1. Early Literacy Learning Model: Child Interests
Distance Learning Events brought to you by the Center for Early Literacy Learning
Hello and welcome to the early literacy learning model child interests distance learning event brought to you by the Center for Early Literacy Learning.
To begin this event, click on the button labeled BEGIN EVENT on this slide and the slides will automatically advance from there. At any point in the presentation you can use the controls at the bottom of the window to RESTART the presentation, PAUSE or PLAY the presentation, REWIND a slide, or FAST-FORWARD a slide. The PROGRESS BAR will show you the portion of the event you have viewed and what portion remains with the advancement of the PLAYHEAD. When the presentation is complete, you can close the window by clicking the X at the bottom right corner.
To access the slides and slide notes, click on the PDF file titled “Child Interests Slides and Notes” on the home page. This file can be used to print copies of the event content.

2. What is this CELL distance learning event?
This distance learning event focuses on child interests, the beginning component of the early literacy learning model
The purpose of this distance learning event is to share information about:
The definition of child interests
The importance of child interests
Tools for identifying child interests
This distance learning event focuses on child interests, which is the beginning component of CELL’s early literacy learning model. The early literacy learning model forms the basis of our training-of-trainer events. The model should be used as parents and practitioners implement the CELL practices using ideas from the CELL practice guides that are located on the CELL website at
Our goal is to share with you information about child interests, including a definition, their importance, and tools you can use to help identify child interests. By participating in this distance learning event, you will better understand why you need to pay attention to children’s interests and how you can identify them, whether at home or in the classroom. The other components of CELL’s early literacy learning model are featured in additional distance learning events.

3. Pause and think about child interests before you proceed!
What are child interests?
How do you know when a child is interested in something?
Why do you think child interests are important to early literacy learning?
Click here to read or listen to CELL’s responses to these questions.
Proceed through the distance learning event with these responses in mind.
Before you go further in this distance learning event, we think it is important for you to pause and think about child interests from your point of view. Write down the responses that immediately come to mind for each of these questions:
What are child interests?
How do you know when a child is interested in something?
Why do you think child interests are important to early literacy learning?
Once you’ve written down your brief and immediate responses to these questions, please click on the link you see on your screen to read or listen to the responses that CELL has prepared for these questions. Then, please proceed through the remainder of this distance learning event with these responses in mind.

4. Introduce: What are child interests?
All children, with and without disabilities, have interests and preferences
Children have different types of interests, including:
Personal
Situational
Some children’s interests seem to be related to their age
All children, with and without disabilities, have different types of interests and preferences. Like adults, children have personal interests. Examples of children’s personal interests include stuffed animals, favorite book series, balls, action figures, tags on blankets, musical instruments, the family pet, light switches, cupboards, pots and pans, talking (for instance, about a favorite topic or to a favorite friend or relative), reading (for instance, holding a book, flipping through the pages, pretending to read, reading the pictures), writing (for instance, random scribbles on a page, early formed letters, made-up spelling), and drawing. Children can also have situational interests that are triggered by features or “interestingness” of the context. For instance, children can be interested in sights at the street fair, seeing animals at the zoo, a new classroom play area, or a table with art supplies.
Some children’s interests seem to be related to their age. For example, infants tend to be interested in putting things in their mouths, grasping, bright colors, bold patterns, cooing or babbling, rocking, rattles, musical toys, and new people. Toddlers tend to be interested in doing things by themselves, music (listening to it as well as making it), special stories or books, riding toys, colored markers, special friends, and bugs. Preschoolers tend to be interested in dramatic play, playing dress-up, books, pets, eating out, painting, games, rhymes, and balls.

5. Illustrate: Tools for Identifying Child Interests
Interest-Based Everyday Literacy Activity Checklist
Tool that parents can use to help them with identification of their own child’s interests, including:
Activities that are of interest for a particular child
Activities that would be interesting for a particular child
This tool is shown on the next two slides and can be accessed on our tools page located here
CELL has developed two tools that can be used for identifying child interests. One tool is the Interest-Based Everyday Literacy Activity Checklist, which can be used in collaboration with parents to help them identify their own child’s interests including whether a particular activity is of interest for a particular child and whether a particular activity would be interesting for a particular child. This tool could also be used by a classroom teacher, with or without a parent’s help, to identify interests for individual children.
On the next two slides we show you what this tool looks like. It can also be accessed on our tools page by clicking on the link you see on your screen. This link will take you to all of the CELL tools that were reviewed in the on-site training and in the other distance learning events.

