Emergent Literacy and Beyond

Today's post on literacy comes from Colleen Felz, the Homeschooling Coach. Find her homeschooling tips & curriculum ideas as well as stories about the joys & trials of home education at her blog, Homeschooling Coach. In her sister blog, Living as a mom, read stories about her life as a Christian wife and mother. Here are her thoughts on literacy...and beyond.

Becoming a literate person is a big undertaking, and the early years are the time to lay a firm foundation. Throughout this series on emergent literacy you have read about some specific skills needed to read and write well and learned that it takes lots of practice to master those skills. In this post I'd like to sum it all up.

The most important thing that you can do to help your child learn to read and write is to simply reading good literature to your child from birth through the teen years. There is so much that you share with your child during those special times spent reading together. Your oral reading helps your child hear the rhythm of the language and the intonation used in reading. You also serve as a model for what expert readers do and how they solve problems when they read. Since your child naturally wants to mimic you in the early years, reading aloud is a great time to inadvertently (or even intentionally) teach your child about reading.

What behaviors are you modeling for your child as an expert reader? Just think of all that you do when you are reading aloud. If you misread a word in a sentence, you correct yourself when you realize that the word did not make sense, and you use the context to figure out the meaning of certain words. You make predictions as you read, too. You even reread excellent books because you get something new from those books each time you read them. The next time you read aloud, think about all that you actually do when you read.

As you model these skills, you can also explicitly share them with your child when you read aloud to him/her. When you and your little one snuggle together and read, talk about the book and ask questions.

"Those words rhyme."

"I love this author (book)."

"I wonder what will happen next."

"Have you ever felt like that?"

I cannot stress enough how important it is to read to your child . The time you invest in reading aloud to your child is time well spent. Enjoy it!

What are some of your favorite books to read with your little ones?

Thinking Thursday: Emergent Literacy #6

Emergent Literacy #1: Print Motivation
Emergent Literacy #2: Print Awareness
Emergent Literacy #3: Letter Knowledge
Emergent Literacy #4: Vocabulary
Emergent Literacy #5: Phonological Awareness
Emergent Literacy #6: Narrative Skills

I think children are storytellers at heart. Storytelling is a great way for little ones to organize their experiences and thoughts by reliving events. It's also a great way to imagine different scenarios, play out different choices and outcomes and practice expressing thoughts and emotions with words. Storytelling is evident during imaginative play, but it's also a sign of early literacy.

Pre-Reading Skill #6
Narrative Skills
Narrative skills is the ability to tell stories and describe things and events. Many of the books children encounter tell a story. There is a beginning, a middle and an end. As children are able to tell their own stories, they begin to understand the pattern of stories leading to improved reading comprehension. Reading comprehension improves because children are better able to organize the meaning of the words by knowing they are looking for a beginning, a middle and an end.

We can help children practice narrative skills by asking them what comes next when reading a familiar story with them. We can also help them process the story by drawing a picture of some part of it. We can then ask them about the picture and let them use their narrative skills to describe the picture, what came before and what comes next.

But, I think the BEST way to help little ones develop narrative skills is just to listen to their stories. They are constantly telling stories; we don't need to ask for them. Sammi constantly tells me about what happened the last time she was at Grandma's house or what she did with Aunt Maren or what who she played with outside. If I'm quiet and listen, I get the most amazing insights into her life. But if I pry for stories or information, she clams up and I am left wondering about her world.

Little ones figure out that books contain stories. When they know they like stories, they are drawn to books to relive their favorites and discover new stories. As parents, care givers, nurturers we can listen to children's stories and offer our own when the mood is right.

Next week we'll sum up the emergent literacy skills with a guest post by Colleen, the Homeschool Coach.

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Thinking Thursday: Emergent Literacy #5

Emergent Literacy #1: Print Motivation
Emergent Literacy #2: Print Awareness
Emergent Literacy #3: Letter Knowledge
Emergent Literacy #4: Vocabulary
Emergent Literacy #5: Phonological Awareness
Emergent Literacy #6: Narrative Skills

Here is where my linguistics persona jumps out of hiding and shouts a big hurray! Today we're looking at how children figure out how sounds make up words and how adding different sounds changes the meaning of words. In linguistics-speak children are said to parse the language into smaller meaningful parts. I am fond of the word parse and rarely get to use it so I just had to throw it in!

