Early Literacy - nieer.org

NIEER

Early Literacy:Policy and Practice in thePreschool Yearsby Dorothy S. Strickland and

Shannon Riley-Ayers

As early childhood education moves front and center in the public policydebate, more attention is being paid to early literacy. Early childhood professionals have long recognized the importance of language and literacy in preparing children to succeed in school. Early literacy plays a key role in enabling the kind of early learning experiences that researchshows are linked with academic achievement, reduced grade retention,higher graduation rates and enhanced productivity in adult life. Thisreport synthesizes the body of professional knowledge about early literacy and offers research-based recommendations.

April 2006, Issue 10

Series edited by Ellen Frede and W. Steven Barnett

Pres

choo

l Pol

icy

Brie

f

What We Know:• Literacy development starts early in life and

is highly correlated with school achievement.

• All of the domains of a child’s development—physical, social-emotional, cognitive,language and literacy—are interrelated and interdependent.

• The more limited a child’s experiences withlanguage and literacy the more likely he orshe will have difficulty learning to read.

• Key early literacy predictors of reading and school success include oral language,Alphabetic Code, and print knowledge.

• Well-conceived standards for child outcomes,curriculum content, and teacher prepara-tion help establish clarity of purpose and a shared vision for early literacy education.

• Increased demands for program accountability are often heavily focused on assessments of children’s early literacydevelopment.

• Highly capable teachers are required toimplement today’s more challenging earlyliteracy curriculum.

• Teacher knowledge, respect and support forthe diversity of children’s families, cultures,and linguistic backgrounds are importantin early literacy development.

Policy Recommendations:• All children should have access to early

childhood programs with strong literacycomponents that include clear adaptationsfor children with special needs.

• Early literacy curricula and teaching practices should be evidence-based,integrated with all domains of learning,and understandable to staff members.

• Early literacy standards should be established that articulate with K-12 programs and reflect consistency and continuity with overall program goals.

• Early literacy assessment should use multiple methods and use the informationto improve both teaching and the total preschool program.

• Standards for early childhood professionalsshould require staff to meet early literacyinstructional standards.

• Parent involvement programs should have astrong early literacy component that guidesparents and caregivers in providing earlyliteracy experiences at home.

• Support for English Language Learnersshould be specified and provided in both thehome language and English where feasible.

National Institute for Early Education Research

Contact Us:120 Albany StreetSuite 500New Brunswick, NJ 08901

Tel 732 932-4350Fax 732 932-4360

www.nieer.org

An analysis of the research literatureindicates specific skills and abilities of children ages birth through 5 yearsthat predict later reading outcomes.2

Key predictive skills and abilitiesinclude:

• Oral language listening comprehension, oral language vocabulary

• Alphabetic Code alphabet knowledge, phonological/phonemic awareness (the ability to discriminate sounds in words),invented spelling

• Print Knowledge/Concepts environmental print, concepts about print

Other less significant indicatorsinclude: Rapid Automatic Naming(RAN); visual memory; and visualperceptual abilities.

How young children acquire earlyliteracy and its oral language founda-tion has gained the attention of edu-cators and policymakers. Researchestablishes four major principles ofearly literacy acquisition:

1. Oral language is the foundationfor literacy development. Oral language provides children with a sense of words and sentencesand builds sensitivity to the soundsystem so that children canacquire phonological awarenessand phonics. Through their own

speech children demonstrate theirunderstanding of the meanings ofwords and written materials.

Supporting Evidence:• Children reared in families where

parents provide rich language andliteracy support do better in schoolthan those who do not. Language-poor families are likely to use fewerdifferent words in their everydayconversations and the language environment is more likely to becontrolling and punitive.3

• Exposure to less common, moresophisticated vocabulary (rarewords) at home relates directly tochildren’s vocabulary acquisition.Rare words are those that go beyondthe typical 8,500 most commonwords in the English language.4

• There is a strong relationshipbetween vocabulary developmentand reading achievement. Under-standing the meanings of words iscritical to understanding what achild reads. Good readers combine a variety of strategies to read words.Even when children have strongfamiliarity with the alphabetic code,they frequently meet words for whichthe pronunciation is not easily pre-dictable. Children who acquirestrong vocabularies increase theirability to make sense of what a wordmight be while using what theyknow about phonics.5

Preschool Policy Brief | April 2006

A growing body of evidence shows that early learning

experiences are linked with later school achievement,

emotional and social well-being, fewer grade retentions,

and reduced incidences of juvenile delinquency and

that these outcomes are all factors associated with later

adult productivity.1 Other research has identified key

predictors for reading and school success.

