literacy development essay

54 Literacy Development Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best literacy development topic ideas & essay examples, 📌 simple & easy literacy development essay titles, 👍 good essay topics on literacy development.

• Literacy Development in Personal Experience The author encouraged me to use writing as a medium to express ideas and knowledge in a way that I would want it to be presented to me. A significant step towards the improvement of […]
• Literacy Skills Development in Children In this essay, the focus will be to discuss the most appropriate approach for a teacher to facilitate the learning of literacy skills among children. We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• Important Moment in Literacy Development Journey My inability to understand became sore when my parents and teachers determined that I needed to remain in the second grade to improve my comprehension skills.
• Phonological and Phonemic Awareness and Literacy Development Simultaneously, phonemic awareness is a more advanced understanding of language, the next level of phonological awareness, when a person can identify and manage the smallest units of speech, the phoneme.
• Early Years Literacy: Analysis and Development The paper consists of three major parts: a description of a literacy event in which I participated, a detailed analysis of all the aspects of the event, implications for teaching, and a conclusion.
• Literacy Development in Five Stages The question that children tend to ask during the stage of awareness and exploration are the main signifiers of the literacy development process being launched.
• Reading Literacy Development and Instruction In the overviewed classroom, the evaluation of the literacy skills of the students was sustained by offering the learners to complete a multi-discipline test, which matches the Common Core State Literacy Standard. The outcomes of […]
• Rebecca’s Literacy Development: Non-Cognitive Aspects As to the non-cognitive aspects of the student’s literacy, the girl loves to read and uses every opportunity for it though is embarrassed to read aloud to the others.
• “Charlotte’s Web” by White for Literacy Development The task of a teacher is to keep the learners interested and motivated. On the whole, literacy and language development is a complicated process.
• Young Child’s Language and Literacy Development In addition, a work of literature on any social issue may influence how children respond to the demands of their learning environments. Taken together, the growing importance of literature in learning and children’s linguistic development […]
• Instruction and Literacy Development Methods To enhance the students’ learning activities and development of their literacy skills, it is possible to use such computer technologies as the computer software and electronic books at all the stages of learning because different […]
• How Effective Teachers Support the Youngest Children’s Literacy Development? The effective teachers should be aware of the most common issues the youngest learners may face and understand the methods to address the issues.
• Early Literacy Development The literacy development is a concept related to acquisition of reading and writing skills. The problem of literacy development in preschool-aged children requires a specific approach to be taken and applied.
• Literacy Development in Adults Barton and Hamilton and Purcell-Gates et al judge literacy, based on the ways in which literacy is used in real-life situations; the role of education in the development of literacy; and the importance of real-life […]
• The Theory of Language And Literacy Development
• Fostering Literacy Development in Young Children
• Play Supports Language and Literacy Development in The Foundation Stage
• Education Classroom Design and Literacy Development
• Understand Current National and Organisational Policies and Practices for Literacy Development
• Literacy Development and Components Of Literacy
• The Language and Literacy Development Of The Children
• Different Aspects of Emergent Literacy Development
• The Importance of Oral Language And Literacy Development
• Literacy Development in Afterschool program at Yeronga State High School
• Kindergarten Readiness Skills Promotes Academic Achievement in Language and Literacy Development
• Parent Involvement in Literacy Development
• Progress of Literacy Development in Children
• Effective Practices to Use at Home to Involve Illiterate Mothers in Their Children’s Emergent Literacy Development
• Literacy Development for Early Childhood Learners
• Concepts for Linguistic and Literacy Development of Children and Adolescents
• The Important Skills For Literacy Development
• Adult Literacy and Early Development of Language
• Training Early Literacy-Related Skills: To Which Degree Does a Musical Training Contribute to Phonological Awareness Development?
• Literacy Rates Affecting Women and Development in India
• The Most Important Moment of My Literacy Development
• Language and Literacy Development in Middle-High School Years
• Adult Literacy Education: Emerging Directions in Program Development
• The Literacy Improvement Program for Pre-Kindergarten
• Fairy Tales Develop Literacy and Imagination in Children
• Literacies, Identities, and Social Change: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Literacy and Development
• Emergent Literacy Development: Phonemic Awareness
• Promoting Literacy Development Through Writing
• Language and Literacy Development and Exploring Games
• Factors Which Affect the Development of Literacy
• Essential Ingredients to Literacy and Numeracy Improvement: Teacher Professional Development and Coaching, Student Textbooks, and Structured Teachers’ Guides
• Literacy Skills and Development of Literacy Training Programs
• Classroom Contexts and Literacy Development: How Writing Systems Shape the Teaching and Learning of Composition
• How Technology Can Help Children Develop Their Reading Literacy
• Early Childhood Language and Literacy Development
• Communication, Motor, Social, Sensory, and Literacy Development
• Literacy Influences Child Development, Social Interaction
• Business Literacy and Development: Evidence From a Randomized Controlled Trial in Rural Mexico
• Speech Impairment Affecting Literacy Development
• Colonialism, Female Literacy, and the Millennium Development Goals in Africa
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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127 Literacy Development Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Literacy development is a crucial aspect of a child's education, as it lays the foundation for their future academic success. However, coming up with essay topics that are both engaging and educational can be a challenge. To help educators and students alike, we have compiled a list of 127 literacy development essay topic ideas and examples. Whether you are writing an essay for a literacy class or looking for inspiration for your next research paper, these topics cover a wide range of subjects related to literacy development.

