“The fire of literacy is created by the emotional sparks between a child, a book, and the person reading. It isn’t achieved by the book alone, nor by the child alone, nor by the adult who’s reading aloud—it’s the relationship winding between all three, bringing them together in easy harmony.” –Mem Fox, from Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change TheirLives Forever.
Opening Vignette: The Favorite Book
One morning a young 2-year-old named Adelyn was sitting with a favorite book from home, “Dora and the Rainy Day.” Ms. Faith, Adelyn’s home care provider, watched on as Adelyn flipped back and forth between the pages of the well-loved boardbook. She repeatedly came back to a page in the beginning and pointed to the words and the pictures and said, “It’s time to come inside now. It’s raining.” Then she would flip to the middle of the book and stop. Clearly mimicking the intonation of an adult who had read the book before, she said, “We are making hot chocolate…need to wait for the cookies to bake!” Then she moved to a page at the end of the book and pointed to the characters in the picture saying, “That’s the mom…there’s the dad….it’s raining.” Then she closed the book and announced, “THE END!”
Ms. Faith walked over to the child and commented on what a good job she did reading the book. Ms. Faith also asked Adelyn to show her some of the parts of the book, noting that this child was clearly showing signs of print awareness. For instance, she observed that Adelyn was holding the book right side up, she turned the pages from right to left (even though she skipped some), and she was able to use known words and concepts from the story in her retelling. It was clear to Ms. Faith that Adelyn was developing a sense for story structure and how to use pictures and words to understand text. And best of all, Adelyn was finding great joy and pleasure in rereading this book on her own.
Introduction
Watching a young child, like Adelyn in the opening vignette, begin to understand how reading works is such an exciting time for both families and early childhood educators. As has been discussed in previous chapters of this textbook, there are many interwoven elements that create proficient readers and many things adults can do to support reading development. Through continuous exposure to a variety of text, repeated readings of favorite books, and conversations between adults and children about text, children like Adelyn learn that reading is ultimately about making meaning and communicating a message. Even though this particular child has not yet learned to read in the formal sense, she knows a lot about print and how books work. These emergent reading skills are critical to future reading success and an ability to ultimately “crack the code” and recognize that letters and symbols connect to sounds and meanings (Scarborough, 2002). Knowing that text conveys a message supports children’s developing abilities to understand and eventually decode that message independently.
For some children, it might seem that reading starts to happen “like magic” but learning to read is not intuitive. This differs from how children acquire language. The human brain is wired for language and children naturally gain language skills as they develop (Chomsky, 1968; Geary, 1995; Snow, 1983). Some researchers refer to language as “biologically primary” because it is found across cultures and needed to help people survive (Geary, 1995). However, this is not the case for reading the printed word because what we read—our alphabetic script—is an invention, only available to humankind for the last 3,800 years (Dehaene, 2009). As a result, our brains have had to accommodate new pathways for translating the squiggles that are letters into the sounds of the spoken words they symbolize.
The seemingly simple task of reading is, in actuality, a complex feat. Reading skills require a complex interplay of various regions of the brain working together simultaneously (Wolf, 2007). Reading skills are considered “biologically secondary” because they do not develop without specific experiences and instruction (Sénéchal et al., 2001). Children need intentional and explicit opportunities to learn skills and strategies to become proficient readers. In this chapter, we will use a Framework for Developing Emergent Literacy (Puranik & Lonigan, 2014), including conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and generative knowledge, to unpack the complex elements of reading.
Figure 4.1.1 “Framework for Developing Emergent Literacy”
This framework was designed to explain the dimensions of emergent writing. But in this textbook, we will use the framework to parallel both the reading and writing processes. The first dimension, conceptual knowledge, will focus on the functions of reading, such as learning new information, completing a task, or reading for enjoyment. The second dimension, procedural knowledge, will focus on the mechanics of reading, such as decoding, print orientation, and story structure. Lastly, the third dimension, generative knowledge, will focus on application of skills, such as understanding the author’s meaning and applying information or ideas in the real world. Using the Framework for Developing Emergent Literacy, this chapter will answer the following questions:
How do young children develop an understanding that reading is about making meaning?
How do emergent readers progress on a continuum of development?
What can early childhood educators do to support emergent readers using effective instructional strategies and literacy assessments?
