Learning how to read doesn’t happen overnight. It is a lifelong process that begins at birth when children are immersed in literacy. Child care providers and parents play an important role in supporting children’s literacy, simply by reading to children.
Signs of Emergent Reading
Emergent literacy refers to the ways that children learn about books and print text through everyday activities. Emergent literacy signs aren’t hard to identify. As a child care provider, have you ever noticed preschoolers beginning to memorize the stories they grew up hearing, and filling in words at certain times? When reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See to a group of preschoolers, you may notice that they fill in repeated phrases such as “looking at me.” Sometimes young children may appear to be reading a book because they know all the words and when to turn the page, and even stop you if you skip a word, paragraph, or page. They know you missed something and sometimes can even tell you what you skipped, but it’s not necessarily because they were reading along. They had it memorized, and the story just doesn’t make sense based on what they remember. Although these skills are not actually “reading,” they are important foundations that will help children read later on.
Another sign of emergent reading is storytelling based on the pictures in a book. Storytelling is how children practice for the later task of learning to read. This shows that children can interpret pictures, know that they are meaningful, and can create an organized story around the photos. All of these are very important precursors to what we define as “reading” – being able to pick up a book they’ve never seen before and read it. Some children may begin reading in preschool or kindergarten, while others aren’t developmentally ready to read on their own until they’re 7 or 8.
Video: Emergent Reading in Action
Watch the following eXtension Alliance for Better Child Care video to see two emergent readers practicing their literacy skills. Notice that this child is “reading” her favorite book to her friend, but she’s telling her what happens based on the pictures, what she recalls from the story being read to her, and her own experience, not what’s actually written. This is called pretend reading, or emergent reading.
Supporting Emergent Literacy in Child Care
Here are some ways you can help support and encourage emergent literacy in a child care setting:
- Read to children regularly, both in large groups and individually.
- Display books where children can reach them, and rotate books regularly to engage children’s imaginations.
- Point to words and pictures as you read to children. This helps them begin to understand that words have meaning.
- Occasionally follow words with your finger to show children that we read from left to right and top to bottom.
- Read all the parts of a book to children. Make sure you read the cover page, authors/illustrators, and even dedications. It is important for them to know what the illustrator does, what the author does, and what a dedication is.
- Label everyday items in your classroom (for example, table, chair, desk, pencil). This helps familiarize them with words.
- Encourage children to “pretend” to read to you.
- Invite children to help you read a story, and read favorite stories over and over. Repetition is key.
For More Information
To learn more about reading and literacy in child care, take a look at the following eXtension Alliance for Better Child Care articles:
- Choosing Books for Young Children
- Hands-On Activities for Child Care
- How to Read with Children in Child Care
- Story-Stretching Ideas for Child Care
- Ways to Get Children in Your Child Care Program Ready for Reading
For more videos related to quality child care, check out the Better Child Care channel on YouTube.
How can I help my child to develop literacy skills?
- Establish routines
- Experiential learning
- Meaningful activities
- Read aloud
- Exposure to reading and writing
- Evidence-based recommended practices
Establish predictable routines to encourage children to learn to anticipate events.
Provide concrete language-embedded experiences.
Children who are blind or visually impaired need the opportunity to experience things through hands-on activities that are meaningful and fun. As mentioned above, they will often need specific instruction because of the lack of access to information through incidental learning. For example, a book about a farm will be much more meaningful if the child has first had a chance to visit an actual farm, touch different kinds of animals, touch their fur or feathers, feel how big they are, listen to their calls (moo, neigh, quack), examine what they eat (hay, grain), and learn about what they produce (e.g. milk, eggs, wool).
Create a communication-rich environment with meaningful activities in the natural context.
Read aloud!
- Reading a book with a young child should be fun for both the adult and child.
- Choose a book that relates to the child’s own experiences.
- Read at a pace that is appropriate to the child.
- Provide props to supplement the illustrations. Concrete objects, movements, and sounds may all be helpful.
- Modify the book to meet a child’s individual needs and interests. Add texture, color, tactile cues, or anything to enhance the experience and make the book more accessible to the child.
For more ideas about reading aloud, see Enriching the Reading Experience for Children with Visual Impairments: Reading to Young Children with Vision Loss by Holly Allen.
Expose the child to reading and writing within the daily routine.
Include the child in the process of reading and writing lists, directions, recipes, menus, messages or letters to friends and family, and any other activities that occur within routine activities. Because they may not be able to observe you reading or writing, you will need to be creative in finding ways to make these activities accessible. For example, before going to the grocery store, ask the child to help you think of what things you might need to buy. Have him or her help you look in the refrigerator or cupboards to see the supply (e.g. “This carton of milk is almost empty! It feels light and I can hear it sloshing around in there. Let’s add it to our shopping list, so we’ll remember to buy more when we get to the store.”) Be sure to refer back to the list once you get to the store, and even check it when you get back home again, to be sure that you got everything on the list.
For more ideas, see also: Essential Literacy Experiences for Visually Impaired Children by Eva Lavigne (TSBVI)
This article suggests a way to individualize literacy experiences for visually impaired students in order to promote meaningful reading and writing. It includes a list of global experiences and suggestions of how to use the essential literacy experiences for students with a visual impairment. A blank form of Sample Essential Literacy Experiences for the Visually Impaired Student can be downloaded; available in English and Spanish.
Move, Touch, Read is an informal collection of sample units by Wendy Drezek that provide simple techniques for adapting print books. It grows out of the belief that experiential learning can help children who are blind to develop concepts, motor skills, and an understanding of the world that are at the foundation of braille literacy skills. Beginning with movement and sensory-based experience, vocabulary and concepts are introduced or reinforced, and tactile symbols using real objects supplement each story with a hands-on component. Story boxes or props help to make each story more meaningful to the child through tactile exploration. Each unit includes an introduction, vocabulary, concepts, skills, symbols, and suggestions for movement, touch, and reading activities.
What are the evidence-based and recommended practices to facilitate emergent literacy?
“To facilitate emergent literacy in young children with disabilities, early interventionists should provide collaborative, family-centered support that is developmentally appropriate and based on evidence-based and recommended
practices that result in functional outcomes within naturally occurring learning opportunities.”
— Early Intervention Training Center for Infants and Toddlers with Visual Impairments
Strategies and interventions to facilitate emergent literacy focus on the development of the six key components:
- oral language
- phonological awareness
- concept development
- knowledge of the conventions of print/braille and print/braille intentionality
- alphabetic knowledge
- rich literacy environments
Developmentally appropriate strategies and interventions that promote functional outcomes include:
- play
- routines-based literacy
- responsive literacy environments
- shared storybook reading (especially dialogic reading, storybook preview, and storybook sounds)
- storytelling, including decontextualized language
- dialogue/conversation.
To learn more, see the power point presentation What Is Emergent Literacy? from the Early Intervention Training Center for Infants and Toddlers With Visual Impairments, FPG Child Development Institute, 2005
Emergent Literacy Skills for Future Braille Readers
Young children must develop skills in a wide range of areas, including tactile, fine motor, listening & attention, concept, and book & story. This chart shows a variety of prerequisite skills and concepts that will help future braille readers to be successful.