• The importance of early literacy development in children
• The role of parents in promoting literacy development
• Strategies for promoting literacy development in the classroom
• The impact of technology on literacy development
• Literacy development in bilingual children
• The connection between literacy development and academic achievement
• Literacy development in children with learning disabilities
• The influence of socioeconomic status on literacy development
• The benefits of reading aloud to children for literacy development
• The role of phonics instruction in literacy development
• The impact of storytelling on literacy development
• The relationship between vocabulary development and literacy skills
• The importance of fluency in literacy development
• The connection between writing skills and literacy development
• Literacy development in children with autism spectrum disorder
• The impact of cultural background on literacy development
• The role of motivation in literacy development
• The benefits of using graphic novels to promote literacy development
• The influence of gender on literacy development
• The importance of phonological awareness in literacy development
• The impact of teacher training on literacy development
• Literacy development in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• The connection between reading comprehension and literacy development
• The role of peer interactions in promoting literacy development
• The benefits of using technology to enhance literacy development
• The impact of home literacy environment on literacy development
• The relationship between oral language skills and literacy development
• The importance of building background knowledge for literacy development
• The influence of classroom environment on literacy development
• Literacy development in children with speech and language delays
• The connection between phonemic awareness and literacy development
• The role of motivation in promoting literacy development
• The benefits of using poetry to enhance literacy development
• The impact of reading comprehension strategies on literacy development
• The relationship between writing process and literacy development
• Literacy development in children with dyslexia
• The influence of family literacy practices on literacy development
• The importance of vocabulary instruction in promoting literacy development
• The connection between reading fluency and literacy development
• The role of teacher feedback in enhancing literacy development
• The benefits of using audiobooks to promote literacy development
• The impact of summer reading programs on literacy development
• The relationship between phonological processing and literacy development
• The importance of oral language development in promoting literacy skills
• The influence of digital literacy on literacy development
• Literacy development in children with intellectual disabilities
• The connection between metacognitive strategies and literacy development
• The role of self-regulation in promoting literacy development
• The benefits of using multimedia resources to enhance literacy development
• The impact of peer tutoring on literacy development
• The relationship between reading motivation and literacy development
• The importance of text complexity in promoting literacy skills
• The influence of reading habits on literacy development
• Literacy development in children with hearing impairments
• The connection between visual literacy and literacy development
• The role of comprehension monitoring in promoting literacy skills
• The benefits of using graphic organizers to enhance literacy development
• The impact of reading aloud in the classroom on literacy development
• The relationship between spelling skills and literacy development
• The importance of writing conferences in promoting literacy skills
• The influence of background knowledge on literacy development
• Literacy development in children with visual impairments
• The connection between reading motivation and literacy skills
• The role of peer collaboration in promoting literacy development
• The benefits of using literary texts to enhance literacy skills
• The impact of vocabulary knowledge on literacy development
• The relationship between reading comprehension strategies and literacy skills
• The importance of phonics instruction in promoting literacy development
• The influence of cultural background on literacy skills
• Literacy development in children with speech and language disorders
• The connection between writing fluency and literacy skills
• The role of teacher modeling in promoting literacy development
• The benefits of using technology to enhance literacy skills
• The impact of reading motivation on literacy development
• The relationship between spelling skills and literacy skills
• The influence of peer interactions on literacy development
• The connection between phonological awareness and literacy skills
• The role of cognitive strategies in promoting literacy development
• The benefits of using graphic novels to enhance literacy skills
• The relationship between reading comprehension and literacy skills
• The importance of phonemic awareness in promoting literacy development
• The influence of teacher training on literacy skills
• The connection between vocabulary development and literacy skills
• The role of storytelling in promoting literacy development
• The benefits of using poetry to enhance literacy skills
• The relationship between writing skills and literacy skills
• The importance of fluency in promoting literacy development
• The influence of socioeconomic status on literacy skills
• The connection between reading comprehension strategies and literacy development
• The role of motivation in promoting literacy skills
• The benefits of using audiobooks to enhance literacy development
• The impact of cultural background on literacy skills
• The importance of using multimedia resources to promote literacy development
• The influence of family literacy practices on literacy skills
• The connection between phonological processing and literacy development
• The role of metacognitive strategies in promoting literacy skills
• The impact of teacher feedback on literacy development
• The relationship between visual literacy and literacy skills
• The importance of peer tutoring in promoting literacy development
• The influence of digital literacy on literacy skills
• The connection between self-regulation and literacy development
• The impact of reading aloud in the classroom on literacy skills
• The connection between spelling skills and literacy skills
• The relationship between phonics instruction and literacy skills
• The importance of writing conferences in promoting literacy development
• The influence of background knowledge on literacy skills

