The PRIME TIME Family Reading Program continues this Saturday at the Charles B. Washington branch of the Omaha Public Library, with “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle.
Dr. Mitzi Ritzman, Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders at UNO, says the program is a partnership between UNO, the Omaha Public Library and Humanities Nebraska.
Ritzman says it’s a service-learning project for graduate students in her Birth to 5 years early intervention class.
Ritzman says the reading program is designed to help families bond around the act of reading. She says students guide the process by modeling reading strategies.
"We use a specific strategy called dialogic reading and it’s really powerful for early language facilitation. It’s a methodology where adults and kids look through the picture books together and talk about the book, going beyond the written word. So instead of just reading the text, the adult, in this case the student modeling for the parent or caregiver, uses those language techniques to promote a dialogue…”
Ritzman says this strategy is proven to be effective in accelerating vocabulary development and encouraging kids to use their language in new and different ways.
Each reading session begins with breakfast to establish community among families. The PRIME TIME Family Reading Program runs Saturdays through November 21st from 9-12:30.
For a complete list of upcoming books or to register, the number is 402-444-4849.