Emergent LiteracyREA 612

Murray State University, 2008

What is Reading Readiness?• We used to think that children didn’t learn to

read and write until they began school. • We used to think that reading was primarily a

visual process.• We thought children weren’t ready to learn to

read until they reached a certain age and had certain prerequisite skills such as auditory and visual discrimination, and a certain IQ.

• We got children ready to read with skills such as visual discrimination activities.

What is Emergent Literacy?• We now understand that the ability to

read and write emerges gradually.• Children begin to learn about reading

and writing almost from birth.• Children’s approximations – scribble

writing and pretend reading – are part of the process of learning to read and write and show us what the child already knows.

Young children become readers and writers by…

• …observing reading and writing functions at home  

• …being read to• …experimenting with

reading and writing

Concepts, Strategies and Skills Needed to Become a Reader

• Oral language and listening skills

• Functions of print

• Concept of word, letter, directionality

• The “language of books.”

• Alphabetic principal.

• The names of some of the letters

ALL of these develop very gradually in a literacy-rich environment

How can we help children learn the functions of written language and experiment with

reading and writing?

• Make lists with students• Write notes to students• Writing morning messages• Recording questions and information on charts• Use literacy materials at play centers• Allow students to write notes to classmates• Reading and writing stories together• Drawing and writing in journals

Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children – from IRA & NAEYC joint position statement

Preschool:• Daily reading aloud to children• Literacy play• Songs, finger plays, poems• Print-rich environments• Experiences that expand vocabulary• Opportunities to focus on the sounds in

language• Opportunities to talk about what is read

Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children – from IRA & NAEYC joint position statement

K-primary grades:• Many of same practices as preschool years• Daily reading aloud• Daily independent reading of meaningful

texts• Daily supported writing of many types of

texts• Invented spellings• Small group instruction and collaboration

Things to think about…• Why are those activities

developmentally appropriate?• What activities were NOT mentioned?

– Being taught phonics rules– Intensive phonics programs– Extrinsic rewards

• Why are they NOT mentioned?• When do we stop learning to read and

write?

Stages of Emergent Reading and Writing

• Elizabeth Sulzby’s Stages of Emergent Reading

• Stages of Writing Development

Sulzby’s Stages of Emergent Reading

Story Formed

Picture-Governed Attempts

Print-Governed AttemptsWritten Language-

Like (Print Not Watched)

Story not formed: Labeling, commenting, following the

action

Print Watched: Refusal to read or aspectual

reading Print Watched: Strategies imbalanced

and independent reading

Stages of Writing Development

• Scribble stage

• Prephonemic stage

• Phonemic stage

• Transitional stage

• Conventional stage

What does this child know about writing?

What does this child know about writing?

What does this child know about writing?

What does this child know about writing?

Why does this student represent the /w/ sound with the letter Y?

Why does he represent the /sh/ sound with the letter H?

What does this child know about writing?

Stages of Writing Development: What the child knows

• Scribble stage – Writing means something• Prephonemic stage – Writing is made up of

letters• Phonemic stage – Letters stand for certain

sounds• Transitional stage – Uses visual memory for

some words; invents others• Conventional stage – Relies on visual

memory rather than spelling how it sounds

What is Phonemic Awareness?• Understanding phonics?• NO• Something that may be an important

prerequisite to learning to read?• YES• FIND OUT WHAT IT IS AND HOW

YOU HELP STUDENTS DEVELOP IT ON THE EMERGENT LITERACY TRACK!!!

aster - A star-shaped flower

astronaut - Star

voyager

asteroid - Small star

disaster - Against the

stars

* asterisk - A small star

shape

astro - star(Greek)

Technology presentation – Students use Kidspiration to construct webs showing the meanings of root words or affixes.