In conclusion, literacy development is a multifaceted process that encompasses a wide range of skills and abilities. By exploring these 127 essay topic ideas and examples, educators and students can delve deeper into the various factors that influence literacy development and discover new ways to promote literacy skills in children of all ages and abilities. Whether you are interested in the impact of technology on literacy development or the benefits of using graphic novels in the classroom, there is a topic on this list for everyone. Happy writing!

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1.2 Empowering Approaches to Literacy Development

Each child has unique strengths and uses strategies they learn are successful to foster literacy development. It is crucial to start with an approach that emphasizes what children can do instead of what they cannot yet achieve. An approach that begins with examining deficits often over-emphasizes what children lack instead of their capacities. Children’s literacy experiences are housed within relationships and opportunities. An integrated approach acknowledges that reading, writing, and language development are connected and contextualized by children’s experiences. Language development, and later reading and writing, are vehicles for comprehension, even as our increasing comprehension helps us to form each of these three areas. The components of literacy develop incrementally and they all foster the development of the other components. Literacy development requires a holistic approach, focusing on understanding the whole child across contexts and time with a strengths-based focus.

This textbook acknowledges the importance of collaboration in a strengths-based focus as it fosters cultural responsiveness and an integrated approach to learning. By starting with the expectation that there are multiple perspectives to be heard and valued, educators are better equipped to embrace and respond to the needs of children and families. Strong communication among all of the adults that make up the context of the child’s life promotes the opportunities for children and families to have input and influence in the environment. This, in turn, fosters positive outcomes for children’s literacy development.

Media Attributions

• Teacher reading to students © Unsplash is licensed under a CC0 (Creative Commons Zero) license

The Early Literacy Journey: Supporting and Celebrating Young Learners Copyright © 2024 by Sandra Carrie Garvey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Teaching Tips

Why is literacy development important for children.

June 17, 2021

by: Learning Without Tears

Literacy development is the process of learning words, sounds, and language. Children develop literacy skills in order to learn to read and write confidently and eventually improve their communication skills overall. The stages of literacy development that a child goes through can vary depending on the child’s comprehension levels but generally include the same key concepts along the way. Understanding literacy development in children as an educator is key for helping children master these core skills that set them up for their education. With an understanding of literacy development and how to address each of the stages of literacy development, both educators and students alike will be set up for success in the classroom. 

Why is Literacy Development Important?

As the pillars of language and reading skills, literacy development is a crucial time in a child’s life. Educators need to understand why literacy development is so important in order to effectively help children within each stage of their early literacy development.

Here are just a few reasons early literacy development is important:

• Children with confident reading abilities typically struggle less with their studies and have a confident approach to their education.
• Strong literacy skills translate well into independent learning and encourage consistent growth in and out of the classroom.
• Literacy development affects the way students communicate and problem solve. Those with strong literacy skills usually have improved cognitive ability. 

The Five Stages of Literacy Development

As a child grows older and demonstrates the key stages of literacy development they will improve their reading and writing ability. The five stages of literacy development include emergent literacy, alphabetic fluency, words and patterns, intermediate reading, and advanced reading. Each stage of literacy development helps the child move forward and become a stronger student. Keep in mind that a child's current age group doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re at that step in their early literacy development. 

Stage 1: Emergent Literacy 

Age Range: 4-6 years old.

As the earliest stage of literacy development, emergent literacy is the first moment that a child begins to understand letters and words . While many of the behaviors of the emergent literacy stage are not fully formed and irregular, these are still some of the first signs that a child is beginning to form literacy ability.

