emergent literacy

Ders: Historical and Theoretical Bases of

ECEKonu: Emergent / Early Literacy At-risk Children

Konuşanlar:Ümit XXXXXXXXXXXX

Nöb:120949-3

11.11.2009

Then & Now

• We used to think that children's success at reading depended on getting the "right" first grade teacher. Now we know that your child's likelihood for success in the first grade depends on how much she's learned about reading before entering school.

• It was believed that children must learn to read before they could learn to write. Clay (1975) emphasized the importance of the relationship between writing and reading in early literacy development.

• Especially in Turkey, kindergardens used to be viewed as “centers for just looking after the children while their parents are at work or just to keep the energetic kids away from home.” Now Turkish parents are getting to understand that …

History of the term: Emergent Literacy

• Teale and Sulzby (1986) gives some details for the historical background:• 1800s to the 1920s the research literature on reading and writing focused only on

the elementary school years.

• In the 1920s, educators began to recognize the early childhood and kindergarten years as a "period of preparation" for reading and writing. Reading Readiness

• The dominant theory from the 1920s into the 1950s was that reading readiness was the result of biological maturation. Nature

• During the late 1950s and 1960s Researchers argued that if children had the appropriate experiences, their reading readiness could be accelerated. Nurture

• After this shift in the view, in reading readiness programs,children were considered ready to read when they had met certain social, physical, and cognitive competencies (Morrow, 1997).

• In 1966, New Zealand researcher Marie Clay introduced the term emergent literacy to describe the behaviors seen in young children when they use books and writing materials to imitate reading and writing activities, even though the children cannot actually read and write in the conventional sense (Ramsburg, 1998).

Understanding Literacy Development in Young Children

Anıl, aged one and a half, is pretending to read - not an actual reading activity but imitation!

Understanding Literacy Development in Young Children

Emergent Writing periods

2 years old 4 years old

• According to current research, children's literacy development begins long before children start formal instruction in elementary school (Allington & Cunningham, 1996; Burns, Griffin, & Snow, 1999; Clay, 1991; Hall & Moats, 1999; Holdaway, 1979; Teale & Sulzby, 1986).

• Almost all children in our society begin to exhibit understandings and learnings about reading and writing early in their lives. Most children, by the age of 2 or 3, can identify signs.

Facts about Emergent Literacy

• This literacy development is nourished by social interactions with caring adults and exposure to literacy materials, such as children's storybooks (Sulzby, 1991).

• It proceeds along a continuum, and children acquire literacy skills in a variety of ways and at different ages (Emergent Literacy Project, n.d.; McGee & Richgels, 1996; Ramsburg, 1998; Strickland & Morrow, 1988).


Children's skills in reading and writing develop at the same time and are interrelated rather than sequential Not before reading then writing!

(Teale & Sulzby, 1986).

Children's growth from emergent to conventional literacy is influenced by their continuing literacy development, their understanding of literacy concepts, and the efforts of parents, caregivers, and teachers to promote literacy.


Stages of Development

Literacy RichExperiences

PracticeChild’s Interest

Literacy Skills

What is Emergent Literacy?

• It is a baby who chews on a book.

• It is a toddler who wants his favorite book over and over.

• It is a preschooler who “reads” the story to you from memory. (Burrows,2008)

What is Emergent Literacy?

• Sulzby and Teale (1996, p. 728) state, "Emergent literacy is concerned with the earliest phases of literacy development, the period between birth and the time when children read and write conventionally.

• Currently, this term has been expanded to include reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and thinking (Cooper, 1997).

• Emergent literacy involves the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that are developmental precursors to conventional forms of reading and writing (Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998)

• This period, which can be conceptualized as "kuluçka dönemi (emergent literacy)" in the Turkish reading-writing education, is beginning to take the place of the "reading readiness" period (Çelenk, 2003).

Piaget’s and Vygotksy’s Views

• Emergent literacy is partly discovered; children construct their own ideas about literacy as they actively participate in literacy activities (Piaget).

• Emergent literacy also is based on behaviors modeled and supported by adults (Vygotsky) that encourage children to change and refine their own ideas to more closely match conventional notions.

(Johnson, 1999)

What emergent literacy is not?

