Literacy

The NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) helps guide professionals in helping young children in many ways. In this specific article of a position statement, the NAEYC gives research-based guidance on helping children become literate as well as motivated to read and write. “Learning to read and write is critical to a child’s success in school and later in life”.

  • Creates a bond

  • Helps develop language and listening skills

  • Enhances child’s attention and concentration

  • Expands understanding of the world, emotions, and so much more

  • Builds listening skills

  • Stimulates imagination and thinking skills

  • Encourages a thirst for knowledge

  • Helps to introduce or guide through real life situations

“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents” -Emilie Buchwald

  • Create a reading routine

  • Put books in different parts of your house

  • Point out words in everyday things

  • Ask questions when reading

  • Reread! (over and over again) The repetition is good for learning sounds, rhythmic patterns, story elements and more

  • Point to words as you read. This will help child begin to learn literacy concepts

  • Read stories that introduce new words and expand vocabulary

  • Play rhyming games

  • Let children “read” or retell stories to you

  • Important literacy skills begin earlier than kindergarten or even preschool.

  • Literacy takes recurring, intentional planning and teaching—it is not automatic.

  • Children need to be taught in individualized ways to be most effective.

  • If English is a second language, children will be more successful if they first have a strong foundation of their first language.

  • “The single most important activity for building the understanding and skills essential for reading success appears to be reading aloud to children” (Wells 1985; Bus, Van Ijzendoorn, & Pellegrini 1995).

infants (birth - 1 year)

Expectations:

  • Calmed by the rhythmic sounds of lullabies and nursery rhymes

  • Enjoys being read to

  • Responds to adults talking to them and imitates back

  • “Reads” facial expressions

  • Associates sounds with objects

  • Begins to point to pictures in book

What to do to help foster literacy development:

  • Sing, talk, read, finger plays

  • Talk with simple language

  • Provide fine motor toys and opportunities

  • Imitate and "converse"

Books Suggestions:

  • Nursery Rhymes

  • Touch and Feel Books

  • First Word Books

  • High Contrast, Bright Colors, Patterns

  • Simple Text and/or Rhyming

Toddler (1 year - 2 years)

Expectations:

  • Brings book to adult

  • Starts to turn the pages & point to pictures

  • Invites others to read

  • Learns that stories have structure

  • Starts to use language form the stories

  • Wants you to read the same story over and over

  • Says/sings nursery rhymes

What to do to help foster literacy development:

  • Make eye contact, give attention and be responsive

  • Converse, Explain, Expand conversations

  • Sing, Read, Fingerplays

  • Provide simple art opportunities with crayons, markers, and chalk

Book Suggestions:

  • Board books

  • Lift Flap Books

  • First Word Books

  • Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See: Bill Martin Jr.

  • Poke a Dot Books

  • Press Here: Herve Tullet

  • Chicka Chicka Boom Boom: Bill Martin Jr.

  • Dear Zoo: Rod Campbell

  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Eric Carle

Preschool (3 years - 5 years)

Expectations:

  • Pretends to read book aloud

  • Makes predictions of what story is about based on cover

  • Recognizes print has a meaning

  • Alphabetic principal: understanding that there is a relationship between letters and sounds

  • Phonemic awareness: understanding that speech is made up of sounds, syllables—words

  • Identifies letters and their sounds

  • Begins learning sight words

  • Holds writing utensil properly

  • Writes letters upper and lowercase properly

What to do to help foster literacy development:

  • Model reading and writing behavior

  • Foster reading and writing interests

  • Provide print-rich environment (pay attention to things such as familiar logos and signs)

  • Read to children and then talk about book (or have them retell)

  • Use songs, poems, games, etc. to practice letter recognition and letter sounds, writing, and reading

  • Expand vocabulary (personally and/or through taking places in the community

Book Suggestions:

  • Picture Books

  • Oversized or Different Shaped Books

  • Repetition and Rhyme

  • Relatable Stories

  • Books that focus on rules, differences, Kindergarten

  • Counting or Letter Books

  • Nonfiction

  • I Spy and other Interactive Books

  • Don’t Push the Button: Bill Cotter

  • The Kissing Hand: Audrey Penn

  • Where the Wild Things Are: Maurice Sendak

  • Mix It Up (Herve Tullet)

  • Tap the Magic Tree: Christie Matheson

  • Some popular series: Pigeon books (Mo Willems), Pete the Cat (Eric Litwin), Clifford (Norman Bridwell) How Do Dinosaurs …(Jane Yolen), Llama Llama (Anna Dewdney)