Mini Module 2:
Building Relationships that Support Early Literacy Development
Early Literacy is defined as the skills, knowledge and attitudes
that come before and lead up to conventional reading and writing.
It includes learning:
- about communication (talking and listening);
- about the sounds of a spoken language;
- about reading and writing;
- about the world around us.
Current research shows us that there are specific stages and skills
that children attain as they move along the path to becoming readers
and writers. Along this path, also described as a continuum, there
are a number of factors that can enhance a child’s progress
in acquiring these skills and competencies. In addition to home
and family factors, there are also community and teaching strategies
that provide many opportunities for supporting skills in early literacy
development.
The first stage of literacy development is a child’s sense
of connectedness to their primary caregivers. This sense of connectedness
is known as attachment. One of the key factors in a child’s
sense of emotional attachment is their success in the development
of oral language.
Oral language forms the foundation for literacy and usually (although
not automatically) unfolds as a natural progression as children
grow and learn. Most children develop language proficiency through
the type and frequency of interactions with the adults around them
even when these interactions are not specifically intended to teach
children to talk.
It is the social nature of language that has a deeper impact on
the development of oral language. The impact and quality of the
interactions and relationships that young children experience as
they develop language has a direct impact on how they will solve
problems, share experience and knowledge and play with friends in
the future.
In this way strong oral language skills help a child with self-regulation.
It helps them to understand their emotions and those of others.
Language can provide the foundation for developing self-control
strategies that help to build and maintain relationships with others.
A child with strong oral language skills will experience greater
success in building early friendships and a sense of connectedness
or attachment to the adults in their lives. With each successful
exchange a child begins to build their sense of competence and self-worth.
As language development is fostered it helps build strong relationships
between children and parents, teachers and the children around them.
We now know that an adult’s physical closeness to a child
during early reading and other interactions has a direct impact
on children’s rate of growth in learning. It is not surprising
then that in addition to closeness, the more positive the emotional
climate, extended and intellectually challenging the conversations
are, the greater the gains for the child. With each positive experience
and interaction children experience deeper relationships and success.
With each success the child and in turn the teacher, parent or playmate
learns more about the child and the positive nature of the experiences
naturally encourages the cycle to repeat. This happens because teachers
and parents also learn more about a child through extended conversations.
These interactions are the foundation of a child feeling valued.
The example of how growing and developing relationships relate to
language development and then lead to the next level of relationship
and language development is one example of what is meant by the
term scaffolding.
The example of how growing and developing relationships relate
to language development and then lead to the next level of relationship
and language development is one example of what is meant by the
term scaffolding. Understanding how the impact of a strong emotional
foundation can scaffold a child’s language development is
critical information for families and teachers who are in powerful
positions to impact each child’s future success in reading
and writing. Here are several ways that families and teachers can
help build strong relationships that provide they type of scaffolding
experiences that can lead to enhanced language development for children.
• Share book reading. Taking turns is important. Take time
to provide brief definitions or examples of words. Ask “I
wonder” and “what if” and “what do you think…”
questions. Build on the child’s interest in choosing books.
• Have rich and attentive conversations. Talk about the experiences
with genuine interest. Take advantage of special times to talk:
meal times, waiting, traveling, book reading, etc. Take time to
speculate and wonder. Pretend!
• Use intonation to signal how you feel and to mark importance.
Vocal inflections are an important support in reading and early
literacy activities. This strategy will help children understand
and use the rhythm of language.
• Share about your experiences and add knowledge. Recount
past and future events. Extend a child’s learning through
sharing your knowledge and experience. Model good listening by ignoring
distractions. Draw other children into the conversation.
• Check understanding. Ask open ended questions. Follow up
with other related activities in other areas or using different
materials. Write a story, take dictation, act it out.
Now take this short true/false quiz on the material you
just read:
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