Pre-Reading Skill #5
Phonological Awareness
It sounds rather intimidating, but phonological awareness simply means that little ones are able to hear and play with the smaller parts that make up words. Children begin by babbling or repeating the same syllable over and over again. Once they master several consonant-vowel repetitions, they begin mixing and matching the syllables together. Already little ones are showing phonological awareness.

We can encourage that awareness by capitalizing on things babies and toddlers love: rhymes and music. Nursery rhymes are perfect for helping little ones get a sense for the feel and rhythm of the language. They also begin to recognize rhyming schemes that show them how sounds are used in the language. Plus, they love our high, sugary-sweet voices that we use when reciting nursery rhymes. Such experiences add to print motivation for little ones in a big way!

Many nursery rhymes are set to melodies that are easy and fun to sing with little ones. Setting words to music is another way to slow down the language and help little ones hear the individual sounds that make up words. Try clapping along while you sing to emphasize syllables so little ones can hear the smaller sounds of words.

When we first started reading books to Sammi she would only let us read nursery rhyme books. She loved the rhythm, the music and the rhymes. It was like she just couldn't get enough of it. Now, she can recite almost any nursery rhyme and can "read" her nursery rhyme books because she knows which one goes with which picture. She's even started adapting lyrics of songs to her present experiences. She makes up a different tooth-brushing song almost every night! I created a list of board books for babies that includes lots of nursery rhyme books.

Next week we finish up the emergent literacy skills by talking about narrative skills. The following week, we have a literacy expert lined up to recap the skills and give us more ideas about preparing our little ones for reading.

In what ways do your little ones show phonological awareness?

Thinking Thursday: Emergent Literacy #4

Emergent Literacy #1: Print Motivation
Emergent Literacy #2: Print Awareness
Emergent Literacy #3: Letter Knowledge
Emergent Literacy #4: Vocabulary
Emergent Literacy #5: Phonological Awareness
Emergent Literacy #6: Narrative Skills

We took a break in April from the emergent literacy skills while we waited for the last workshop at the Orem Public Library. It was the last Saturday in April and just as exciting and informative as the first! So now, as promised, we are finishing up the last three skills this month. For a refresher, refer to the list above to check out the skills we've already discussed and for a sneak peek at the ones to come this month! Let's jump right in.

Pre-Reading Skill #4
Vocabulary
Vocabulary is, simply put, knowing the names of things. Little ones build their vocabulary by coming in contact with new words again and again. It takes many encounters with the same word for it to stick in a little ones vocabulary. It's one of the reasons they love repetition so much. Each time they hear the same thing again, they strengthen the connection between word and object. So even though it gets tiresome to read the same book time and time again day after day, just remember, it's making a difference in your little ones' vocabulary!

Other ways to build vocabulary include using nonfiction books to learn about different things. We used books on construction vehicles to learn about all the things happening on our street when they replaced the water lines. It served us well because we moved and the are replacing water lines on our new street now! Sammi is in HEAVEN. And the workers are all impressed with Sammi because she knows what's going on. They let her in their lunch circle on Tuesday. So cute to see her all dressed in pink sitting on the grass with the guys in their reflective jackets and hard hats.

Back to literacy and building vocabulary! Find fun phrases in books and repeat them with your little ones. If you're really brave you can add a melody to the phrase and make it a song. One favorite book that we do this with is Trashy Town. The chorus reads "Dump it in, Smash it down, Drive around the Trashy Town." We even added actions.

You can also choose books that will help your child put words to emotions and experiences. This is a great way to help them deal with feelings like anger, frustration, disappointment and sadness as well as joy, excitement and anticipation. When children can put words to their thoughts and emotions, it's easier to stop or even prevent a meltdown or temper tantrum.

The bottom line is that having a good vocabulary will make it easier for little ones to learn to read down the road.