It is not “formal teaching of reading” to younger children. Formal instruction that pushes infants and toddlers to read is not developmentally appropriate.

It is not reading readiness! reading readiness suggested that there was a point in time when children were ready to learn to read and write, emergent literacy suggested that there were continuities in children's literacy development between early literacy behaviors and those displayed once children could read independently (Idaho Center on Developmental Disabilities, 1996).

No rote memorization, no flashcards, no workbooks and no drills are necessary. Children who are exposed to interactive literacy-rich environments, full of fun opportunities to learn language will develop early literacy skills.

Yes. The experiences with talking and listening gained during the preschool period prepare children to learn to read and write during the early elementary school years.

This means that children who enter school with weaker verbal abilities are much more likely to experience difficulties learning literacy skills than those who do not.

Are Spoken Language and Literacy Connected?

Components of Emergent Literacy

Children with Vocabulary skills understand:

• Sound has meaning; I can make sounds to

let others know what I need.

• Sounds by others make me feel safe or

scared.

• I have a special name that I hear others

call me.

• Other people, things, places, and feelings

all have special names, too.

• These names are spoken using particular

sounds put together called words.

Children with Narrative skills understand:

• I can put words together to tell others what I’m thinking, feeling

and wanting.

• I can learn what other people think, feel and want by listening to

them.

• There are special ways words go together to make sentences.

Children with Print Motivation understand:

• When someone reads this writing, it tells them something they need to know.

• Books are full of fun and interesting words and ideas.

• Being able to write and read is important.

• Being able to write and read is fun!

Children with Print Awareness

understand:• Words and sentences that

are spoken can be “captured” in writing.

• We can write words and sentences so other people can read them.

• There is writing all around me on food labels, television, traffic signs, grocery store signs, lists, and in books.

• Writing and reading work from left to right, from top to bottom.

• Books have a front and back, a top and a bottom, and we read the words in books.

Children with Letter Knowledge understand:

• Letters are used to “capture” the words and sentences that people speak.

• Letters have particular names and shapes.

• I can recognize and name some letters.

• Each letter has two kinds of shapes: capital (uppercase) and little (lowercase.)

• Letters stand for particular sounds.

Children with Phonological Awareness understand

• Sound and Word Discrimination• I can hear that sentences are made up of separate words.• I can tell when words are the same as each other.• I can tell when words are different from each other.• I can tell when sounds are the same as each other.• I can tell when sounds are different from each other.

• Rhyming• I can hear that some words sound alike–they rhyme.• I can tell which words rhyme with other words when you say them to me.• I can think of a word that rhymes with a word that you say.• I can think of “make-believe” or “nonsense” words that rhyme with real words.

• Beginning, Middle and Ending Sound Discrimination• I can hear that some words have the same beginning sound, middle sound or ending

sound.• I know when a word begins with the sound that is the same as or different from another

word.• I know when a word ends with the sound that is the same as or different from another

word.• I can make up new words by changing the beginning, middle and ending sounds of

words.

• Blending and Segmentation• When you say each sound in a word slowly one by one I know the word. (Child blends a

word that is segmented.)• I can tell you all the sounds in a word slowly one by one. (Child segments a word that is

blended.)

How is it measured?• One of the tools is The Kaufman Survey of

Early Academic and Language Skills (K-SEALS).

• K-SEALS is valuable in a variety of situations—testing school readiness, identifying gifted and at-risk children and researching children’s early development.

• K-SEALS features three separate subtests for

a well-rounded profile:

Vocabulary Subtest Numbers, Letters & Words Articulation Survey

In Turkey, Özgün Uyanık, a research assistant at Afyon Kocatepe University-Faculty of Education, is currently studying on the adaptation and administration of K-SEALS for Turkish students in her master's thesis.

K-Seals

Show the easel and ask: What is this?

Correct responses:Cat – kitty – kitten

From Vocabulary Subtest

Show the easel and say: “Point to the word me.”

me no on to in he

From Numbers, Letters & Words Subtest

How to foster Emergent Literacy?Pre-school Teachers can create a print-rich atmosphere within the classroom. She

can affix labels on the classroom objects, signs on the walls (Tuvalet, Yemekhane, Kitap Köşesi, Sanat Köşesi, etc.)

can organize a rich library corner where the children have the opportunity to listen to the stories on their own.

