Are you familiar with what emergent literacy is? It basically means that spoken language and reading/writing skills are connected. Children start developing emergent literacy skills at a very young age-even from birth, although it may be several years before they are actually ready to read and write. When infants and toddlers scribble with crayons or play with their books by lifting the flaps or pointing to pictures, these are examples of them already building emergent literacy skills. The more that we expose children to different emergent literacy opportunities and examples, the better reading and written language skills they will develop. Emergent literacy behaviours and understandings are directly related to opportunity and experience. Students with significant disabilities often have the fewest learning opportunities and experiences that lead to literacy. You can read more about what emergent literacy is and what you need to know about it in this previous blog post.
There are 4 main stages of emergent literacy:
- Awareness and Exploration Stage: Babies and Toddlers
- Early Learning Reading and Writing Stage: Kindergarten To First Grade
- Transitional Reading and Writing Stage: Second and Third Grade
- Competent Reading and Writing Stage: Fourth Grade and Beyond
Let’s look at the six early emergent literacy skills that help determine whether a child will be ready to read and write and some examples of each:
Print Motivation
Print Motivation simply means being interested in and enjoying books. It’s important that we make sure children start reading and listening to books from day one and that they have a good time with books. Children who enjoy books and reading will be curious about reading and motivated to learn to read for themselves. Motivation is important because learning to read is HARD WORK!
What Can You Do to Help Build this Skill?
- Have fun!
- Read books you both like
- Stop (or shift gears) when it is no longer fun. Length of time is not important; enjoyment is!
Print Awareness
Print Awareness is noticing print everywhere, knowing how to handle a book, and knowing how to follow the written word on the page. Children have to be aware of words before they can read them. They need to know how books work-the front cover, what’s upside down, which page to start on, how to look from left to right. When kids are comfortable with books, from knowing how to open a book to understanding what those black squiggles are, they can concentrate on starting to read the words.
- Read board books that your child can handle on his/her own; let him/her turn the pages as you read together.
- Sometimes point to the words as you read.
- Talk about print even when you are not reading together. Look for letters and words on signs, labels, and lists.
Letter Knowledge
Letter knowledge is knowing that letters are different from each other, knowing letter names and sounds, and recognizing letters everywhere. In order to read words when they are ready, children have to understand that a word is made up of individual letters.
What Can You Do to Help Build this Skill?
- Look at and talk about different shapes (letters are based on shapes).
- Play “same and different” type games.
- Look at “I Spy” type books.
- Notice different types of letters (“a” or “A”) on signs and in books.
- Read ABC books.
- Talk about and draw the letters of a child’s own name.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary is knowing all kinds of words and having a basic understanding for what the words mean. It’s much easier to read a word when it’s a word you already know. Children with bigger vocabularies have an easier time when they start to read, since it’s much easier for them to make sense of what they’re sounding out.
What Can You Do to Help Build this Skill?
- Encourage children to learn their native or home language first; this makes learning another language (speaking and reading) easier later.
- Talk with children in positive and conversational ways; commands and “no’s” do not encourage language development.
- Carry on lots of conversations with children.
- Explain the meanings of new words.
- Read books! Picture books use a different vocabulary than casual spoken conversation.
Phonological Awareness
Phonological Awareness means playing with the smaller sounds of words. Children who can hear how words “come apart” into separate sounds will be more successful at “sounding out” words when they start to read.
What Can You Do to Help Build this Skill?
- Sing songs; most break words up into one syllable per note. Reading works with syllables also.
- Recite rhymes; rhymes depend upon ending sounds.
- Play with tongue twisters.
- Pick a sound for the day. Notice it at the beginning of words and at the end of words.
Narrative Skills
Narrative Skills means describing things and events, telling stories, knowing the order of events, and making predictions. When children can describe something or retell stories, it shows that they are comprehending what they are reading. Understanding what they’re reading is crucial to helping them stay motivated to keep reading.
What Can You Do to Help Build this Skill?
- Ask open-ended questions that encourage conversations rather than yes/no or right/wrong answers.
- Talk about your day and its series of events.
- Mix up the events in a story; make it silly!
- Guess what comes next—or come up with a different ending.
- Read stories without words; they really help focus on this skill.
- Name objects, feelings, and events.
Emergent literacy skills are very important to start working on at a very young age because if children do not develop the six early literacy skills defined above, they will most likely struggle with reading, writing and language skills.
How do you work on emergent literacy skills in your home or classroom?
Happy Teaching!
-Jessica