Bilingual Storytime At Your Biblioteca

Bilingual Storytime at Your Biblioteca: What, Why and How
Katie Cunningham, Children’s Librarian
Lexington Public Library, Village Branch
Lexington, KY
kcunningham@lexpublib.org

Cuentosbilingües en la biblioteca de village
Miss Katie reads Perdido y encontradoby Oliver Jeffers to local children enjoying a bilingual storytime about friendship at the Village Branch Library.
February 10, 2010

Today we will cover…
What is bilingual storytime, and who can do it?
Why should my library/school offer bilingual programming?
How do I plan and implement a bilingual storytime program?
Resources and questions

Why are you here today?

What is Bilingual Storytime
…and who can do it?

Bilingual Storytime Is:
A standing storytime program that uses various elements such as books, music, fingerplays, flannelboards and other storytelling techniques to equally promote and encourage the development of early literacy skills and inspire a love of reading in both English and Spanish
From “Bilingual Storytime: What, Why and How” chapter by Katie Cunningham in Celebrating Cuentos: Promoting Latino Children’s Literature and Literacy in Classrooms & Libraries, edited by Dr. Jaime Naidoo. To be published Fall 2010.

What if I’m not Bilingual?
Incorporate books by Latino authors/illustrators
Incorporate books that positively feature Latino characters
Choose books that have some Spanish words in the text
Choose bilingual books and read the English, while pointing out that Spanish text is also included
Use Spanish and/or bilingual movement songs, rhymes and fingerplays
Tandem programming with community volunteers

Why Should I Offer Bilingual Storytime at my School/Library
…and how do I convince my boss?

Benefits of Bilingual Storytime
Casts a wider net than monolingual storytime; will appeal to those already speaking Spanish and those who want to expose their children to other languages
Opportunity for social interaction among diverse groups of children
Opportunity to visibly welcome your Spanish-speaking community, and to showcase Spanish materials, programs and services
Model early literacy skill building techniques in two languages

Literacy Needs of Latino Children
There is no one picture of the “Latino” child!
Every Child Ready to Read / Cadaniñolistopara leer
Reinforce to parents importance of speaking/reading with children in their native language
Alternative early literacy skill building techniques for low-literacy parents

Challenges to Bilingual Storytime
Staff Buy-In
Budget
Anti-Immigrant Sentiment

My Advice?
Know Your Community!
Know Your Administration!
Be An Advocate!
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel!

Thinking about your community
Who are the Latinos in our community?
Where are they coming from and why?
How long have they been here?
Where do they live?
How do they exchange information?
What organizations are helping the Latino community?
Do the Latinos in our community use the library?
If no, what barriers are preventing this?

Thinking about your administration
What are the mission, vision, values and strategic goals of your organization?
How does bilingual storytime align with each of these?
What is the goal of bilingual storytime and how will you measure its success?
Outreach? Kindergarten readiness? Inclusive programming?
Who are your advocacy allies? Who are roadblocks?
Know what motivates them!
How can you maximize/minimize their impact?

Be an Advocate!
Always remember, Advocacy Is Not Whining!
Sell your story
Invite others to observe or participate in your program
Turn cultural celebrations into large scale events that the whole library/school can be part of
Encourage holistic inclusivity of the Latino community in all things your organization does

Do Not Reinvent the Wheel!
Collection – bilingual titles are more bang for your buck than translations
What does your organization already have that you can modify?
Flannels
Drawing stories
Storytime kits/plans
What have other bilingual storytime practitioners already done that you can do too?

¡EstoyLista! I’m Ready! So Now What Do I Do?
Choosing books and planning bilingual storytimes

My Approach
Family storytime format
Early literacy development
Math/science skill inclusion
Books by Latino authors/illustrators
Traditional folklore and nursery rhymes
Repetitive and cumulative tales to reinforce specific Spanish vocabulary
Simple movement songs with motions in the lyrics

Matemáticas in bilingual Storytime
We graphed our amigos during our friendship storytime to explain math concepts such as counting and comparing in a visual way.

Common Outline
Typically a 30 minute program
Welcome – take time to explain rules and to point out early literacy skills
Opening Song
First Book
Storytelling: Flannelboard, Drawing Story, Creative Dramatic or other technique
Second Book
Movement Song
Third Book
Closing Song

Sample: Snow/Nieve
Welcome
Opening Song: “Hola amigo”
Fingerplay: Five Little Snowman / Habíancincomuñecos de nieve
Froggy se visteby Jonathan London
Retell using flannelboard to reinforce clothing vocabulary
Movement song: “Los niñoscuandobailan”
Phonological awareness and vocabulary
El día de nieveby Ezra Jack Keats
Reinforces narrative skills
“Disappearing Snowman” cut-and-tell
Closing Song: “Adiós amigos”

What to avoid
Overly wordy bilingual books
Books that reinforce stereotypes
Translated books with awkward word flow
Books you don’t like

Flannelboards
Folktales and cumulative stories
The Bossy Gallito
La Hormiguita
Stories that reinforce vocabulary
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Picky Paul
Eight Animals
Dog’s Colorful Day

Final Thoughts
Did we cover everything?

Final Thoughts
Available resource lists
Establishing a Collection to Support Bilingual Storytime: Recommended Books and Music
Recommended Online and Print Resources
Taking Storytime Home / Cuentos en casa
Bilingual Family Storytime Sample Plans:
Birds / Pájaros
Friendship / La amistad
Questions?
kcunningham@lexpublib.org
www.bilingualchildrensprogramming.blogspot.com

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Bilingual Storytime At Your Biblioteca

by Katie Cunningham on Mar 30, 2010

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