Here are Some Behaviors of Stage 1 Learners: 

• Pretending to be able to read children’s books. 
• The ability to recognize the first letter of their name. 
• Singing the ABCs, even if unable to identify letters separately. 
• Trying to memorize certain books to “read” them. 
• The ability to recognize some letters and potentially their sound. 
• The ability to find words in their environment.

Stage 2: Alphabetic Fluency

Age Range: 6-7 years old.

As the child grows older and more comfortable with learning their words and letters, they enter the alphabetic fluency stage of literacy development. 

Here are Some Behaviors of Stage 2 Learners:

• No longer “pretend” reading.
• Finger-pointing to words while reading them. 
• Beginning to recognize words.
• Admitting that they’re unable to read certain words.
• Using pictures and context clues to figure out certain words.
• Reading out loud word by word. 

Stage 3: Words and Patterns

Age Range: 7-9 years old.

Sometimes referred to as the “transitional” stage of literacy development, the words and patterns stage is when children begin to develop stronger reading skills . This is the stage when children can vary the most in terms of skills and may adopt behaviors in multiple stages of literacy development. 

Here are Some Behaviors of Stage 3 Learners:

• Less decoding of words and stronger ability to comprehend reading materials.
• More self-correction when what is read is unclear. 
• Less sound by sound reading and easier time grouping letters.
• Able to recognize words that pop up most often automatically. 
• Less reliance on context clues to figure out unknown words.
• Beginning to be able to spell complex consonant words like “-tch”.

Stage 4: Intermediate Reading

Age Range: 9-11 years old.

During the intermediate stage of literacy development, children begin to rely less on educational crutches that help a child learn new words. This is also when children are becoming able to write out sentences with less error and develop stronger fluency overall. 

Here are Some Behaviors of Stage 4 Learners: 

• Reading to learn new information and writing for multiple purposes. 
• Less difficulty with independent reading. 
• Reading to explore new concepts from numerous perspectives.
• Reading longer materials such as textbooks with little difficulty. 
• An interest in wanting to learn and develop new vocabulary. 

Stage 5: Advanced Reading

Age Range: 11-14 years old.

As the last stage of literacy development, advanced reading is when children become fully fluent and capable of relying on independent reading to learn new information. Reading and writing provide little difficulty and students can absorb complex reading materials during this stage. 

Here are Some Behaviors of Stage 5 Learners: 

• The desire to read numerous types of reading materials.
• Reading becomes a daily tool for learning new information.
• The ability to formulate longer texts such as essays or book reports.
• Readers usually have a strong understanding of the meaning and semantics of words.
• The ability to understand and retain complex reading materials. 

Develop Early Literacy with Learning Without Tears!

Each stage of literacy development provides its own unique challenges and triumphs in learning to become confident in reading and writing. Learning Without Tears specializes in early childhood development programs that help further progress within the stages of literacy development. Learning Without Tears offers a wide range of educational materials to help teachers create an engaging lesson plan that will get children excited to learn more. With resources for parents to get children set up for school and programs for teachers to teach early literacy concepts , Learning Without Tears is committed to helping children become confident students. Learning Without Tears has created resources and educational materials for children in pre-k to 5th grade to help students succeed during every stage of literacy development and early childhood education. Explore Learning Without Tears to help children get the most out of their education today.

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Chapter 1. What is Literacy? Multiple Perspectives on Literacy

Constance Beecher

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” – Frederick Douglass

Download Tar Beach – Faith Ringgold Video Transcript [DOC]

Keywords: literacy, digital literacy, critical literacy, community-based literacies

Definitions of literacy from multiple perspectives

Literacy is the cornerstone of education by any definition. Literacy refers to the ability of people to read and write (UNESCO, 2017). Reading and writing in turn are about encoding and decoding information between written symbols and sound (Resnick, 1983; Tyner, 1998). More specifically, literacy is the ability to understand the relationship between sounds and written words such that one may read, say, and understand them (UNESCO, 2004; Vlieghe, 2015). About 67 percent of children nationwide, and more than 80 percent of those from families with low incomes, are not proficient readers by the end of third grade ( The Nation Assessment for Educational Progress; NAEP 2022 ).  Children who are not reading on grade level by third grade are 4 times more likely to drop out of school than their peers who are reading on grade level. A large body of research clearly demonstrates that Americans with fewer years of education have poorer health and shorter lives. In fact, since the 1990s, life expectancy has fallen for people without a high school education. Completing more years of education creates better access to health insurance, medical care, and the resources for living a healthier life (Saha, 2006). Americans with less education face higher rates of illness, higher rates of disability, and shorter life expectancies. In the U.S., 25-year-olds without a high school diploma can expect to die 9 years sooner than college graduates. For example, by 2011, the prevalence of diabetes had reached 15% for adults without a high -school education, compared with 7% for college graduates (Zimmerman et al., 2018).