2

2. Children’s experiences with theworld greatly influence their abilityto comprehend what they read.Reading involves comprehendingwritten texts. What children bringto a text influences the under-standings they take away and theuse they make of what is read.

Supporting Evidence:• Background knowledge about

the world is built from a child’sexperiences.

• The more limited a child’s experi-ences the more likely he or she willhave difficulty comprehending whatis read.

3. Learning to read and write startslong before first grade and haslong-lasting effects. Learning toread and write is an ongoingprocess from infancy. Contrary to popular belief, it does not suddenly begin in kindergarten or first grade. From the earliestyears, everything that adults do tosupport children’s language andliteracy is critical.

Supporting Evidence:• Language and literacy develop con-

currently and influence one another.What children learn from listeningand talking contributes to their abil-ity to read and write and vice versa.For example, young children’s phono-logical awareness (ability to identifyand make oral rhymes, identify andwork with syllables in spoken words,and the ability to hear, identify, andmanipulate the individual sounds—phonemes—in spoken words) is animportant indicator of their poten-tial success in learning to decodeprint. Early vocabulary developmentis an important predictor of successin reading comprehension. Bothphonological awareness and vocabu-lary development begin early withparticipation in rhyming games

and chants, shared book experi-ences, and extended conversationswith adults.6

• Children who fall behind in orallanguage and literacy developmentin the years before formal schoolingare less likely to be successful begin-ning readers; and their achievementlag is likely to persist throughout theprimary grades and beyond.7

• Responsive adults have a special rolein supporting children’s ongoing,self-generated learning. Instructionalsupport that relies on the accumula-tion of isolated skills is not sufficient.Teaching children to apply theirknowledge and skills in meaningfulsituations has a significantly greatereffect on their ability to learn to read.8

4. Children’s experiences with booksand print greatly influence theirability to comprehend what theyread.9 Reading with adults, look-ing at books independently, andsharing reading experiences withpeers are some of the ways thatchildren experience books.

Supporting Evidence:• Knowledge about print is built from

children’s experiences with booksand other written materials.

• Shared book reading experienceshave a special role in fostering earlyliteracy development by buildingbackground knowledge about theworld and concepts about books and print.10

Although the abundance ofresearch evidence supports the needfor attention to early literacy and itsoral language foundations, it alsoraises essential questions about howearly childhood programs can fosterthe skills and abilities young childrenneed to become successful readersand writers and how reading difficul-ties can be prevented. The answers

to these essential questions involveconsideration of the following fiveimportant and related issues: 1. earlyliteracy learning standards, 2. curricu-lum, 3. accountability and assessment,4. teacher education and professionaldevelopment, and 5. home-schoolconnections. Those charged with theresponsibility for early childhoodeducation must carefully considereach of these issues.

Preschool Policy Brief | April 2006 3

Issue 1: Developing and Using Early Literacy Learning Standards

The growing trend to generate stan-dards for early childhood educationmay be the best indication of a feltneed to specify curriculum contentand child outcomes for early educa-tion programs. Kendall and Marzanooffer at least three principal reasonsfor the development and use of stan-dards: to establish clarity of curricu-lum content, to raise expectations forthe achievement of all children, andto ensure accountability for publiceducation.11 It has only been in recentyears, however, that the field of earlyeducation has been a part of the stan-dards movement.12

One national effort to produceearly language and literacy standardsis the National Association for theEducation of Young Children (NAEYC)Accreditation Performance Criteriafor early childhood programs. Thesestandards provide guidelines for thecontent that children are learning,the planned activities linked to thesegoals, the daily schedule and routinesand the availability and use of materi-als for children.

Because oral language and literacyare so highly interrelated, the NationalCenter on Education and the Economyproduced a comprehensive standardsdocument on speaking and listeningfor preschool through third grade toaccompany a previously publisheddocument that only focused on stan-dards for reading and writing.

13

Eachtopic is described in terms of real lifesettings with implications for instruc-tion and applications to different cultures and linguistic settings.

In addition to national efforts,individual states have embraced thestandards movement. In 2005, 43states report having early childhoodstandards, which is a substantialincrease over the past few years.14

Specifically, the standards include orallanguage development, phonologicalawareness, print knowledge and use,and writing. Many of them also specifycriteria for teaching and programstructure.

