Preschool Reading and Writing: Essential Elements of Emergent Literacy

1
Preschool Reading and Writing Essential Elements
of Emergent Literacy

• Marilyn Astore
• Language Literacy Consultant
• California Preschool Instructional Network

2
What is Emergent Literacy?

• Skills, knowledge and attitudes that are
  developmental precursors to conventional reading
  and writing
• Whitehurst and Lonigan (1998) in Landry, Lonigan
  and Shanahan (2005)

3
Definitions of Emergent Literacy (Continued)

• Skills and abilities linked to later outcomes in
  reading, writing and spelling
• Basic building blocks for learning to read and
  write

4
What Elements of Emergent Literacy Strongly
Predict Future Success in Reading and Writing?

• Alphabetic Knowledge
• Oral Language
• Concepts About Print
• RAN (Rapid Automatic Naming/Lexical Access)

• Phonological
• Awareness
• Writing/Name
• Writing
• Invented
• Spelling

Landry, Lonigan and Shanahan Lonigan (2006)

5
What Areas Are the Strongest Predictors?
Lonigan (2003, 2006)
6
Conventional Literacy The Reading/Writing
Connection

• Receptive
• Automatic, Fluent Decoding
• Reading Comprehension

• Expressive
• Spelling
• Composition

Landry, Lonigan and Shanahan
7
The Emergent Reading/Writing Connection

• Assessing childrens writing provides useful
  indicators of their level of print development
  and their understanding of the sounds of
  language.
• Moats (1998) in Paulsen, et al
• Research has shown that writing leads to reading
  achievement.
• Braunger, Lewis and Hagans (1999) in Paulsen, et
  al (2001), p. 260

8
The Emergent Reading/Writing Connection
(Continued)

• Experiences such as making lists, writing notes
  and messages, planning menus and writing their
  names, as well as the names of other family
  members, encourage children to experiment and
  interact with print.
• These experiences help children to gain a better
  understanding of how speech can be represented
  with print.
• Paulsen, et al

9
The Emergent Reading/Writing Connection
(Continued)

• There is a striking parallel in the
  developmental sequence that children go through
  as they learn to say the sounds in their language
  and when they learn to write the sounds of our
  language.
• Paulsen, et al

10
Why is This Connection Significant ?

• In alphabetic writing systems, decoding texts
  involves the translation of units of print
  (graphemes) to units of sound (phonemes), and
  writing involves translating units of sound into
  units of print.
• Lonigan (2003)

11
How Does the Reading/Writing Connection Develop?

• Children learn about literacy beginning in the
  earliest years by observing and interacting with
  readers and writers, as well as through their own
  attempts at reading and writing.
• The breadth, depth and nature of childrens
  engagement with text greatly affects their
  development of literacy learning.
• Snow, C.E., Burns, M.S. and Griffin, P. (1998),
  p. 44

12
Even with scribble and non-phonetic
letter strings, children appear to be exploring
features that they abstract about print
Development of the Reading/Writing Connection
(continued)
Snow, Burns and Griffin, p. 59
13
Development of the Reading/Writing Connection
(continued)
Late in the second year or early in the third
many children produce reading-like as well as
drawing-like scribbles and recognizable letters
or letter-like forms. Snow, Burns and Griffin,
p.57 During the latter part of this period,
children will often label and comment about what
they have illustrated. Snow, Burns and Griffin,
p.59

14
Development of the Reading/Writing Connection
(continued)

• Between three and four years of age, children
  continue to experiment with writing by
  scribbling, forming random letter strings and
  shapes that resemble letters.
• Some four year olds begin to identify salient
  sounds in words and can demonstrate this
  knowledge in their writing through the use of
  invented spelling.
• Snow, Burns and Griffin

15
A Major Developmental Milestone

• The childs first written representation of a
  word using only its beginning consonant is a
  dramatic moment in the evolution toward literacy.
• At this point, the child has a rudimentary
  understanding that letters stand for the sounds
  of language, though this understanding is
  probably based on the letters name rather than
  its sound.
• Roberts, B. in S.B. Neuman and K.A. Roskos
  (1998), p.43

16
Encouraging Emerging Readers and Writers

• How can early childhood staff and families
  nurture preschoolers growth in their attempts
  to read and write?
• Share your ideas with a partner.

17
Shared Writing A Key Strategy to Connect Reading
and Writing

• Shared writing (The Language Experience Approach)
  is an excellent way for helping children to
  realize that what they say can be written down in
  print and that print can be read back ...
• Shared writing also presents opportunities for
  teachers to demonstrate the structure and
  conventions of written language.
• Vukelich, C. and Christie, J.(2004), p.9

18
Shared Writing Activities

• Daily News or Morning Message
• Dictated Stories, Ideas or Experiences for
  individual or class books
• Surprise Box-- Large box covered with paper
  teacher records childrens guesses about what is
  in the box and and reads them out loud to class

19
Shared Writing Activities (Continued)

• Take-Home Bear- Stories about what child did
  with bear when he/she took it home-dictated to a
  family member or to the teacher the next day.
• Quilt Stories-Dictated Stories framed
  individually with wallpaper strips and mounted
  together to produce a giant class story quilt.
• Moomaw, S. and Hieronymus, B. (2001)