What do your little ones know about that reflects their unique interests?

Thinking Thursday: Fostering Language and Literacy

We are continuing our look at early literacy. We've already looked at three pre-reading skills: print motivation, print awareness, and letter knowledge. We'll cover the last three skills in May. To wrap up March, I've invited my friend, Rebecka Wright, to share some thoughts on encouraging literacy in young children. Rebecka is a student at Utah Valley University (UVU) and was able to attend (and participate in) the Forum on Children's Literature at UVU a few weeks ago. And now, the post!

Hi, my name is Rebecka Wright. I’m a junior in the UVU elementary education program. I’m married to Barry and we have three children; Sammy, 14; Emily 12; and Steven 10. Our children have always been very verbal and in western societies this is a characteristic that is associated with intelligence or being smart. Sometimes people ask us what we do (or have done) to bring this to pass. Usually I’m at a loss, “I don’t know. We were just lucky.” And to some extent this is true, our children are who they are before they come to us. This semester I’m taking literacy methods and I’ve been learning how language and literacy are fostered. There are two specific things that are correlated to future success in school that I want to share today. The first is parent talk, the second is books, books and more books.

Both the quantity and quality of talk parents direct at infants and toddlers is important. The more verbal a family is, the more of a foundation children have to build on. One study shows parents who talk less use their talk mainly to control and guide students. Parents who talk more do this and offer approval, affirmations, descriptions, and explanations. Language is best developed in one on one conversations where children talk with an adult about things that are important to them and experiences they have shared. When I began to learn this in school I thought, “Oh, this is something we did!” Barry and I talked a lot to our children, explaining and eliciting their participation in the conversation.

The number of books children are exposed to in their home is correlated with literacy development and success in school. Parents who are readers often have children who are readers. You probably already know this, I did. What I didn’t know are some of the things my children were learning when we shared a story book. The first things children learn are concepts of print. They learn that a book is upside right when the binding is on the left and the pages on the right. They learn that the title and author are on the front cover, and that the cover gives us clues about what’s in the book. They learn that we read from left to right, and that letters make words and that words contain messages and stories. Most important they learn that reading is enjoyable and useful.

So what can you learn from my reflection?

• Talk a lot to your children. Give running commentaries and descriptions, explanations and praise.
• Talk with your children. Ask them how they feel, what they saw, what they like, and why, etc.
• Fill your house with books and let your children see you reading for fun and for purpose.
• Read with your children; encourage them to pretend to read and to recite their favorites. Tell them what you think of what you read together and ask them what they think.

Amber mentioned that I attended the UVU Forum on Children’s Literature. It was a fabulous experience and I met some incredible authors, illustrators and educators. Below are links to some of the speaker’s blogs and websites. I hope you enjoy exploring them.

One of my favorite authors, Shannon Hale: http://www.squeetus.com/stage/main.html
I’ve never had favorite illustrators before but these two gentlemen are my first, Robert Nuebecker and Guy Francis:
http://www.illoz.com/neubecker/
http://kactiguy.blogspot.com/
http://www.guyfrancis.com/

Thanks for letting me visit, Amber.
{Glad to have you, Rebecka! Today I'm posting over at Make and Takes so come check it out!}

Thinking Thursday: Emergent Literacy #3

Emergent Literacy #1: Print Motivation
Emergent Literacy #2: Print Awareness
Emergent Literacy #3: Letter Knowledge
Emergent Literacy #4: Vocabulary
Emergent Literacy #5: Phonological Awareness
Emergent Literacy #6: Narrative Skills

The first two pre-reading skills, print motivation and print awareness, are great for any age from babies on up. As babies grow up they are ready for more challenges and experiences which broaden their understanding and prepare them for what's yet to come. Each stage of development has a past, present and future.

• Past: The current stage is the end goal of a previous stage. Holding a fork is the end goal of developing a pincer grip.
  
• Current: Each stage is a skill itself that needs to be mastered. Using a fork to eat food.
  
• Future: Each stage is a predecessor for a stage yet to come. Holding a fork is a precursor to holding a pencil and writing.
  