Thus, literacy is a goal of utmost importance to society. But what does it mean to be literate, or to be able to read? What counts as literacy?

Learning Objectives

• Describe two or more definitions of literacy and the differences between them.
• Define digital and critical literacy.
• Distinguish between digital literacy, critical literacy, and community-based literacies.
• Explain multiple perspectives on literacy.

Here are some definitions to consider:

“Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society.” – United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

“The ability to understand, use, and respond appropriately to written texts.” – National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), citing the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC)

“An individual’s ability to read, write, and speak in English, compute, and solve problems, at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family of the individual, and in society.” – Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Section 203

“The ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society.” – Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), as cited by the American Library Association’s Committee on Literacy

“Using printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential.” – Kutner, Greenberg, Jin, Boyle, Hsu, & Dunleavy (2007). Literacy in Everyday Life: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NCES 2007-480)

Which one of these above definitions resonates with you? Why?

New literacy practices as meaning-making practices

In the 21 st century, literacy increasingly includes understanding the roles of digital media and technology in literacy. In 1996, the New London Group coined the term “multiliteracies” or “new literacies” to describe a modern view of literacy that reflected multiple communication forms and contexts of cultural and linguistic diversity within a globalized society. They defined multiliteracies as a combination of multiple ways of communicating and making meaning, including such modes as visual, audio, spatial, behavioral, and gestural (New London Group, 1996). Most of the text’s students come across today are digital (like this textbook!). Instead of books and magazines, students are reading blogs and text messages.

For a short video on the importance of digital literacy, watch The New Media Literacies .

The National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE, 2019) makes it clear that our definitions of literacy must continue to evolve and grow ( NCTE definition of digital literacy ).

“Literacy has always been a collection of communicative and sociocultural practices shared among communities. As society and technology change, so does literacy. The world demands that a literate person possess and intentionally apply a wide range of skills, competencies, and dispositions. These literacies are interconnected, dynamic, and malleable. As in the past, they are inextricably linked with histories, narratives, life possibilities, and social trajectories of all individuals and groups. Active, successful participants in a global society must be able to:

• participate effectively and critically in a networked world.
• explore and engage critically and thoughtfully across a wide variety of inclusive texts and tools/modalities.
• consume, curate, and create actively across contexts.
• advocate for equitable access to and accessibility of texts, tools, and information.
• build and sustain intentional global and cross-cultural connections and relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and strengthen independent thought.
• promote culturally sustaining communication and recognize the bias and privilege present in the interactions.
• examine the rights, responsibilities, and ethical implications of the use and creation of information.
• determine how and to what extent texts and tools amplify one’s own and others’ narratives as well as counterproductive narratives.
• recognize and honor the multilingual literacy identities and culture experiences individuals bring to learning environments, and provide opportunities to promote, amplify, and encourage these variations of language (e.g., dialect, jargon, and register).”

In other words, literacy is not just the ability to read and write. It is also being able to effectively use digital technology to find and analyze information. Students who are digitally literate know how to do research, find reliable sources, and make judgments about what they read online and in print. Next, we will learn more about digital literacy.

• Malleable : can be changed.
• Culturally sustaining : the pedagogical preservation of the cultural and linguistic competence of young people pertaining to their communities of origin while simultaneously affording dominant-culture competence.
• Bias : a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others, usually resulting in unfair treatment.
• Privilege : a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others.
• Unproductive narrative : negative commonly held beliefs such as “all students from low-income backgrounds will struggle in school.” (Narratives are phrases or ideas that are repeated over and over and become “shared narratives.” You can spot them in common expressions and stories that almost everyone knows and holds as ingrained values or beliefs.)

Literacy in the digital age

The Iowa Core recognizes that today, literacy includes technology. The goal for students who graduate from the public education system in Iowa is:

“Each Iowa student will be empowered with the technological knowledge and skills to learn effectively and live productively. This vision, developed by the Iowa Core 21st Century Skills Committee, reflects the fact that Iowans in the 21st century live in a global environment marked by a high use of technology, giving citizens and workers the ability to collaborate and make individual contributions as never before. Iowa’s students live in a media-suffused environment, marked by access to an abundance of information and rapidly changing technological tools useful for critical thinking and problem-solving processes. Therefore, technological literacy supports preparation of students as global citizens capable of self-directed learning in preparation for an ever-changing world” (Iowa Core Standards 21 st Century Skills, n.d.).