6. Here is the “Interest-Based Everyday Literacy Activity Checklist
Here is the “Interest-Based Everyday Literacy Activity Checklist.” As you can see, the front cover on the right hand side of the slide provides an overview of the tool, instructions for completion, as well as a place to write down the child’s name, date of birth, and the date of checklist completion. The back page on the left hand side of the slide provides you with space to write additional everyday learning activities of interest to the child for whom the checklist was completed.

7. On the inside pages is a list of a number of everyday activities that may already be or that would be of interest to the child for whom the checklist is being completed. It is important to note that the tool can be modified with different activities as needed. When modifying the tool, just be sure to include only activities that have opportunities for literacy learning within them.

8. Illustrate: Tools for Identifying Child Interests
Early Childhood Classroom Interests Assessment
Tool to help teachers identify interests of the children in their classroom
This tool is shown on the next two slides and can be accessed on our tools page located here
The other tool is the Early Childhood Classroom Interests Assessment, which can be used by teachers to help them identify interests of the children in their classroom. On the next two slides we show you what this tool looks like. It can also be accessed on our tools page by clicking on the link you see on your screen. This link will take you to all of the CELL tools that were reviewed in the on-site training and in the other distance learning events.

9. Here is the “Early Childhood Classroom Interests Assessment
Here is the “Early Childhood Classroom Interests Assessment.” As you can see, the front cover on the right hand side of the screen provides a description of why you might want to use the tool and three easy-to-follow steps for using the tool. The back page on the left hand side of the screen provides you with space to make notes about the assessment.

10. On the inside pages is a place to write down the date the assessment was completed, the teacher and program names, the names of the children in the classroom, and the classes top interests. The inside pages also provide a grid of sample interest activities with space to write down the names of the children under the sample interest activities.

11. Introduce: Why are child interests important?
A child’s interests form the basis of CELL practices
Children are more likely to become engaged in an activity if they are interested in it, which increases the opportunity for learning
Watch the video Interests Lead to Learning by clicking on the following link
Children’s interests are important for at least two reasons. First, a child’s interests form the basis of the CELL practices which are located on our website at Second, children are more likely to become engaged in an activity if they are interested in it, which increases the opportunity for learning. Generally, it is important for you to realize that the best way to help a child master new behaviors and abilities is to help the child get engaged by providing experiences and activities that interest him or her.
To help you better understand why child interests are important, watch the CELL video called Interests Lead to Learning by clicking on the link you see on your screen.

12. Illustrate: Why are child interests important
Illustrate: Why are child interests important? The Interest-Based Cycle of Mastery
Mastery
Interests
Engagement
Competence
Literacy
Activities
This interest-based cycle of mastery might help you visualize why child interests are important. As you can see, it shows that interests form the basis for a child’s engagement in literacy activities, which eventually leads to a child’s competence in, and mastery of, literacy abilities. For children to master new behaviors, they need to first be interested in the experiences and activities that promote those behaviors. For promoting literacy learning in young children, this means providing them with books about topics they are interested in, and focusing activities on their established interests. Participating in an activity that is interesting to a child helps engage the child in the process. For example, a preschooler who is a devoted Batman fan will likely be eager to share a Batman book with an adult and be able to sustain focus on the book for longer. Engagement also comes from being an active (rather than passive) participant in the activity, meaning the child is directing the activity, and verbally and physically participating.
Competence develops through practice, or repeated experiences of engagement. The more frequently a child participates in an activity she is interested in, the more competent she will become at that activity. The more competent and confident the child feels, the more reinforcing the activity will be to participate in. For example, once a child has learned to recognize a letter in print, she will want to look for “her” letter when she sees print. She will get better and better at correctly identifying “her” letter and discriminating between it and other letters.
Once a child has achieved sufficient competence to have mastered a task – for example, a toddler successfully using alphabet cookie cutters with play dough – his success will encourage him to continue experimenting with this and similar activities, generating and expanding further interests. The child who has mastered and enjoys the art of using cookie cutters to make letters will likely move on to other types of experimentation with play dough, such as using tools to “write” in play dough, and the mastery cycle begins again. 12

