The Library of Michigan is thrilled to announce our Youth Services Advisory Council's pick for 2020's Ready to Read Michigan book program:  A Parade of Elephants by Kevin Henkes. In the two years since the Ready to Read Michigan program began, we have successfully supported public libraries in targeting future readers during their most important developmental years and supported parents and caregivers in getting them ready to read.  

Ready to Read Michigan's book program is designed for public librarians to use in storytimes, and for outreach, to further develop early literacy skills in the young child (ages 0-5), preparing them for their school-aged years, and to model to parents and caregivers the five practices of early literacy from Public Library Association’s Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR); Talk, Read, Play, Sing, Write.

RTRM is hosted by public libraries mainly during “March is Reading Month” to promote the importance of reading aloud to young children throughout the state. The program includes a kit based on a picture book that brings public librarians together with parents, caregivers and early childhood educators, to highlight early literacy activities for children. If you are a school or early childhood provider, please contact your local library to schedule a visit or storytime around A Parade of Elephants' program time. 

More details and public library staff training to follow this Fall & Winter. For questions, please contact Cathy Lancaster, Youth Services Coordinator at the Library of Michigan, at 517-335-8129 or LancasterC5@michigan.gov.  

Are you with a school or early childhood program such as Great Start or Head Start? Ready to Read Michigan began in 2018 to assist your local library in better serving you and children 5 and under. 

Contact your local public library this winter to schedule a visit or in-library storytime during March is Reading month, or a time before the end of the school year. Your students will love marching along with the elephants, at your library! 

MeL's newest early literacy eResource, PebbleGo, is now live! This addition to MeL's early literacy offering is for young readers in Kindergarten through 3rd grade.  Our full book content subscription includes access to the Animals and Social Studies modules.

Content and User Experience

PebbleGo boosts engagement and fosters independent learning in core subject areas. With informational articles and ready-made activities, students of all abilities are supported. There are also supplemental resources for educators.

Student content areas include:

• Articles and activities for Animals and Social Studies
• Video and/or audio clips for most articles
• Citation tool that teaches students to "Share What You Know" with a printable template

Educator content areas include:

• Content maps
• Correlations to curriculum standards
• Lesson plans

PebbleGo offers consistent navigation in a friendly environment. User's will find guided keyword searching in a large visual search area. All articles have the option to be read aloud in a natural voice which helps model correct pronunciation and fluency.

Coming in mid-August, Capstone will be releasing an update to the user interface. PebbleGo will increase its accessibility by becoming compatible with assistive technologies. It will also be mobile responsive so no matter what type of device you're using to access PebbleGo, your experience will be consistent.

Support Resources and Training

Looking for links to connect to PebbleGo on your own website? The direct and geoIP URLs are available on MeL.org. A new web button is also available.

 Save the date! Tuesday, September 10^th training webinars will be available to learn the ins and outs of PebbleGo. Learn how the curated nonfiction content supports research and digital literacy.

• Library Staff: 11:00 am EST
• Educators: 4:00 pm EST

Later this month registration links will be available at MeL.org. In the meantime, be sure to mark your calendars!

If you'd like to dive into some early learning, be sure to check out the Capstone Community site. There you will find links to tutorials, user stories and a blog full of useful information.

Want more information on MeL?  Sign up for the MeL Minute and other Library of Michigan e-mail lists via GovDelivery. MeL eResources are available to Michigan residents or for Michigan library or school access only.

Liz Breed
Michigan eLibrary Coordinator
Library of Michigan | Michigan Department of Education
517-335-1497 | breedl@michigan.gov
www.mel.org

FREE Ready to Read Michigan (RTRM) reproducible materials are up on our website, www.Mi.gov/ReadytoRead. Download, print, and use in storytime or make available in your library. Items include the following:

• RTRM Poster featuring the 5 Practices of Every Child Ready to Read*
• RTRM Parent & Caregiver Trifold
• RTRM Booklist
• RTRM Alphabet Mat*
• RTRM pre-made Activity Dice* and Fillable Activity Dice*
• RTRM Shape Dabbing Sheets

*Please note that some pieces above require 11"x17" paper

For additional information on the Ready to Read Michigan program, please go to www.Michigan.gov/ReadytoRead or contact Cathy Lancaster, Youth Services Coordinator at the Library of Michigan: LancasterC5@michigan.gov. 

Ready to Read Michigan is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, with additional support from Consumers Energy Foundation and the Library of Michigan Foundation.