Every Child Ready to Read® 1st edition, and the Five Early Literacy Practices presented in the 2nd edition, along with other early literacy concepts and tools. The instructor will help attendees get ready to offer early literacy storytimes and become well-equipped to work with parents and community partners to share early literacy concepts and build community support.

Who will enjoy and benefit from this workshop?

Library workers who are new to children's services
Department managers or library directors with new children's services staff
Outreach staff
Newly degreed youth services librarians
Library science students
Any library worker who wants a refresher course in early literacy
Other early childhood professionals in your community

Ohio Ready to Read early literacy trainers are available to come to your library to offer this workshop. To be eligible, you must arrange for a minimum of five public library employees to attend. They may be all from your library's staff, or you may invite neighboring and area libraries to participate. Once you have at least five library workers signed up, you may also open the workshop to child care workers and other early childhood professionals. There is no charge for this workshop.

Interested? To request a training at your library, simply contact ORTR Training Coordinator Natalie Fields using this link and submit your answers to the questions included in the email message.

Early Literacy 101 is a full-day (5 contact hour) workshop. A 3-hour mini-workshop is also available. When you place your request, please specify if you want a half-day workshop.

STAR POWER™ - A workshop with Saroj Ghoting

Saroj Ghoting debuted her STAR POWER™ workshop at five Ohio public libraries in August 2011. The Ohio Ready to Read Task Force sponsored these workshops and contributed content. These workshops focused on introducing PLA/ALSC's Every Child Ready to Read @ your library® 2nd edition. Workshop content also included connections between ECRR1 and ECRR2, storytime enhancements, library environments, a showcase of existing Ohio library programs that support the five practices, and an overview of resources and tools available from Ohio Ready to Read.

Download and share these STAR POWER™ workshop resources with your library staff (all downloads are in PDF format unless otherwise indicated):

Workshop agenda
STAR POWER™ slide presentation by Saroj Ghoting. This file includes the slides from Saroj's presentation in notes/handout view.
Workshop materials from Saroj's website. This site provides the workshop handouts not otherwise linked here, plus additional resources.
Early Literacy Enhanced Storytimes Incorporating ECRR2 - ideas on how to share the six early literacy skills and the five practices through storytime development and early literacy asides. Provided by Saroj Ghoting.
Preschool Demonstration Storytime: Big and Small - a storytime outline demonstrating early literacy asides. Provided by Saroj Ghoting.
Skill Comparison provided by Saroj Ghoting. This document is a crosswalk between the six skills, Washington DC's early learning standards, and Head Start outcomes. (8/31/11 Note: Ohio Ready to Read is working on a similar crosswalk for Ohio, which will be posted to this website when completed.)
Supporting the Five Practices in the Library - a slide presentation by the Ohio Ready to Read task force. This presentation spotlights existing programs in Ohio libraries, and other resources which align well with the five practices. The next four items are handouts and program outlines that accompany this presentation.
Music in Early Literacy Storytimes - a tipsheet on how to incorporate music into activities for each of the six skills, plus recommended CDs. Provided by Elaine Betting.
Book Bingo - a passive program to keep families learning and building on what the children learn in storytimes. Provided by Krista Tokarz.
Bookworms: The Very Hungry Caterpillar - sample program from a book club for pre-readers and their caregivers. Each week, the group reads a book, splits up for small group discussion questions, and does lots of extension activities so that kids walk away with a deeper understanding of the book. Provided by Marisa Glaviano.
Fun with Art - a family program for ages 2-5 to explore the messy world of art, with stations designed to encourage "writing" skills in a creative way with paint, storytelling and even shaving cream or play-dough. Provided by Krista Tokarz.

STAR POWER™ in Ohio was sponsored by the Ohio Ready to Read Task Force and the Children's Services Division of the Ohio Library Council, with technical support from the State Library of Ohio and the Ohio Library Council. The workshops were funded through a grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), awarded by the State Library of Ohio.

Additional Training Opportunities for Librarians

Fun and Facts of Storytime training available on request!
This is a hands-on workshop based on ECRR1. It will help participants build a firm foundation in early literacy and offer storytimes that incorporate the six pre-reading skills. The instructor will help attendees work with parents and community partners to share early literacy concepts and build community support. Ohio Ready to Read early literacy trainers are available to come to your library to offer this workshop. To be eligible, you must arrange for a minimum of five public library employees to attend. They may be all from your library's staff, or you may invite neighboring and area libraries to participate. Once you have at least five library workers signed up, you may also open the workshop to child care workers and other early childhood professionals. There is no charge for this workshop. Interested? Simply contact ORTR Training Coordinator Natalie Fields and she will will reply to discuss your training needs and schedule a workshop.

Music and Movement Activities in Children's Programs
Vanessa Bond created this workshop for the Medina County District Library. She is available to do a workshop at your library to lead children's staff through the activities she suggests. The workshop handout (PDF, 10MB) is free for you to use. It includes a developmental chart of musical behaviors by age, and tips for working with children including singing, instrument playing, and movement. These materials tie in well to the ECRR2 practices of singing and playing. Contact Vanessa for more information or to schedule a workshop.

For more information on Ohio Ready to Read trainings please contact Training Coordinator Natalie Fields.

Other Useful Resources

Ohio Professional Registry, a centralized information system for professional development / training opportunities for Ohio's early childhood and afterschool professionals.

Ohio Department of Education Pre-Kindergarten Content Standards.

Report on PLA/ALSC Every Child Ready to Read® @ Your Library® workshops (PDF) held across Ohio in Fall 2007 and Spring 2008.

Regional Coordinators

The original Ohio Ready to Read Network consisted of sixteen regional library coordinators (PDF). The coordinators' responsibilities included:

Communicate the importance of Ohio Ready to Read to library directors and children's librarians in the district
Identify and develop community partners to reach as many families as possible with the tools that will support their children's early learning and development.
Provide training opportunities for children's librarians in public libraries.
Communicate to children's librarians the importance of compliance with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Step Up To Quality model. You can also view the accompanying Specialized Training information from ODJFS.

Ohio Ready to Read Trainers: Please use this form to record trainings that you are offering in your area. You will need to create an account. Once you have done this you will be able to post Ready to Read trainings you are offering.

Training Request Form