13. Practice: Child Interests
Think about a child that you know well or the children in your classroom
Complete the Interest-Based Everyday Literacy Activity Checklist for the child that you know well; or
Complete the Early Childhood Classroom Interests Assessment for the children in your classroom
Take one interest and map out the child’s behavior that shows you the four components of the mastery cycle
To help you think about and use the content covered in this distance learning event, it is useful for you to put the information that was introduced and illustrated into practice. To do this, please do one of the following; either (1) think about a child that you know well or (2) think about the children in your classroom. If you chose to think about a child that you know well, complete the Interest-Based Everyday Literacy Activities Checklist for that child. If you chose to think about the children in your classroom, complete the Early Childhood Classroom Interests Assessment for the children. Then, take one interest that was identified that includes some literacy aspect. Given what you know about the child, map out what behaviors you might see in the four aspects (interest, engagement, competence, and mastery) of the mastery cycle.

14. Practice: Child Interests
Do you want more practice on child interests?
We have developed additional practices!
You can click here to access the additional practices for home visitors or practitioners.
Do you want more practice on child interests? We have developed additional practices specific to a center-based environment and a home environment. You can access the additional practices by clicking on the link you see on your screen.

15. Evaluate: Child Interests
Think about these questions: (1) What interests did you identify?; (2) What behaviors of the individual child or group of children suggested the interests that you identified?; (3) When you used the mastery cycle, what behaviors did you see at each component?; (4) Why was it easy or hard to identify the behaviors?
Do you have any questions about the practice exercises? Please submit them to our discussion board by clicking here
Once you have completed the practice exercise, think about answers to these questions: (1) What interests did you identify?; (2) What behaviors of the individual child or group of children suggested the interests that you identified?; (3) When you used the mastery cycle, what behaviors did you see at each component?; and, (4) Why was it easy or hard to identify the behaviors? These questions are designed to get you to evaluate your work on the practice exercise.
Do you have any questions about the practice exercises? Please submit them to our discussion board by clicking on the link you see on your screen. CELL staff will provide written answers to your questions. This is an ideal opportunity for you to ask questions that allow you to think about the process of identifying child interests.

16. Reflect: Child Interests
We strongly encourage you to reflect on the information you have learned in this distance learning event
Reflecting assists you to determine your level of knowledge and the outcome of your practice
To help you reflect about child interests, print and complete the checklist located on our tools page located here
We strongly encourage you to reflect on the information you have learned in this distance learning event. Reflecting assists you to determine your level of knowledge and the outcome of your practice. Are you comfortable with the level of knowledge acquired? Do you need more practice? To help you reflect about child interests, print and complete the checklist located on our tools page by clicking on the link you see on your screen. This link will take you to all of the CELL tools that were reviewed in the on-site training and in the other distance learning events.

17. CELL Early Literacy Learning Model: Bringing It All Together
Literacy-Rich Environments
Everyday Literacy Activities
Early Literacy Outcome Indicators
Responsive Teaching
Child Interests
CELL Early Literacy Learning Model: Bringing It All Together
You have now explored the child interests component of CELL’s Early Literacy Learning Model. Remember, as this figure shows, the components of the model are interdependent. Child interests, everyday literacy activities, responsive teaching, and the environment are in a constant interplay to affect child outcomes. To gain a full understanding of all components of the early literacy learning model, remember to access the other distance learning events that focus on the other components of the model.

18. Thank you! Thank you for accessing this CELL distance learning event!
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Remember to access other CELL distance learning events!
Thank you for accessing this CELL distance learning event about the child interests component of CELL’s early literacy learning model. If you haven’t done so already, we encourage you to read the CELL paper written by Dunst et al. in 2006, titled Framework for Developing Evidence-based Early Literacy Learning Practices, which is housed in the products section of the CELL website at This resource provides more about the information presented in this distance learning event.
We value your feedback! We want to provide helpful and high quality information. Please share your thoughts by completing our survey at the link displayed on this slide.
Remember to access other CELL distance learning events at the same location where you accessed this distance learning event.
Keep doing everything you do for young children and their families! We look forward to your return for other distance learning events.