One of the many joys of being an early childhood educator is watching and developing children’s growing imaginations. Symbolic behavior play is related to the understanding of a representational system like written language and language behavior in dramatic play is related to literate language (Mielonen, Paterson, 2009). Children are also developing their oral language skills… Read more »
Tag: Language
Fall into Literacy: Using The Autumn Season to Support Early Literacy Skills
The Autumn season offers numerous opportunities to support early literacy development with its vibrant colors, exciting holidays, and cozy atmosphere. Educators and families can maximize children’s natural curiosity and excitement of this time of year to create meaningful and engaging literacy experiences. Incorporating seasonal themes into literacy activities helps children connect learning to their real… Read more »
Literacy Rich Environments
Over the last few weeks, this blog has shared lots of strategies for developing young children’s literacy skills during different stages of their development (emergent, early reading and writing, and pre-reading and writing). Research affirms that a key strategy for promoting the development of all 5 key literacy skills [ 1) phonological awareness, 2) phonemic… Read more »
How to Develop Phonological and Phonemic Awareness During Emergent Literacy
During the emergent literacy stage our earliest developing readers and writers, typically aged birth to two years, are just beginning to understand and manipulate the sounds and structures of language. Even though children in this stage are not yet explicitly aware of phonemes and phonological concepts, there are strategies that promote language development that also… Read more »
Love, Language, and Learning: The Role of Relationships in Developing Literacy Skills
While much attention is given to early literacy educational practices and programs, the impact of positive relationships between caregivers and young children on their literacy development cannot be overstated. Positive relationships are the foundation of nurturing and supportive environments that support early literacy skills to flourish. Research indicates that the frequency and quality of interactions… Read more »
ALL really does mean ALL: Early Literacy Practices that Meet Everyone’s Needs
All children are unique. They each have learning differences, learning style preferences and develop at their own pace. Even so, we can support all children to achieve high outcomes by embracing the strengths that exist in the broad range of human experience, including children’s abilities, socio-economic backgrounds, and cultures. An extensive literature review identified 6 … Read more »
Words, words, words!
Yes, we know, vocabulary development is important! But just how important is it? Research tells us that “vocabulary is very important to reading comprehension; readers need to know the meanings of individual words to understand the text as a whole” and “oral language is a predictor of a range of expressive skills beyond comprehension, including… Read more »
The Power of Pictures: How Book Illustrations Boost Early Literacy
Yes, the pictures do matter! Illustrations are more than just decorative elements, they are a key part of books that support children’s early literacy skills. Recent research emphasizes the significant impact of visual elements on young readers’ cognitive and language development. Let’s explore how the illustrations in children’s books foster early literacy skills. Enhance Comprehension… Read more »
Supporting Early Literacy by Leveraging Cultural Diversity During the Holidays and Beyond
Celebrating holidays in early childhood settings is not only fun and exciting, it offers additional opportunities to develop children’s early literacy skills by connecting lessons to occasions occurring both in the context of their daily lives and cultures and those around the world. Holiday literacy lessons involve books, dramatic play, drawing/writing, cooking, crafts, games, etc. … Read more »
Small Objects, Big Words: Boosting Early Literacy through Show and Tell
Whether you call it “Show and Tell”, “Sharing Time”, “All About Me” or some other name, providing children opportunities to share information about themselves and their preferences is a classic classroom activity that offers a powerful way to develop early literacy skills, especially in young children. Encouraging children to bring objects from home and describe… Read more »