Planning and evaluation
Planning effective early literacy sessions
Planning
When you are planning your overall storytime program you need to think about:
- the early learning opportunities of storytime sessions and the age of the audience, and
- the space you will use and how it will be set up to minimise distractions for the children.
Templates and further reading
- The
planning template will assist you in planning your storytime session. - A run sheet to use as a guide during a storytime is helpful - see the run sheet template and
sample. - Find more information in Early language and literacy in NSW public libraries - see section 5, Planning effective early literacy sessions.
When planning your storytime, remember to always keep the big picture goals in mind:
- sharing the enjoyment of books and reading with the children
- exposing them to a wide variety of high quality books
- and sharing ways to support children’s early literacy with adults.
These are the overarching goals of all storytime programs. In addition, during storytime, presenters model the behaviours that may directly promote the language and literacy development of young children.
Evaluation
Self-reflection and feedback from others can help to improve storytimes. Ask yourself:
- What worked well?
- What did the children relate well to?
- How would you do it differently next time?
Sharing experiences with other library colleagues can also help to improve the effectiveness of the design and delivery of the learning experiences they provide.