NOTE: The essential concepts and skills of technology literacy are taken from the International Society for Technology in Education’s National Educational Technology Standards for Students: Grades K-2 | Technology Literacy Standards

Literacy in any context is defined as the ability “ to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, and create information in order to function in a knowledge society” (ICT Literacy Panel, 2002). “ When we teach only for facts (specifics)… rather than for how to go beyond facts, we teach students how to get out of date ” (Sternberg, 2008). This statement is particularly significant when applied to technology literacy. The Iowa essential concepts for technology literacy reflect broad, universal processes and skills.

Unlike the previous generations, learning in the digital age is marked using rapidly evolving technology, a deluge of information, and a highly networked global community (Dede, 2010). In such a dynamic environment, learners need skills beyond the basic cognitive ability to consume and process language. To understand the characteristics of the digital age, and what this means for how people learn in this new and changing landscape, one may turn to the evolving discussion of literacy or, as one might say now, of digital literacy. The history of literacy contextualizes digital literacy and illustrates changes in literacy over time. By looking at literacy as an evolving historical phenomenon, we can glean the fundamental characteristics of the digital age. These characteristics in turn illuminate the skills needed to take advantage of digital environments. The following discussion is an overview of digital literacy, its essential components, and why it is important for learning in the digital age.

Literacy is often considered a skill or competency. Children and adults alike can spend years developing the appropriate skills for encoding and decoding information. Over the course of thousands of years, literacy has become much more common and widespread, with a global literacy rate ranging from 81% to 90% depending on age and gender (UNESCO, 2016). From a time when literacy was the domain of an elite few, it has grown to include huge swaths of the global population. There are several reasons for this, not the least of which are some of the advantages the written word can provide. Kaestle (1985) tells us that “literacy makes it possible to preserve information as a snapshot in time, allows for recording, tracking and remembering information, and sharing information more easily across distances among others” (p. 16). In short, literacy led “to the replacement of myth by history and the replacement of magic by skepticism and science.”

If literacy involves the skills of reading and writing, digital literacy requires the ability to extend those skills to effectively take advantage of the digital world (American Library Association [ALA], 2013). More general definitions express digital literacy as the ability to read and understand information from digital sources as well as to create information in various digital formats (Bawden, 2008; Gilster, 1997; Tyner, 1998; UNESCO, 2004). Developing digital skills allows digital learners to manage a vast array of rapidly changing information and is key to both learning and working in the evolving digital landscape (Dede, 2010; Koltay, 2011; Mohammadyari & Singh, 2015). As such, it is important for people to develop certain competencies specifically for handling digital content.

ALA Digital Literacy Framework

To fully understand the many digital literacies, we will look at the American Library Association (ALA) framework. The ALA framework is laid out in terms of basic functions with enough specificity to make it easy to understand and remember but broad enough to cover a wide range of skills. The ALA framework includes the following areas:

• understanding,
• evaluating,
• creating, and
• communicating (American Library Association, 2013).

Finding information in a digital environment represents a significant departure from the way human beings have searched for information for centuries. The learner must abandon older linear or sequential approaches to finding information such as reading a book, using a card catalog, index, or table of contents, and instead use more horizontal approaches like natural language searches, hypermedia text, keywords, search engines, online databases and so on (Dede, 2010; Eshet, 2002). The shift involves developing the ability to create meaningful search limits (SCONUL, 2016). Previously, finding the information would have meant simply looking up page numbers based on an index or sorting through a card catalog. Although finding information may depend to some degree on the search tool being used (library, internet search engine, online database, etc.) the search results also depend on how well a person is able to generate appropriate keywords and construct useful Boolean searches. Failure in these two areas could easily return too many results to be helpful, vague, or generic results, or potentially no useful results at all (Hangen, 2015).

Part of the challenge of finding information is the ability to manage the results. Because there is so much data, changing so quickly, in so many different formats, it can be challenging to organize and store them in such a way as to be useful. SCONUL (2016) talks about this as the ability to organize, store, manage, and cite digital resources, while the Educational Testing Service also specifically mentions the skills of accessing and managing information. Some ways to accomplish these tasks is using social bookmarking tools such as Diigo, clipping and organizing software such as Evernote and OneNote, and bibliographic software. Many sites, such as YouTube, allow individuals with an account to bookmark videos, as well as create channels or collections of videos for specific topics or uses. Other websites have similar features.

