The Maine Department of Education (DOE), in collaboration with the Maine Roads to Quality Professional Development Network (MRTQ PDN), is offering a free professional learning opportunity for early care and education professionals working in preschool and kindergarten settings.
Emergent Literacy Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are designed for preschool and kindergarten educators interested in learning more about emergent literacy development and effective teaching practices to build children’s emergent literacy skills from ages 3 to 6. Emergent literacy skills are the building blocks for learning to read and write.
The Emergent Literacy Professional Learning Communities use modules developed by the Institute of Education Sciences. PLC topic areas include Print Concepts, Phonological Awareness, Vocabulary, and Oral Language.
| Module | Session Topics |
| Print Knowledge | What print knowledge is, why it is important, and how to teach it effectivelyTeaching print knowledge and using small-group explicit instructionTeaching print knowledge during read-alouds and considerations for children with special needs |
| Phonological Awareness | What phonological awareness is, when it develops, and why it is importantLevels of phonological awareness and features of effective phonological awareness instructionPhonological awareness instruction in action and considerations for English language learners and students with disabilities |
| Vocabulary | Background on vocabularyHow children learn new words, determining which words to teach, and using dialogic reading to teach vocabularyMore ways to teach vocabulary and considerations for English language learners and students with disabilities |
| Oral Language | What oral language is, why it is important, how children learn syntax, and how to teach syntax? Teaching oral language through conversations and supporting peer to peer interactionsOral language and listening comprehension and considerations for English language learners and students with disabilities |
Each PLC engages participants in short prereadings of two to three pages, followed by discussion, video viewing, hands-on learning, and reflective practice with support from peers and trained facilitators.
Each PLC meets two or three times, with each meeting lasting 90 to 120 minutes. Some offerings may instead cover all the content in one full-day session. In-person and virtual options are available.
Review the available PLC offerings and register. Registration will remain open until five days before the selected PLC begins.
For additional information, please contact Nicole Madore, Early Childhood Specialist at the Maine DOE, at Nicole.Madore@maine.gov or Lee Lingelbach, Technical Assistance Manager at MRTQ PDN, at lee.lingelbach@maine.edu.
This professional learning opportunity is sponsored by Maine’s Preschool Development Grant (PDG) Birth through Five (B-5) initiative, a collaboration between the Maine DOE and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
Funding provided through the U.S. Department of Education (ED) supports implementation of this project. The project award totals $30,000, all of which is federally funded and directly attributed to project implementation. The contents of this announcement are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, ED or the U.S. government.