20
Linking Reading and Writing In Thematic Play Areas

21
Play settings that reflect real-life reading and
writing situations

• Grocery Store
• Veterinarians Office
• Home Center
• Post Office

• Airport/Airplane
• Library
• Business Office
• Restaurant

Vukelich and Christie
22
Role of the Teacher
When teachers are directly involved, children
learn more about reading and writing then when
they are playing alone or with others. Teachers
can be

• Stage managers (gathering, making props and
  organizing materials, talking with children about
  their plans, etc)

Vukelich and Christie
23
Role of the Teacher (continued)

• Co-players (joining in the play)
• Play leaders (extending and enriching play
  episodes)
• When teachers act as stage managers and add
  reading and writing materials to all their
  classroom centers, they coax young children into
  engaging in reading and writing behaviors.

24
Role of the Teacher (continued)

• When teachers go a step further and become
  co-players and play leaders, they can provide
  children with meaningful reading and writing
  opportunities.
• Through such play, children practice the
  important reading and writing skills.
• Vukelich and Christie, p.35

25
Supporting Emergent Literacy at the Writing Center

• What kinds of materials should be available?
• Discuss with a partner.

26
Support at the Writing Center

• Time spent by teachers in the center key to
  childrens progress
  Baldridge and
  Segal
• Extensive opportunities for exploration and
  practice essential for encouraging emerging
  writers
• 
  Barone, D.M., Mallette, M.H. and Xu. M.H.(2005)
• Choice important for children to decide about
  their topics, materials, purpose and length of
  time spent on a piece of writing
• Barone, Mallette and Xu

27
Introducing Preschoolers to Letter Forms

• Looking at letters gives young children some
  information about the lines used to form those
  letters.
• Watching an adult form a letter provides
  preschoolers with more information.

28
Introducing Preschoolers to Letter Forms
(continued)

• The teacher can play an alphabet clue game with
  children in a small group by writing a letter,
  one line at a time, on a large sheet of plain
  paper and asking the children to guess what
  letter he/she is going to make. If a long,
  vertical line is drawn, they might guess T or F
  or H . The teacher continues adding lines,
  telling the children when he/she has given them
  the last clue. Children may initiate games such
  as this in the writing area after playing with
  the teacher.
• 
  Schickedanz

29
Supporting Preschoolers Attempts to Write
Letters
A good way to help children learn to write
letters is to let them begin with the first
letter of their own name. Baldridge and
Segal, p.224
Next Step Try remaining letters in
name. Reminder for Adults Do not critique
letter reversals done by preschoolers!
Baldridge and Segal
30
Useful Materials for Letter Writing

• Shaving Cream
• Playdough (rolled out for finger writing)
• Cornmeal (in a cardboard box lid)

31
Models for Copying

• Plastic Letters
• Letter Cards
• Tracing Over Models with Finger A
  Multisensory Scaffold

32

• Strategies for Supporting English Learners and
  Children With Special Needs

33
Support for Preschool English Learners

• Review the recommendations outlined on pp. 68 and
  89 of Preschool English Learners Principles and
  Practices to Promote Language, Literacy, and
  Learning.

34
Supporting Children with Special Needs DR access
Adaptations

• Augmentative or alternative communication
• Alternative mode for written language
• Visual supports
• Assistive equipment
• Functional positioning
• Sensory support
• Response fluency
• Alternative response mode

DRAFT
35
Directions for activity

• Review your groups information, and at the
  chart paper brainstorm some additional strategies
  for promoting the development of emergent reading
  and writing.

36
Nurturing Reading and Writing Readiness at Home

• Children see their parents reading regularly and
  enjoying it.
• There is an abundance of all types of literature
  available--newspapers, magazines, novels,
  childrens books, etc.
• Bishop, A., Yopp, R.H. and Yopp, H.K. (2000)

37
Nurturing Reading and Writing Readiness at Home
(continued)

• Visiting the local library is a weekly family
  routine.
• Children are read to regularly, including books
  that focus on important moments in their
  lives---a new puppy, an important outing, birth
  of a sibling, nightmares, visits to the doctor,
  etc.

38
Nurturing Reading and Writing Readiness at Home
(continued)

• Homes that encourage reading and writing by
  having paper, pencils, crayons and even
  chalkboards readily availableare developing
  characteristics in children that will allow them
  to enter school with confidence.

39
Nurturing Reading and Writing Readiness at Home
(continued)

• Many children write before they begin reading.
  Parents who encourage their children to
  experiment with writing often are helping them
  ease into reading.
• However, these parents do not expect perfect
  handwriting, spelling or grammar. They are very
  accepting of their childs attempts to write.
• Bishop, Yopp and Yopp, p.10

40
Strategies That Foster Print Knowledge and
Emerging Writing at Home

• Help your child learn to recognize her name in
  print.
• As she watches, print the letters of her name
  saying each letter as you write it.
• Display her name in special places in your home.
• Encourage her to spell and write her name.