Understanding

Understanding in the context of digital literacy perhaps most closely resembles traditional literacy because it is the ability to read and interpret text (Jones-Kavalier & Flannigan, 2006). In the digital age, however, the ability to read and understand extends much further than text alone. For example, searches may return results with any combination of text, video, sound, and audio, as well as still and moving pictures. As the internet has evolved, a whole host of visual languages have also evolved, such as moving images, emoticons, icons, data visualizations, videos, and combinations of all the above. Lankshear & Knoble (2008) refer to these modes of communication as “post typographic textual practice.” Understanding the variety of modes of digital material may also be referred to as multimedia literacy (Jones-Kavalier & Flannigan, 2006), visual literacy (Tyner, 1998), or digital literacy (Buckingham, 2006).

Evaluating digital media requires competencies ranging from assessing the importance of a piece of information to determining its accuracy and source. Evaluating information is not new to the digital age, but the nature of digital information can make it more difficult to understand who the source of information is and whether it can be trusted (Jenkins, 2018). When there are abundant and rapidly changing data across heavily populated networks, anyone with access can generate information online. This results in the learner needing to make decisions about its authenticity, trustworthiness, relevance, and significance. Learning evaluative digital skills means learning to ask questions about who is writing the information, why they are writing it, and who the intended audience is (Buckingham, 2006). Developing critical thinking skills is part of the literacy of evaluating and assessing the suitability for use of a specific piece of information (SCONUL, 2016).

Creating in the digital world makes the production of knowledge and ideas in digital formats explicit. While writing is a critical component of traditional literacy, it is not the only creative tool in the digital toolbox. Other tools are available and include creative activities such as podcasting, making audio-visual presentations, building data visualizations, 3D printing, and writing blogs. Tools that haven’t been thought of before are constantly appearing. In short, a digitally literate individual will want to be able to use all formats in which digital information may be conveyed in the creation of a product. A key component of creating with digital tools is understanding what constitutes fair use and what is considered plagiarism. While this is not new to the digital age, it may be more challenging these days to find the line between copying and extending someone else’s work.

In part, the reason for the increased difficulty in discerning between plagiarism and new work is the “cut and paste culture” of the Internet, referred to as “reproduction literacy” (Eshet 2002, p.4), or appropriation in Jenkins’ New Media Literacies (Jenkins, 2018). The question is, what kind and how much change is required to avoid the accusation of plagiarism? This skill requires the ability to think critically, evaluate a work, and make appropriate decisions. There are tools and information to help understand and find those answers, such as the Creative Commons. Learning about such resources and how to use them is part of digital literacy.

Communicating

Communicating is the final category of digital skills in the ALA digital framework. The capacity to connect with individuals all over the world creates unique opportunities for learning and sharing information, for which developing digital communication skills is vital. Some of the skills required for communicating in the digital environment include digital citizenship, collaboration, and cultural awareness. This is not to say that one does not need to develop communication skills outside of the digital environment, but that the skills required for digital communication go beyond what is required in a non-digital environment. Most of us are adept at personal, face- to-face communication, but digital communication needs the ability to engage in asynchronous environments such as email, online forums, blogs, social media, and learning platforms where what is written may not be deleted and may be misinterpreted. Add that to an environment where people number in the millions and the opportunities for misunderstanding and cultural miscues are likely.

The communication category of digital literacies covers an extensive array of skills above and beyond what one might need for face-to-face interactions. It is comprised of competencies around ethical and moral behavior, responsible communication for engagement in social and civic activities (Adam Becker et al., 2017), an awareness of audience, and an ability to evaluate the potential impact of one’s online actions. It also includes skills for handling privacy and security in online environments. These activities fall into two main categories: digital citizenship and collaboration.

Digital citizenship refers to one’s ability to interact effectively in the digital world. Part of this skill is good manners, often referred to as “netiquette.” There is a level of context which is often missing in digital communication due to physical distance, lack of personal familiarity with the people online, and the sheer volume of the people who may encounter our words. People who know us well may understand exactly what we mean when we say something sarcastic or ironic, but people online do not know us, and vocal and facial cues are missing in most digital communication, making it more likely we will be misunderstood. Furthermore, we are more likely to misunderstand or be misunderstood if we are unaware of cultural differences. So, digital citizenship includes an awareness of who we are, what we intend to say, and how it might be perceived by other people we do not know (Buckingham, 2006). It is also a process of learning to communicate clearly in ways that help others understand what we mean.

Another key digital skill is collaboration, and it is essential for effective participation in digital projects via the Internet. The Internet allows people to engage with others they may never see in person and work towards common goals, be they social, civic, or business oriented. Creating a community and working together requires a degree of trust and familiarity that can be difficult to build when there is physical distance between the participants. Greater effort must be made to be inclusive , and to overcome perceived or actual distance and disconnectedness. So, while the potential of digital technology for connecting people is impressive, it is not automatic or effortless, and it requires new skills.