It is critical to develop standardswisely and with caution. In a jointpolicy statement on early learning

standards NAEYC and the NationalAssociation of Early ChildhoodSpecialists in State Departments ofEducation (NAECS/SDE) describe therisks and benefits of early learningstandards.15 They caution that a majorrisk of any standards movement isthat the responsibility for meeting thestandards will be placed on children’sshoulders rather than on the shoul-ders of those who should provideopportunities and supports for learn-ing. They suggest that culturally andlinguistically diverse children, as wellas children with disabilities, may be at heightened risk. Nevertheless, theyconclude that clear, research-basedexpectations for the content anddesired results of early learning expe-riences can help focus curriculumand instruction and increase the likelihood of later positive outcomes.


Issue 2: The Early Literacy Focus of Effective Curriculum

Although most educators and policymakers agree that a strong start inearly literacy is critical, there is lessagreement about how this is bestaccomplished. A major concern isensuring that the curriculum addressesthe overall learning and growth of theyoung child by continuing to stressthe physical, social, emotional, andoverall cognitive development of chil-dren and at the same time, strength-ening the academic curriculum. Someexpress concern about what they per-ceive as an over-emphasis on early lit-eracy and the creation of a curricu-lum imbalance. They caution againstearly literacy curricula that focus toonarrowly on literacy skills and neglectconsideration for all the domains ofdevelopment that interact to promotechildren’s personal and academicgrowth. Indeed, the physical, social,emotional, cognitive and languagedevelopment of young children areactually major factors that influenceearly literacy development.16

Evidence-based Practiceand the Early LiteracyCurriculumIn the area of literacy, both federaland state expectations have empha-sized evidence-based practice to guidecurriculum adoption and the evalua-tion of curriculum effectiveness.Evidence must be grounded in scien-tifically based research, a term usedacross a variety of fields that requiresthe application of systematic andobjective procedures to obtain infor-mation to address important questionsin a particular field. It is an attempt toensure that those who use the researchcan have a high degree of confidencethat it is valid and dependable.Whether a curriculum is homegrownor commercially prepared, those whodevelop and use it are expected to

support their claims with a researchbase. Key components of an early literacy curriculum grounded in evi-dence- based early literacy researchinclude: (1) oral language develop-ment, which includes vocabulary andlistening; (2) an understanding of thealphabetic code, which includesphonological/phonemic awarenessand knowledge of the alphabet; and(3) knowledge and understandingabout print and its use.

Key Components of theEarly Literacy CurriculumOral Language. Oral languagedevelops concurrently with literacydevelopment, and it includes listeningcomprehension, verbal expression,and vocabulary development. Orallanguage development is facilitatedwhen children have many opportuni-ties to use language in interactionswith adults and each other and whenthey listen and respond to stories.Young children build vocabulary whenthey engage in activities that are cog-nitively and linguistically stimulatingby encouraging them to describe eventsand build background knowledge.

Alphabetic Code. English is analphabetic language, which meansthat the letters we use to write repre-sent the sounds of the language thatwe speak. Knowledge of the alphabetletters and phonological awareness(the ability to distinguish the soundswithin words) form the basis of earlydecoding and spelling ability, andboth are correlated with later readingand spelling achievement. Young chil-dren can learn to name letters and to distinguish them from each other.They can also begin to develop anawareness of the constituent soundswithin words, such as syllables, rhymesand phonemes.

Children should be immersed inlanguage-rich environments in orderto develop phonological awarenessand similarly, it would be difficult tomaster the ABCs without lots ofexposure to the alphabet (in books,on blocks, on refrigerator magnets, incereal, in soup, in attempts to write,in having their messages written forthem, etc.). Knowledge of the ABCsand phonological awareness do notusually just happen from exposure for most children, however. Parents,teachers, and older siblings oftenintentionally teach children the alphabet, and studies have shown that it is possible to teach phono-logical awareness to preschoolers and kindergarten children in waysthat do not interfere with a compre-hensive and rich curriculum focus but do improve later literacy. 17


Print Knowledge and Use. Makingsense of print involves an awarenessand understanding of environmentalprint and an understanding of con-cepts of print, such as where to beginto read a book or a page and in whatdirection to read. Each of these islikely learned from interacting withothers around print. An early literacycurriculum might include grocerystore visits; being read to on a dailybasis; having a writing center wherechildren can experiment with writtencommunication, and environmentalprint that is purposeful such as functional signs, labels and charts.In addition, effective early literacyteachers model the reading and writ-ing processes during shared readingand writing. They explicitly commentaloud about what they are thinking asthey read and write so as to make theprocess transparent to children.