41
Strategies That Foster Print Knowledge and
Emerging Writing at Home (continued)

• Point out words and letters everywhere you can.
• Read street signs, traffic signs, billboards,
  and store signs. Point out certain letters in
  these signs.
• Ask your child to begin naming common signs and
  find some letters.
• Armbruster, Lehr and Osborne (2003), p.22

42
Strategies That Foster Print Knowledge and
Emerging Writing at Home (continued)

• Have your preschooler use her way of
  writing--perhaps just a scribble, to sign
  birthday cards or make lists.
• Reading and writing support each other. The more
  your child does of each, the better she will be
  at both.
• U.S. Department of Education (2002), p. 25

43
Strategies That Foster Print Knowledge and
Emerging Writing at Home (continued)

• Hang a family message board in the kitchen.
  Offer to write notes there for your child. Be
  sure that she finds the notes left there for her.
• Ask your preschooler to tell you simple stories
  as you write them down

44
Strategies That Foster Print Knowledge and
Emerging Writing at Home (continued)

• Write with your child. She will learn a lot
  about writing by watching you write. Talk with
  her about your writing so that she begins to
  understand that writing means something and has
  many uses.

45
Strategies That Foster Print Knowledge and
Emerging Writing at Home (continued)

• Help your child write notes or emails to
  relatives and friends to thank them for gifts or
  to share her thoughts. Encourage the relatives
  and friends to answer your child.
• U.S. Department of Education, pp. 25-26

46
Families as Partners in Literacy

• How do you structure opportunities for sharing
  strategies that support childrens early literacy
  development with families from diverse linguistic
  and cultural backgrounds?
• How do you ensure that the home language of
  families is valued in the fostering of young
  childrens development as emergent readers and
  writers?
• Discuss with a partner.

47
Assessment What Emergent Writing Reveals about
Emergent Literacy

• Use Measures 30 and 31 of Desired Results-R, to
  analyze what these measures demonstrate about
  preschoolers letter and word knowledge and
  emerging writing skills.

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References

• Armbruster, B.B., Lehr, F. and Osborn, J. 2003. A
  Child Becomes a Reader Birth Through Preschool.
  Jessup, MD National Institute for Literacy.
• Bishop, A., Yopp, R.H. and Yopp, H.K.. 2000.
  Ready for Reading A Handbook for Parents of
  Preschoolers. Boston Allyn and Bacon.
• Baldridge, B.S. and Segal, M.S. 2005. Building
  Literacy With Love A Guide for Children and
  Caregivers of Children From Birth Through Age
  Five. Washington, D.C. Zero to Three Press.
• Barone, D., Mallette, M.H. and Xu, S.H. 2005.
  Teaching Early Literacy Development, Assessment
  and Instruction. New York Guilford Press.
• Braunger, J., Lewis, J. and Hagans, R. 1997.
  Building a Knowledge Base in Reading. Portland,
  OR Northwest Regional Laboratory, National
  Council of Teachers of English.

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References

• California Department of Education 2005.
  Preschool English Learners Principles and
  Practices to Promote Language, Literacy and
  Learning (Draft). Sacramento California
  Department of Education.
• Landry, S.H., Lonigan, C. J. and Shanahan, T.
  2005. Findings from the National Early Literacy
  Panel providing a focus for early language and
  literacy development. Presentation at The
  National Association for the Education of Young
  Children Annual Conference in Washington, D.C..
• Lonigan, C. J. 2003. Development and promotion of
  early literacy skills in children at-risk of
  reading difficulties. In B.R. Foorman (ed.),
  Preventing and Remediating Reading Difficulties.
  Baltimore, MD York Press.
• Lonigan, C. J. 2006. Early literacy development
  foundations and interrelations. Presentation to
  California Preschool Instructional Network in
  Ontario, CA.

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References

• Moats, L. 1998. Achieving research-based
  practice replacing romance with reality.
  Presentation at The Sopris West Summer Institute,
  A Summit on Literacy, in Snowmass, CO.
• Moomaw, S. and Hieronymus, B. 2001. More Than
  Letters. St. Paul, MN Redleaf Press.
• Paulsen, L.H., et al. 2001. Building Early
  Literacy and Language Skills. Longmont, CO
  Sopris West.
• Roberts, B. 1998. I No EvrethENGE what
  skills are needed in early literacy? in S.B.
  Neuman and K.A. Roskos (eds.), Children
  Achieving Best Practices in Early Literacy.
  Newark, DE International Reading Association.

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References

• Schickedanz, J. A. 1999. Much More Than the ABCs.
  Washington, D.C. IRA.
• Schickedanz, J.A. and Casberge, R.M. 2004.
  Writing in Preschool Learning to Orchestrate
  Meaning and Marks. Washington, D.C. IRA
• Snow, C.E., M.S. Burns and P. Griffin, eds. 1998.
  Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young
  Children. Washington, D.C. National Academy
  Press.
• U.S. Department of Education Office of
  Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs. 2002.
  Helping Your Child Become a Reader. Jessup, MD
  Education Publications Center (Spanish edition
  available).
• Vukelich, C. and Christie, J. 2004. Building a
  Foundation for Preschool Literacy Effective
  Instruction in Childrens Reading and Writing
  Development. Newark, DE IRA.