When I was a student at Purdue University I worked for two professors who were studying early literacy (reading and writing) in Head Start classrooms (children 3-5 years-old). For two years, literacy was a big part of my life and I learned much about the ins and outs of how adults (parents and teachers) can help children learn letters and numbers and how to engage children in book reading. Young children enjoy exploring, creating, and learning. Through reading and writing children can explore, create, and learn. There has been so much attention to early literacy over the past decade because it has such a lasting impact on children’s future educational and financial success. Let me share a few of the proven practices parents can do to help their young children learn to read and write.
Reading
One common reading technique that helps children engage with the words in a book is called “dialogic reading.” There are six recommendations:
- Ask open-ended questions (limit yes/no questions)
- Follow child’s answers with questions
- Repeat and expand what the child says
- Give praise, encouragement, and feedback
- Follow the child’s lead and interests
- Have fun
Here’s a real life example of dialogic reading on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXmwfyxS1f8
Writing
How many times has your toddler gotten hold of a marker or crayon and drawn all over the walls? Young children use these tools to create scribbles. Eventually, these scribbles will become pictures and written words. Parents can help foster writing skills by doing the following:
- Build writing into your daily schedule (create opportunities for child to write during activities and routines)
- Accept all forms of writing (even scribbles, letter-like shapes)
- Scaffold children’s writing (verbal reminders, modeling and demonstrations, explain how writing can be used in their dramatic play, tracing)
- Encourage children to read what they write (this helps children connect what they wrote to the reading process)
- Encourage invented spelling (where child writes first letter of word, learning that letter represents sounds)
- Make writing opportunities meaningful (their name, things they like)
- Have writing materials available around the home and yard (crayons, pencils, washable markers, sidewalk chalk, paints; ream of paper is very inexpensive)
- Display words around home and take note of words in the neighborhood and community (point out words in pictures, calendars; environmental text, street signs, etc.)
- Use technology to encourage writing (apps for phones and tablets that encourage drawing; stylus on some computers; save their work on the computer)
By doing these few recommendations, parents can encourage their children’s learning of literacy and help them prepare for kindergarten and the future.
