We have also added professional development books covering topics from conflict resolution to writing instruction and a series of award-winning multicultural picture books. Bromley includes annotated bibliographies on relevant children's and professional books. The Draw and Tell Journal offers pre-writers opportunities to develop their literacy skills by drawing a picture in response to a story that they have just heard. The group's facilitator talks with each individual child and asks questions about the picture and records the response on the picture. The child's words are read back so the child understands the relationship between spoken and written words.
Time is a luxury for most line staff in after-school programs.
If you do not have the time to read and respond to youth journals, Book Buddy Journals are a viable option. These journals give children opportunities to write letters back and forth about a book they are reading. This type of journal writing offers authentic writing experiences, as children communicate with an audience. As the writers gain more practice in talking and writing about literature, their responses become more thoughtful and detailed. A Learning Log is a type of journal in which students write informally about what they have learned.