Reading is Making Meaning
Children at a very young age begin connecting print and other symbols to meaningful ideas. Anyone who has seen a child “read” a sign on the side of the road for their favorite restaurant or store has witnessed this process of making meaning. Children know that when they see the familiar sign, it is marking something meaningful and letting people know what they can find inside. The processes of “learning to read” and “reading to learn” develop concurrently in an incremental and symbiotic fashion. A 3-year-old looking intently at a picture book with characters wearing hats is reading to learn about hats. At the same time, that toddler is hearing sounds /hat/ that match the symbols on the page. They are seeing and hearing it as a whole word, which helps build a foundation for learning to read. Conceptual knowledge about reading can and should happen well before formal reading instruction or the process of “learning to read” begins. Before children can independently read words on a page, they need to know that print conveys a message. This conceptual knowledge about the basic functions of reading is fostered by experiencing print in a variety of meaningful contexts.
Text and text features (e.g., charts, headings, and captions) in books work similarly to signs on the road. When children have guided and supportive experiences in text, they begin to make connections between elements of print and its meaning. Adelyn, in the opening vignette, could not read the words “cookies,” “hot chocolate,” and “raining” but she could point to the text and indicate that she understood that the words on the page talked about important elements of the story she had heard before. Likewise, children also understand that they can learn from print well before they can formally extract a message themselves. It is not uncommon to see young children locate resources that they know contain information they want or need. In early childhood classrooms, children will often bring a book to their teacher and ask them to read the part about their favorite animal. At home, children may ask a caregiver to read the next step of the recipe so they know what to add to the cake batter. These are all early markers that children are connecting reading with making meaning. There is no arbitrary line when children learn to read and then can learn from reading. When exposed to print and text messages, children are in a continual process of both learning the skills needed to read and learning new information from text.
In this textbook, we are positioning early childhood teachers’ first, and arguably primary, responsibility around reading instruction to be fostering meaning-making experiences to ensure that children see reading not just as isolated skills, but as a process that ultimately shares a message. Early childhood educators support students’ conceptual knowledge about reading and help children understand the purpose of text when they (a) connect spoken words to print, (b) share various types of text, and (c) guide comprehension of text. Later in this chapter, we will discuss a variety of instructional strategies and assessments educators can use to build specific emergent literacy skills, but here we will discuss how to develop a conceptual understanding about print.
Connecting Speaking to Print
We discussed the critical role that oral language and vocabulary play in literacy development. Early childhood educators can build an understanding about reading by connecting children’s language skills to print. This can be as simple as stating a student’s name and then pointing to the name on a chart or having children say or echo read the letters that make up the special friend’s name. Educators also show children how oral words are represented in print when children dictate captions that go with their illustrations or create collaborative morning messages about the day’s events. Even if the children can’t read all of the words being written, the educator is reinforcing that their words can be marked using symbols. Educators can also ask students to orally share their background knowledge on a topic and then turn to a written text to see what the author has to say about the topic. Ultimately, we want children to know that what we think and say can be written down and what we write can later be read and discussed.
Figure 4.1.2 Adults can use words to note the child’s description of their artwork to promote literacy.
Sharing Various Types of Text
Helping children see that text is part of our world and all around us is a big piece of the early childhood educator’s role in reading development. Using environmental print, familiar signs, logos, and brands to show children examples of text they know can be a powerful learning experience. Educators can also intentionally choose a variety of books to share with children. Ensuring that children have access to various types of books and text, such as board books, cloth books, pop-up books, magazines, posters, labels, etc., helps children see the various forms that print can take. It is also critical that educators read daily to children from books of varying genres. Finding picture books that share engaging fictional stories is just as important as finding non-fiction books about topics of interest. Reading poems and comic books as well as recipes, directions, and lists shows children that text shows up in a plethora of ways for different purposes.
Guiding Comprehension of Books
Figure 4.1.3 Children learn about text features when they share books with educators.
Once children have been immersed in text and see its prevalence all around them, they are ready to have guided discussions about understanding various types of books. Early childhood educators can begin thinking aloud about what they notice as a story unfolds and what they are wondering as new events and details emerge. Helping children develop an awareness of basic story structure (e.g., problem and solution; beginning, middle, and ending; setting and characters) primes them for future independent reading and unlocks some of the mystery around storytelling. These opportunities for guiding comprehension and understanding of books support children’s developing knowledge that reading is an active process. In order to understand the message, they need to engage with print in various ways. Similarly, educators can point out various text features of non-fiction text (such as photographs, captions, headings, charts, etc.) to show children that important information can be found in many places. Comprehending text is a continuous skill that deepens and matures throughout the reader’s life, but the initial keys to understanding text can be nurtured from the earliest years.
