Early Literacy

What is Early Literacy?

It is getting late and bath time is almost done. After rinsing his two year old's hair, dad bundles his wiggling daughter in a towel and heads for her bedroom. "No sleep, NO SLEEP" she protests, "want MOMMY!" "Mommy's working, but she'll be home soon" says dad. "Time to get your jammies on so we can read our bedtime book." Dad sighs with relief as this bedtime routine works its magic in calming his child.

Settling in for a story, the little toddler picks up Owl Babies. "Great!" says dad. "Let's read and see when the mommy owl comes home." Cuddled together, dad and daughter look at the pictures of the snowy owls. Daughter points to her favorite, "Little Bill." Listening intently, the little girl waits in anticipation for the picture of Mother Owl. Together, dad and daughter cry "and she came!!" when the mother owl flies back to the nest. "See!" dad says, "Mommies do come back!"

What We Know About Early Language and Literacy Development

Early language and literacy (reading and writing) development begins in the first three years of life and is closely linked to a child's earliest experiences with books and stories. The toddler described above is not only being comforted by the interactions with her father, she is also learning about stories, language and the world around her. The interactions that young children have with such literacy materials as books, paper and crayons, and with the adults in their lives are the building blocks for language, reading and writing development. This relatively new understanding of early literacy development complements the current research supporting the critical role of early experiences in shaping brain development.

Recent research supports an interactive and experiential process of learning spoken and written language skills that begins in early infancy. Marie Clay, an educator, was the first to describe this process of learning to read and write as "emergent literacy" development. Also known as "early literacy" development, we now know that children gain significant knowledge of language, reading and writing long before they enter school. Children learn to talk, read and write through such social literacy experiences as adults or older children interacting with younger children using books and other literacy materials, including magazines, markers and paper. Simply put, early literacy research states that:

1. Language, reading and writing skills develop at the same time and are intimately linked.
2. Early literacy development is a continuous developmental process that begins in the first years of life.
3. Early literacy skills develop in real life settings through positive interactions with literacy materials and other people.

What We Know About Early Literacy Has Changed

This new understanding of early literacy development is different from the old ways of thinking of how children learn to talk, read and write. In the past, little importance was placed on what children experienced in the first years of life. It was believed that children learned to read and write only when they entered elementary school and received specific instruction. Language skills were believed to develop first, followed by reading and then writing. Formal instruction and curriculums emphasized the teaching of reading and writing to children when they reached school age and not before.

Early Literacy Does Not Mean Early Reading

Our current understanding of early language and literacy development has provided new ways of helping children learn to talk, read and write. But it does not advocate "the teaching of reading" to younger and younger children. Formal instruction which pushes infants and toddlers to achieve adult models of literacy (i.e., the actual reading and writing of words) is not developmentally appropriate. Early literacy theory emphasizes the more natural unfolding of skills through the enjoyment of books, the importance of positive interactions between young children and adults, and the critical role of literacy-rich experiences. Formal instruction to require young children who are not developmentally ready to read is counter productive and potentially damaging to children, who may begin to associate reading and books with failure.

What Infants and Toddlers Can Do - Early Literacy Behaviors

Early literacy recognizes that language, reading and writing evolve from a number of earlier skills. Judith Shickedanz first described categories of early literacy behaviors in her book, Much More Than The ABCs. Her categories, listed below, can be used to understand the book behaviors of very young children. They help us to see the meaning of these book behaviors and see the progression children make along the path to literacy.

EARLY LITERACY BEHAVIORS

1. Book Handling Behaviors
   • Behaviors related to a child's physical manipulation or handling of books, such as page turning and chewing
2. Looking and Recognizing
   • Behaviors related to how children pay attention to and interact with pictures in books, such as gazing at pictures or laughing at a favorite picture
   • Behaviors that show recognition of and a beginning understanding of pictures in books, such as pointing to pictures of familiar objects
3. Picture and Story Comprehension
   • Behaviors that show a child's understanding of pictures and events in a book, such as imitating an action seen in a picture or talking about the events in a story
4. Story-Reading Behaviors
   • Behaviors that include children's verbal interactions with books and their increasing understanding of print in books, such as babbling in imitation of reading or running fingers along printed words

**A Note to Readers: In an effort to convey a message of connection and intimacy, we refer to "your baby" in writing about early literacy. This reference is meant for both parents and child care providers - all caregivers who have an emotional connection to the infants in their care. We also use the terms "he" and "she" interchangeably throughout the text to fairly represent both young girls and boys.**

Reprinted with permission from BrainWonders