Now on to…
Pre-Readng Skill #3
Letter Knowledge
Letter Knowledge means knowing that letters are different from each other, that each letter has a name and that specific sounds go with specific letters. Here are some ideas for introducing letters to your little ones.

• Highlight a letter each day or week.
  
• Letters are just complex shapes! Help little ones match the same letter on a page in a book, or a sign. Then look for it everywhere you go.
• Begin with the letters in your little ones' names. Use the starting letter first.
• Draw pictures our of the letter that start with the letter (I draw the letter S which is the first letter in Sammi's name and turn it into a snake.)
• Say the letter and then the sound and an object around the house that starts with that letter/sound. "T, tuh, toilet"
  
• Find Alphabet books at the library. Ask a librarian to help you find them. At our library they are all grouped together so it's easy to choose ones that will work for us and our current interests.

Some Alphabet Books suggested by our librarians:

Thinking Thursday: Emergent Literacy #2

Emergent Literacy #1: Print Motivation
Emergent Literacy #2: Print Awareness
Emergent Literacy #3: Letter Knowledge
Emergent Literacy #4: Vocabulary
Emergent Literacy #5: Phonological Awareness
Emergent Literacy #6: Narrative Skills

Kindergartners are asked to identify the front and back of a book, the title page, the difference between a letter and a word, right-side up from upside down, among other things. How do they learn all that? Through experience with books!

Pre-Readng Skill #2
Print Awareness
Print Awareness means knowing how a book works and being able to recognize print. There are many things we can do to help our little ones become aware of print. They range from formal instruction to silly games! Here are a few:

• Always read the title page! I was surprised this is something kindergartners are expected to know. I did this with one of Sammi's books. Now every time we read The House That Jack Built she adds in "Simms Taback" who is the illustrator.
  
• Use your finger to underline the words you are reading. This helps little ones realize the words you're saying come from the print on the page, not the pictures.
• Hold the book upside down and begin to read. It's so fun to see little ones flip out because it's not right! Look for them to turn books right-side up when they are exploring books on their own.
• Read anything you come across: cereal boxes, street signs, clothing labels. Point at the words as you read them and talk about them.
• Do letter scavenger hunts. We always look for and find the letter "S" because it's the first letter in Sammi's name.
  

Thinking Thursday: Emergent Literacy #1

Emergent Literacy #1: Print Motivation
Emergent Literacy #2: Print Awareness
Emergent Literacy #3: Letter Knowledge
Emergent Literacy #4: Vocabulary
Emergent Literacy #5: Phonological Awareness
Emergent Literacy #6: Narrative Skills

I've mention it before, and I'll probably say it again in the future: I love the library. It's always been a happy place for me. To pass that along to my little ones, I love to take them to the library. And I must admit, the library makes it easy by providing programs appropriate for little ones.

The other day I had the opportunity to go to the library all by myself to participate in a program appropriate for me! I am a laptime teller at the library. (Laptime is one of the programs for little ones.) Each year the library offers a series of workshops to help us be better tellers. This year the first two workshops are devoted to Emergent Literacy. Literacy is such an important part of growing up and succeeding as an adult so I thought I'd share what we are learning about how to encourage and motivate little ones in their literacy development.

Pre-Readng Skill #1
Print Motivation
Print Motivation means thining that books and reading are pleasant. How do we do that? We make going to the library a pleasant experience. We create a cozy environment for reading with our little ones. We share our own passion for reading. We let our little ones choose their own books from the library.

Some new things I learned about Print Motivation: Use nonfiction books to help children understand the word around them. I've actually done this, unkowingly! Sammi watched construction crews work on our road for days last summer. She asked me "What's that?" a thousand times. She was not satisfied with my answers, "It makes the road flat." "It digs." "It pours the asphalt." She wanted names and she wanted them FAST! So we went to the library and found some books on construction vehicles and learned all their names. Now she has learned (1)books have information and (2)when Mommy doesn't know, go to the library! What great lessons to learn at such a young age.

The goal here is to help little ones have successful experiences with books and other forms of print. They will look forward to spending time with books.

What have you done to create a pleasant experience with books in your family?