Emergent Readers Progress
Emergent literacy acknowledges that literacy development is an emerging process that begins well before children demonstrate proficient reading abilities. When a child sees a sign for a favorite restaurant along the road, looks at a box of cereal while eating breakfast, or flips through a magazine looking at the pictures while waiting at the doctor’s office, they are benefiting from ongoing exposure to print materials. Similarly, when hearing proficient readers share stories, like when a family member reads before bed or an educator shares a picture book at circle time, children are learning about reading. These everyday experiences support children’s emergent literacy skills and contribute to their future reading proficiency.
Because of the emergent nature of literacy development and its dependence on the experiences, exposure, and environment of the child, reading skills progress in an individual fashion. A child’s chronological age will not automatically tell us what a young reader will need; however, young children’s reading abilities typically develop in stages along a continuum. Having an understanding of these stages of reading helps early childhood educators recognize where children are in their development, regardless of age. The stages of reading development give educators a road map to know what children need to know next to continue on their literacy journey. Stage criteria or indicators show educators the procedural knowledge, or understanding of the mechanics of reading, needed to effectively build upon young children’s reading abilities.
Figure 4.1.4 Children acquire knowledge about reading before they are able to decipher individual words.
Emerging Readers
Researchers use a variety of models to represent the progressive skills and proficiencies children acquire over time (Chall, 1996; Clay 1991; Whitehurst & Lonigan, 2002). As children internalize specific reading skills they use the skills in an integrated manner to interpret and respond to text. There is an age range that can be considered “typical” or expected for each of the stages. For instance, we typically see children in the preschool years developing emergent reader skills. However, these stages are not always age specific and sometimes children move more slowly or quickly than would be expected. Some children under age 5 begin showing signs of early reading skills while some kindergarten students are still developing emergent skills. It is important that early childhood educators use appropriate assessment techniques to observe children’s current stage and level of functioning.
There are a number of descriptors within each of the stages of reading. These literacy behaviors give early childhood educators information that describe a student’s current literacy abilities as well as identify what they need to learn next. This textbook is focused on the first stage, emergent reading, but the final chapter delves into the changes you will see as children begin moving into the early literacy stage. If we think about Adelyn, from the opening vignette, it is clear that she is demonstrating many emergent reader behaviors.
References
Chall, J. S. (1996). Stages of reading development (2nd ed.). Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
Clay, M. M. (1991). Becoming literate: The construction of inner control. Heinemann.
Geary, D. C. (1995). Reflections of evolution and culture in children’s cognition. American Psychologist, 50, 24–37.
Puranik, C.S., & Lonigan, C.J. (2014). Emergent writing in preschoolers: Preliminary evidence for a theoretical framework. Reading Research Quarterly, 49(4), 453–67.
Scarborough, H. S. (2002). Connecting early language and literacy to later reading (dis)abilities: Evidence, theory, and practice. In. S.B. Neuman & D.K. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook of early literacy research (pp. 97- 110). Guilford Press.
Sénéchal, M., LeFevre, J., Smith-Chant, B. L., & Colton, K. V. (2001). On refining theoretical models of emergent literacy: The role of empirical evidence. Journal of School Psychology, 39, 439–460.
Snow, C. E. (1983). Literacy and language: Relationships during the preschool years. Harvard Educational Review, 53, 165–189.
Whitehurst, G. J., & Lonigan, C. J. (2002). Emergent literacy: Development from prereaders to readers. In S. Neuman & D. Dickinson, Handbook of early literacy research (pp. 11-29). Guilford Press.
Wolf, M. (2007). Proust and the squid: The story and science of the reading brain.
Image Credits
Figure 4.1.1: Leslie La Croix and Kalyca Schultz. “Framework for Developing Emergent Literacy.” CC BY 2.0.
How do young children develop an understanding that reading is about making meaning?
How do emergent readers progress on a continuum of development?
What can early childhood educators do to support emergent readers using effective instructional strategies and literacy assessments?