The Literacy Curriculum asa Program for Preventionand Intervention

Studies of the relationship betweenearly literacy development and schoolachievement have had a profoundimpact on the early literacy curricu-lum as an intervention process forchildren considered to be at risk forfailure. Risk factors include exhibit-ing a developmental disability (e.g.oral language impairment, mentalretardation, hearing impairment),having a parent with a history of areading disability, speaking a languageor dialect that differs from the localacademic curriculum, and/or living in a household in which experienceswith oral and written language areinfrequent.18 For children in such cir-cumstances, a preventive interventionmay be required to encourage timelyattainment of the skills and abilitiesneeded for later school readiness andachievement.

The key curriculum componentsare viewed as standard or essentialelements of instruction for all chil-dren. Nevertheless, children vary inhow well any “basic” curriculum willserve them. They differ in what theybring to the preschool setting andwhat they gain from it. Some childrenenter preschool having had theadvantage of an abundance of experi-ences with books and other writtenmaterials, visiting interesting places,engaging in creative problem-solvingand play, and participating inthought-provoking conversations andactivities that serve to expand theirgeneral knowledge and intellectualdevelopment. For these children, boththeir linguistic and experiential back-grounds prepare them to benefit froma curriculum that reinforces andexpands the rich reservoir of skillsand knowledge these children possess.

Other children need more, different,or specifically targeted learningopportunities in preschool. Skillfulteachers, and the specialists whoadvise them, make adjustments with-in the framework of the curriculumto make instruction more responsiveto student needs.

Issues related to a child’s linguisticand cultural background represent acontinuing and growing challenge forearly literacy educators and curricu-lum developers. Latinos, for example,are now the largest minority group inthe country—a group that is growingat a faster rate than the population as a whole.19 Even for many English-speaking children, the school language(or dialect) and culture may differgreatly from that of their homes.Teachers of young children need tokeep in mind that a child’s prekinder-garten classroom may be the first set-ting of sustained contact with a newculture and will help set the stage forearly success or failure with formalschooling.20 Effective educators seekto learn as much as they can aboutthe cultural and linguistic backgroundsof the children. Whenever practical,programs specifically focus on thedevelopment of both English and thechild’s home language. In general, thecurriculum is implemented in waysthat foster respect for what childrenbring to the learning situation andprovide continuity between the child’sexperiences at home and those withinthe early childhood program.

Class size and teacher-pupil ratioare related to how well teachers meetthe demand for high quality. Thestrongest evidence that preschool pro-grams can produce large educationalbenefits for economically disadvan-taged children comes from studies inwhich programs had both highlycapable teachers and relatively smallgroups of children.21


Measuring children’s early literacydevelopment is an important part ofa comprehensive early childhood pro-gram. Assessment is used to measuredevelopment and learning, to guideteacher and program planning anddecision making, to identify childrenwho might benefit from special serv-ices, and to report to and communi-cate with others.22 In addition to theongoing, day-by-day systematicobservations that link closely to theearly childhood curriculum, there is a growing trend toward child assess-ment for program accountability.These assessments, in which early literacy is often a major component,reflect an increasingly high-stakes climate in which programs arerequired to demonstrate effectivenessin improving school readiness and

creating positive child outcomes.Concerns about trends in early

literacy assessment include the use of assessments that focus on a limitedrange of skills and the nature of theassessments in use. Both factors maycause teachers to narrow their cur-riculum and teaching practices, espe-cially when the stakes are high. Forexample, the ability to name the let-ters of the alphabet is usually assessedin a decontextualized manner inwhich the child is asked to name eachletter as it is presented, one at a time.Unfortunately, this can lead to teach-ing in which the letters of the alpha-bet are presented in a discrete anddecontextualized manner apart fromchildren’s names or the application ofthat knowledge to other meaningfulprint.

Although children may be capableof naming letters in a robotic-like,rote memorization manner, they mayfail to acquire the long-term goal—an understanding of how the lettersfunction for reading and writing and the ability to use what they know to make sense of the print in their environment.

