Early Literacy Materials Selector (ELMS)
A Tool for Review of Early Literacy Program Materials
- Kathleen Roskos - John Carroll University, Cleveland, OH
- Lisa Lenhart - University of Akron, Ohio, USA
- Brandi Noll - University of Akron, Visiting Professor, Ashland University, USA
Foreword by Carol Vukelich
Your all-in-one guide to selecting the very best early literacy materials!
Learning to read and write is too important to be left to chance, so it's absolutely critical that the early literacy curriculum and literature you use in PreK and kindergarten environments reflect the very best research and instructional practices. But, with the proliferation of new products, what's the best way to start? What criteria should the curriculum meet? Which research-based best practices should be represented? Early Literacy Materials Selector (ELMS)—the first dedicated evaluation tool for early childhood literacy materials—provides all the answers.
Step by step, this one-of-a-kind toolkit will help you:
- Recognize the characteristics of high-quality literacy materials
- Work in teams or individually to evaluate your resources
- Understand the importance of the research base
- Establish a baseline against which new literacy materials can be compared
All in all, there's no better resource to ensure we put our youngest students on the right path to school readiness and success.
"Teachers, administrators, and curriculum directors will appreciate the clear guidance for conducting a systematic review of core program materials. A highly effective tool for examining the quality of early literacy materials, ELMS is the first of its kind, and will be a welcome resource."
—Susan B. Neuman, Professor
University of Michigan
"A much needed resource for considering features of curriculum materials in a systematic way. I know of no other tool like it for early childhood materials."
—Judith A. Schickedanz
Boston University
"This tool provides a much needed resource for considering features of curriculum materials in a systematic way. I know of no other tool like it for early childhood materials. Even if a user wishes to tweak in a place or two, by broadening the research considerations, the overall framework and processes would still be extremely useful."
"Early Literacy Materials Selector (ELMS) provides a tool for choosing the right literacy program that will glean high level results for your students. It provides a roadmap for choosing a program that supports the instructional components and needs of beginning teachers to seasoned veteran educators."
"The purpose of this book is useful for any professional that needs to examine and evaluate educational materials for early literacy programs. I feel this book serves its purpose. It is highly organized, efficiently designed coupled with an effective layout to make good use of time and energy. Meanwhile, it contains a valuable rationale and direction. This book would not only be useful but purposeful enough to give direction and clarity to the educational materials that it seeks to evaluate."
"Learning to read and write is too important to be left to chance. Roskos and Lenhart have created a highly effective tool for examining the quality of early literacy materials. Teachers, administrators, and curriculum directors will appreciate the clearly-written guidance for conducting a systematic review of core program materials. It's the first of its kind, and will be a welcome resource for those who evaluate materials."