How to foster Emergent Literacy?Pre-school Teachers

Use developmentally appropriate literacy practice that acknowledges children’s development, interests, and literacy knowledge.

can provide a sand pool, crayons, pencils and paper for at least scribbling.

can take time to listen to children to determine their interests, language skills, and areas of need.

can establish parent involvement.

(Johnston, 1998).

How to foster Emergent Literacy?Parents and Caregivers: Be a good role model Read aloud to children Dialogic Talk: Ask "what"

questions. Expand what your child says. Ask open-ended questions)

Talk, sing, rhyme and tell stories to infants Use short, simple sentences.

Don't simplify your speech for toddlers !

Keep kids' books accessible to them on low shelves.

Have your children's eyesight and hearing tested early and annually.

“Minimini bir kuş” and “Komşu Komşu” Anıl, who is aged 2, feat. Burcu

Reading is Key

Sure, but can’t children develop solid reading skills if they start learning

this all in elementary school?

Not all of them……

Early Warning Signs

Signs that may indicate later reading and writing and learning problems include

• persistent baby talk, • absence of interest in or appreciation for nursery rhymes or

shared book reading, • difficulty understanding simple directions, • difficulty learning (or remembering) names of letters,• failure to recognize or identify letters in the child's own name

(Snow et al., 1998; Scarborough, 1998).

Preschool children with speech and language disorders physical or medical conditions (preterm birth requiring placement in a

neonatal intensive care unit, chronic ear infections, fetal alcohol syndrome, cerebral palsy, ADHD, dyslexia)

developmental disorders (mental retardation, autism spectrum),

poverty, low SES.

home literacy environment,

family history of language or literacy disabilities (Duke, 2000)

Who are at risk?

Solutions for At-Risk Children

For the most high-risk children, enriched preschool environments can be a deciding factor between success and failure later on in life. Snow et al. (1998) called for reduced class size, smaller student-teacher ratios, strong teacher preparation and experiences, expertise in reading instruction, quality and quantity of instructional materials, school libraries, and well-trained and supervised volunteers

to help schools with greater number of students at risk for reading difficulties.

Role of the Speech-Language Pathologist

• Children who have difficulty grasping emergent literacy games and activities may be referred for

further assessment so that intervention can begin as early as possible to foster growth in needed areas and increase the likelihood of successful learning and academic achievement.

The Turkish Case

• The Government of Turkey and UNICEF’s 2006-2010 Country Programme is currently under development.

• The Early Childhood Care and Development target is mostly to increase pre-school’s quality, quantity, and inform children’s mothers about the importance of pre-school education.

The Turkish Case

• The Mobile Pre- School project aims to reach the children who can not take pre-school education with support of some national counterparts. It started in 2004 with some national counterparts.

• Matra Project by the MoNE, General Directorate of Pre-School Education, “Wide spreading and Improving Quality of Pre-School Education” aims at ensuring that children aged 3-6, particularly in most migrated and vulnerable areas, have access to and complete formal or community based pre-school education

The Turkish Case• The MoNE General Directorate of Pre-School Education organizes

“Summer Schools” for children who can not benefit from pre-school education, in coordination with Mother and Child Education Foundation.

• The Directorate has also started “Nutrition Campaign” in ten provinces where the enrolment rate is at the lowest level.

• The Mother–Child Education Programme (ACEV) administered by MoNE since 1993-1994 aims to supporting the multi-dimensional development of the children aged 5 and 6 through mothers.

• Pre-school education was made compulsory for 32 provinces in 2009.

Factors Causing Risk in Turkey

•Pove

rty: Alth

ough education is decla

red to

be cost-

free at p

ublic settings, a

preschooler’s

expenditu

re is not le

ss than TL 3

00.

Illiteracy of parents. Parents from low SES

Growing population-

Diminishing Sources

Ethnical native languages.

Turkish is turning out to be a

foreign language.

Religious and

Cultural Pitfalls.

Nutrition and transportation

problems of schooled

children.

Organizations and governing bodies concerned with the education of young children should promote public understanding of early literacy development.

Sufficient funding must be made available for pre-school education.

Under these circumstances, in Turkey women education seems to have been neglected for decades. Women are the first teachers of children!

Solutions

Thanks!