Issue 3: Accountability and Assessment

The need for highly capable teachersis a constant theme in the literatureon early childhood education. This isparticularly true in the area of earlyliteracy. National reports and govern-ment mandates have raised expecta-tions for the formal education andtraining of early childhood teachers,especially in Head Start and in state-funded prekindergarten programs.23

Today’s early childhood teachers areexpected to implement a more chal-lenging and effective curriculum inlanguage and literacy and to assessand document progress in increasinglycomplex ways.24 Rising expectationscoupled with an expanding numberof early childhood programs have led to a major crisis in staffing, both interms of the number of early child-hood teachers and in the quality oftheir preparation. In response, severalstates have established P-3 (prekinder-garten through third grade) certifica-tion programs and launched incentiveefforts to encourage teachers andcaregivers to upgrade and expand

their knowledge and skills.Whether pre-service or in-service,

the demands regarding what earlychildhood teachers need to know anddo have changed dramatically.Described in broad terms, teachers of young children need to know theimportance of oral language compe-tencies, early literacy experiences andfamily literacy in learning to read.They need to be able to foster a widerange of language and literacy relateddispositions and competencies,including a love of literacy and thedevelopment of vocabulary, oral lan-guage abilities, phonological aware-ness, and print-related knowledge.They must be able to use a variety ofinstructional methods that are ageand developmentally appropriate andhave the ability to adjust those meth-ods to the specific needs of individu-als. They must be skilled in the abilityto use multiple methods of monitor-ing children’s literacy developmentand interpreting assessments in orderto make sound instructional decisions.

In order to develop the competen-

cies of the type listed above, schoolsof education must provide pre-serviceprograms that are grounded in currentscientific knowledge about how chil-dren learn to read and write and thebest instructional practices to helpthem learn. Obviously, it is not possi-ble to offer prospective teachers allthe knowledge they need in a pre-service program. Like other profes-sional fields, the knowledge base forlearning and teaching is strengthenedas new knowledge is gained andmeshed with old. A fairly recent andpromising effort designed to addressthis issue is the appointment of literacycoaches to the instructional team ofteachers, directors and other supportstaff. Literacy coaches are teacherswith special expertise and training,who provide continuing support andguidance to classroom teachers inorder to improve classroom instruc-tion. Thus, teacher education isviewed as an ongoing process involv-ing rigorous pre-service training andexperiential opportunities along withcontinued professional development.

Issue 4: Teacher Education and Professional Development


The link between supportive parentalinvolvement and children’s early liter-acy development is well established.Snow et. al. and others have shownthat children from homes, where par-ents model the uses of literacy andengage children in activities that pro-mote basic understandings about lit-eracy and its uses, are better preparedfor school.25 Several national effortssuch as Reading is Fundamental andReach Out and Read have focusedwith some success on getting booksinto the hands of parents and chil-dren and promoting regular parent-child book reading. Tabors, Snow, andDickinson report that efforts such as

these have evidently worked to some extent, citing national surveysshowing an increase in parent-childliteracy activities among families withpreschoolers.26 Unfortunately, theincreases among families consideredto be at greater risk lagged behindthat of other families. These researchersrecommend that efforts to promoteshared reading with children gobeyond giving books to families toinclude suggestions for how parentsmight engage in these activities topromote conversation and dialogue.They go further to suggest that it isnot the frequency of book reading or even the quality of the talk that

accompanies book reading alone thatis related to children’s language andliteracy abilities, but the broader pat-tern of parent-child activities andinteractions that support children’slanguage and literacy development.The challenge to get the messageacross to all parents, particularly to low-income and low-educationparents, that everyday activities ofall sorts, accompanied by interestingtalk with lots of new vocabularywords, can play an important part intheir children’s language and literacydevelopment.27

Issue 5: Home-School Connections


Summary

The policy recommendations offeredin this brief emanate from basicunderstandings and findings from the research on early literacy. Literacydevelopment starts early in life and ishighly correlated with school achieve-ment. All the domains of a child’sdevelopment, including literacy, areinterrelated and interdependent. Themore limited a child’s experienceswith language and literacy, the morelikely he or she will have difficultylearning to read.

Well-conceived standards for childoutcomes, curriculum content, andteacher preparation help establishclarity of purpose and a shared visionfor early literacy education. Early lit-eracy curricula and teaching practices

should be evidence-based, integratedwith all domains of learning. Statesand districts should establish standardsfor early literacy that are articulatedwith K-12 programs and reflect con-sistency and continuity with overallprogram goals. At the same time,programs should be designed to pro-vide comprehensive support for allchildren, including English LanguageLearners.

