Early Literacy Skills, Behaviors and ImportanceDID YOU KNOW...

» The building blocks of language and literacy form inthefirstthreeyearsofachild’slife.Intheirfirst year,achild’sbraindoublesinsize. » Byage3,achild’sbrainistwiceasactiveasan adult’s. » Ababy’sjobistolearn. » Brain connections form through the 5 senses –

sight, sound, touch, taste and smell » Themoreactivitiesachildexperiencesfromwarm, responsivecare-givers,themoreconnectionsthat child’sbrainforms. » Earlychildhoodexperiencesdeterminehowa child’sbrainwilldevelop. » Simplethingslikeholdingyourchild,talkingand singingwiththechildandreadingtothechildwill formthesebrainconnections.

EARLY LITERACY SKILLS

1. Knowingthenamesofthings2. Beinginterestedinandenjoyingbooks3. Noticinglettersandwords,knowinghowto handleabook,knowinghowtofollowwordsonapage4. Beingabletodescribethingsandeventsandtellastory5. Knowingthatlettershavenamesandsounddifferentfromeachother6. Hearingandplayingwiththesmallersoundsinwords,likecat,bat,hat

LiteracyE A R LY C H I L D H O O D

Early LiteracyDO YOU KNOW THE

EARLY LITERACY SKILLS

PAGE 1

IMPORTANCE OF EARLY LITERACYFIVE EASY WAYS -

TALK, READPAGE 2

FIVE EASY WAYS - WRITE, SING, PLAY

IDEAS FOR BABIES, TODDLERS, PRESCHOOLERS

PAGE 3

RESOURCESPAGE 4

TALK

◊ Havetwowayconversationswithyourchildren-childrenlearnlanguagebylistening.◊ Respondtowhattheysayandaddwordstostretchtheirvocabulary.◊ IfEnglishisn’tyourfirstlanguage,speaktoyourchildren in the language you knowbest.◊ Talkwhileyoupreparemeals, do chores, get ready forbed,gotoworkandschoolinthemorning.

◊ Speakslowlytoyoungchildrenandenunciate-thishelpstheirbrainsidentifysounds.◊ Repeatwordstostrengthen the brain pathwaysusedforlanguage.◊ Speakface-to-facewhentalkingtoinfants-theycanmatchshapestosounds.◊ Don’ttalkbabytalk-themorecomplexsentencesa child hears the more complexsentencesthey’llbeabletospeak.◊ Limittelevisiontime.

READ

◊ Reading together is the most importantwaytohelpchildren get ready toread.Itincreases vocabularyand general knowledgeandithelpschildrenunderstandhowprintworksandhowbooksareputtogether.Childrenwhoenjoybeingreadtoaremorelikelytoenjoyreadingthemselves.

◊ Readeveryday.◊ Make reading interactive.Lookatthecoverandtrytoguesswhat

the book is about before youbegin.Ask the child questions as you read and listen to the answers.◊Use books

toteachnewwords.Asyouread,talkaboutwhatthesewordsmean.◊ Havebookswithineasyreachorinaspecialspotinthehouse.

Why early literacy skills areimportant

FIVEEASYWAYStohelpyourchilddevelopliteracyskills-Talk, Sing, Read, Write, Play

Developingtheseskillsmakesiteasierforchildrentolearntoreadinschool.Readingisanessentialskilltosuccessinschool.Childrenwhoenterschoolwiththeseskillshaveanadvantage.Thisadvantagecarrieswiththemthroughouttheirschoolyears.

EARLY LITERACY BEHAVIORS1. Bookhandling-turningpages,mouthingor chewingbooks2. Lookingandrecognizing–payingattentionto pictures,pointing,laughing3. Pictureandstorycomprehension–imitating actions or talking about the story4. Storyreading–pretendingtoreadorfollowing

thewordswiththeirfingers

PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, CARE-GIVERS

Youareyourchild’sfirstteacher.Youknowyourchildbestandcanhelpthemlearninwaysandattimesthatarebestforhimorher.Youaretheirrolemodel–theywillfollowyourlead.Childrenlearnbestbydoingandtheylovedoingwhatyoudoanddoingthingswithyou.

ENCOURAGE CREATIVE PLAY

WRITE ◊ Encourage scribbling byprovidingmanyopportunitiestowriteanddraw.Keepcrayonsandpaperonatablewherechildren can return again andagain.◊ Get magnetic letters for the refrigerator or make letters from cardboard or paperforthechildrentoplaywith.◊ Havethemsigntheirdrawingstodevelophand-eye coordination and build uptheirwritingmuscles.Childrenalsobegintounderstandthatwritingrepresentswords.

◊ Talkaboutwhattheydraw.Havethemmakeupstoresorwritecaptionsfortheirdrawingsso they make the connection betweenwrittenandspokenlanguage.

SING

◊Singthealphabetsongsothe child learns the letters◊Sing nursery rhymes so children hear the different soundsinwords.◊Clapalongtotherhythmso children hear the syllables.

◊Play music designed for children.

PLAY

◊ Playhelpschildrenthinksymbolically so givethemplentyof unstructured playtimes.◊ Encourage dramaticplaywithpuppetsorstuffedanimals.Makingupstoriesthisway

developsnarrativeskillsso children understand that storieshaveabeginning,middleandend.◊ Havethechildtellyou a story based on the picturesinabookoraskthechildto‘read’youabookthatyou’vereadtogethermanytimes.Thisdevelopsvocabulary.

FIVEEASYWAYSCONTINUED

Play helps children think symbolically so give them plenty of unstructured playtimes.

Ideas for Specific Age Groups: Babies, Toddlers, Preschoolers

BABIESBabies understand language long before they are able to talk. Talk to your baby often about what he or she is seeing, hearing, feeling and doing.

Babies like books with:• Pictures of babies• Clear, bold pictures of familiar items• Rhythm and repetition• Textures – touch and feel books• Animal sounds• Lullaby books

TODDLERSThe main job of a toddler is exploring. Make the activity interactive by asking questions or encouraging the child to repeat familiar phrases.

Toddlers like books:• That fit into their hands• With simple rhymes

• About familiar items or routines - shoes, toys, pets, bedtime, bath time• With flaps that lift or tabs that pull so they can explore• With few words or with repeating words that they can learn by heart• Bedtime books

PRESCHOOLERSPreschool children are almost ready to read. Point out letters in the book or run your finger below the text as you read.

Preschoolers like books:• That tell stories• With funny stories• With simple text they can memorize• About kids – similar or different • About going to school and making friends• With playful or rhyming language• Alphabet, counting and vocabulary books,• Books about the real world like trucks.

RESOURCES• Birth to Six-MultnomahCountyLibrary,Oregon’sEarlyLiteracyProgramwithreadinglistsforbabies,toddlersandpreschoolers.www.multcolib.org/birthtosix/• Zero to Five -anational,nonprofitorganizationthatinforms,trains,andsupportsprofessionals,policymakers,andparentsintheireffortstoimprovethelivesofinfantsandtoddlers. www.zerotothree.org/• The National Center for Family Literacy supportsfamilyliteracyservicesandhasmanyonlineresourcesforfamilies. www.famlit.org/free-resources/family-resources/• Reading is Fundamental -theoldestliteracygroupintheUS.Lookhereforadvice,booklists,tipsandactivities.www.rif.org/• Reading Rockets -strategies,lessonsandactivitiestohelpyoungchildrenlearntoread.www.readingrockets.org/

Available through the Maine State Library and funded by grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).