In many instances, this mayrequire major changes in policiesinvolving standards and account-ability for children, programs and the professionals responsible forthem. Competent leadership in thepolicy arena is essential. As Roskosand Vukelich aptly state, “What early

literacy policy accomplishes in thenext decades depends not only on thestructures placed on and in settingsand programs, but also on the peoplewho act on those structures to createpatterns of activity that can eitheradvance, resist or stall change.”28


References1 Barnett, W. S. (2002). Preschool education for economically disadvantagedchildren: Effects on reading achievement and related outcomes. In S.Neuman & D. K. Dickinson, (Eds.), Handbook of early literacy (pp. 421-443). New York: Guilford Press. Bowman, B., Donovan, M. S., & Burns,M. S. (Eds.). (2000). Eager to learn: Educating our preschoolers. Washington,DC: National Academy Press. Heckman, J. J. (January 2006). Investing indisadvantaged young children is an economically efficient policy. Presentationat the Committee for Economic Development/The Pew Charitable Trusts/PNC Financial Services Group Forum on Building the Economic Case forInvestments in Preschool, New York: NY. Karoly, L. A., Kilburn, M. R., &Cannon, J. S. (2005). Early childhood interventions: Proven results, futurepromises. Arlington, VA: RAND Corporation. National Institute for ChildHealth & Development (NICHD) Early Child Care Research Network.(2005). Pathways to reading: The role of oral language in the transition toreading. Developmental Psychology, 41, 428-442. Shonkoff, J. P., & Phillips,D.A. (Eds.). (2000). From neurons to neighborhoods: The science of earlychildhood development. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.Strickland, D. S. & Barnett, S. (2003). Literacy interventions for preschoolchildren considered at risk: Implications for curriculum, professionaldevelopment, and parent involvement. In C. Fairbanks, J. Worthy, B.Maloch, J.V. Hoffman, & D. Schallert (Eds.), 52nd Yearbook of the NationalReading Conference, National Reading Conference, (pp. 104-116). Oak Creek,WI: National Reading Conference Incorporated. Storch, S., & Whitehurst,G. (2002). Oral language and code-related precursors to reading: Evidencefrom a longitudinal structural model. Developmental Psychology, 38, 934-947.

2 Strickland, D.S., & Shanahan, T. (2004). Laying the groundwork for literacy.Educational Leadership, 61, 74-77.

3 Hart, B., & Risley, T.R. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. BrookesPublishing Co.

4 Dickinson, D., & Tabors, P. (2001). Beginning literacy with language:Young children learning at home and school. Baltimore, MD: Paul H.Brookes Publishing.

5 Clay, M. (1975). The early detection of reading difficulties. London:Heinemann. Duke, N. K., Pressley, M., & Hilden, K. (2004). Assessment of reading comprehension. In C. A. Stone, E. R. Silliman, B. J. Ehren, & K.Apel (Eds.), Handbook of language and literacy: Development and disorders(pp. 521-540). New York: The Guilford Press. Nagy, W. E., & Scott, J. A.(2000). Vocabulary processes. In M. L. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, P. D. Pearson,& R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research: Vol.3 (pp. 269-284).Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

6 Neuman, S. B., & Dickinson, D. K. (2001). Handbook of early literacyresearch. New York: Guilford.

7 Juel, C. (1988). Learning to read and write. A longitudinal study of 34children from first through fourth grades. Journal of EducationalPsychology, 80, 437-447. Sprira, E. G., Bracken, S. S., & Fischel, J. E. (2005).Predicting improvement after first-grade reading difficulties: The effects oforal language, emergent literacy, and behavior skills. DevelopmentalPsychology, 41, 225-234.

8 National Reading Panel. (2000). A report of the national reading panel:Teaching children to read. Washington, DC: National Institute of ChildHealth and Human Development.

9 RAND Reading Study Group. (2002). Reading for understanding: Towardan R & D program in reading comprehension. Santa Monica, CA: RANDCorporation.

10 Teale, W. H., & Sulzby, E. (1989). Emergent literacy: New perspectives.In D.S. Strickland & L.M. Morrow (Eds.), Emerging literacy: Young childrenlearn to read and write (pp. 1-15). Newark, DE: International ReadingAssociation. Wells, G. (1985). Preschool literacy-related activities and

success in school. In D. R. Olson, N. Torrance, & A. Hildyard (Eds.),Literacy, language and learning: The nature and consequences of reading andwriting (pp. 229-255). New York: Cambridge University Press.

11 Kendall, J. S., & Marzano, R. J. (2004). Content knowledge: A compendium of standards and benchmarks for K-12 education. Aurora, CO: Mid-continentResearch for Education and Learning (McREL). Online database:http://www.Mcrel.org/standards-benchmarks.

12 Seefeldt, C. (2005). How to work with standards in early childhood classrooms.New York: Teachers College Press.

13 National Center for Education and the Economy. (2001). New standards:Speaking and listening. Washington DC: Author.

14 Neuman, S. & Roskos, K. (2005). The state of state pre-kindergartenstandards. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 20, 125-145.

15 National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) andNational Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education (NAECS/SDE). (2002). Early learning standards: Creating the conditions for success. Washington, DC: NAEYC.

16 Strickland, D. S., & Schickedanz, J. A. (2004). Learning about print inpreschool: Working with letters, words, and beginning links with phonemicawareness. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

17 National Reading Panel (2000).

18 Snow, C. E., Burns, M. S., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

19 U.S. Census Bureau (2003). United States Department of CommerceNews. Washington, DC. Retrieved July 24, 2003, fromhttp://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2003/cb03-100.html.

20 Suarez-Orozco, M. M. (2001). Globalization, immigration, and education:The research agenda. Harvard Educational Review, 71, 345-365.

21 Barnett, W. S., Schulman, K., & Shore, R. (2004). Class size: What’s thebest fit? Preschool Policy Matters (9). New Brunswick, NJ: National Institutefor Early Education Research.

22 McAfee, O., Leong, D. J., & Bodrova, E. (2004). Basics of assessment: Aprimer for early childhood educators. Washington, DC: National Associationfor the Education of Young Children.

23 Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S.Department of Health and Human Services. (2003). Strengthening HeadStart: What the evidence shows. Washington, DC: Author. NationalResearch Council. (2001). Report of the Committee on Early ChildhoodPedagogy Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education.Washington, DC: Author.

24 National Research Council (2001).

25 Dickinson & Tabors (2001). Hart & Risley (1995). Snow, C. E., Barnes,W. S., Chandler, J., Goodman, J. F., & Hemphill, L. (1991). Unfulfilledexpectations: Home and school influences on literacy. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press.

26 Tabors, P. O., Snow, C. E., & Dickinson, D. K. (2001). Homes and schoolstogether: Supporting language and literacy development. In D. K.Dickinson & P. O. Tabors (Eds.). Beginning literacy with language: Youngchildren learning at home and school (pp. 313-334). Baltimore, MD PaulH. Brookes Publishing Co.

27 Tabors et al. (2001).

28 Roskos, K. & Vukelich, C. (2006). Early literacy policy and pedagogy. InD. K. Dickinson & S. B. Neuman (Eds.). Handbook of Early Literacy: Vol. 2(pp. 295-308). New York: Guilford Press.


120 Albany Street, Suite 500 New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901(Tel) 732-932-4350 (Fax) 732-932-4360

Website: nieer.orgInformation: [email protected]

by Dorothy S. Strickland, Ph.D., and Shannon Riley-Ayers, Ph.D.Dorothy S. Strickland, Ph.D., is the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Professor of Education at the Graduate School

of Education, Rutgers University and a distinguished fellow at the National Institute for Early Education Research.She specializes in literacy education. Shannon Riley-Ayers, Ph.D., is an Assistant Research Professor at the

National Institute for Early Education Research. She specializes in early literacy.

Early Literacy: Policy and Practice in the Preschool Years is issue 10 in a series of briefs developed by the NationalInstitute for Early Education Research. It may be used with permission, provided there are no changes in the content.

Available online at nieer.org.

This document was prepared with the support of The Pew Charitable Trusts. The Trusts’ Starting Early, Starting Stronginitiative seeks to advance high quality prekindergarten for all the nation’s three-and four-year-olds through objective,policy-focused research, state public education campaigns and national outreach. The opinions expressed in this report

are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Pew Charitable Trusts.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOREARLY EDUCATION RESEARCH

Documents

Early Literacy - nieer.org