Literacy narratives are stories about reading or composing a message in any form or context. They often include poignant memories that involve a personal experience with literacy. Digital literacy narratives can sometimes be categorized as ones that focus on how the writer came to understand the importance of technology in their life or pedagogy. More often, they are simply narratives that use a medium beyond the print-based essay to tell the story:

Create your own literacy narrative that tells of a significant experience you had with digital literacy. Use a multi-modal tool that includes audio and images or video. Share it with your classmates and discuss the most important ideas you notice in each other’s narratives.

Critical literacy

Literacy scholars recognize that although literacy is a cognitive skill, it is also a set of practices that communities and people participate in. Next, we turn to another perspective on literacy – critical literacy. “Critical” here is not meant as having a negative point of view, but rather using an analytic lens that detects power, privilege, and representation to understand different ways of looking at texts. For example, when groups or individuals stage a protest, do the media refer to them as “protesters” or “rioters?” What is the reason for choosing the label they do, and what are the consequences? 

Critical literacy does not have a set definition or typical history of use, but the following key tenets have been described in the literature, which will vary in their application based on the individual social context (Vasquez, 2019). Table 1 presents some key aspects of critical literacy, but this area of literacy research is growing and evolving rapidly, so this is not an exhaustive list.

An important component of critical literacy is the adoption of culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogy. One definition comes from Dr. Django Paris (2012), who stated that Culturally Responsive-Sustaining (CR-S) education recognizes that cultural differences (including racial, ethnic, linguistic, gender, sexuality, and ability ones) should be treated as assets for teaching and learning. Culturally sustaining pedagogy requires teachers to support multilingualism and multiculturalism in their practice. That is, culturally sustaining pedagogy seeks to perpetuate and foster—to sustain—linguistic, literary, and cultural pluralism as part of the democratic project of schooling.

For more, see the Culturally Responsive and Sustaining F ramework . The framework helps educators to think about how to create student-centered learning environments that uphold racial, linguistic, and cultural identities. It prepares students for rigorous independent learning, develops their abilities to connect across lines of difference, elevates historically marginalized voices, and empowers them as agents of social change. CR-S education explores the relationships between historical and contemporary conditions of inequality and the ideas that shape access, participation, and outcomes for learners.

• What can you do to learn more about your students’ cultures?
• How can you build and sustain relationships with your students?
• How do the instructional materials you use affirm your students’ identities?

Community-based literacies

You may have noticed that communities are a big part of critical literacy – we understand that our environment and culture impact what we read and how we understand the world. Now think about the possible differences among three Iowa communities: a neighborhood in the middle of Des Moines, the rural community of New Hartford, and Coralville, a suburb of Iowa City:

You may not have thought about how living in a certain community might contribute to or take away from a child’s ability to learn to read. Dr. Susan Neuman (2001) did. She and her team investigated the differences between two neighborhoods regarding how much access to books and other reading materials children in those neighborhoods had. One middle-to-upper class neighborhood in Philadelphia had large bookstores, toy stores with educational materials, and well-resourced libraries. The other, a low-income neighborhood, had no bookstores or toy stores. There was a library, but it had fewer resources and served a larger number of patrons. In fact, the team found that even the signs on the businesses were harder to read, and there was less environmental printed word. Their findings showed that each child in the middle-class neighborhood had 13 books on average, while in the lower-class neighborhood there was one book per 300 children .

Dr. Neuman and her team (2019) recently revisited this question. This time, they looked at low-income neighborhoods – those where 60% or more of the people are living in poverty . They compared these to borderline neighborhoods – those with 20-40% in poverty – in three cities, Washington, D.C., Detroit, and Los Angeles. Again, they found significantly fewer books in the very low-income areas. The chart represents the preschool books available for sale in each neighborhood. Note that in the lower-income neighborhood of Washington D.C., there were no books for young children to be found at all!

Now watch this video from Campaign for Grade Level Reading. Access to books is one way that children can have new experiences, but it is not the only way!

What is the “summer slide,” and how does it contribute to the differences in children’s reading abilities?

The importance of being literate and how to get there

“Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope” – Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General.

Our economy is enhanced when citizens have higher literacy levels. Effective literacy skills open the doors to more educational and employment opportunities so that people can lift themselves out of poverty and chronic underemployment. In our increasingly complex and rapidly changing technological world, it is essential that individuals continuously expand their knowledge and learn new skills to keep up with the pace of change. The goal of our public school system in the United States is to “ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, career, and life, regardless of where they live.” This is the basis of the Common Core Standards, developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center). These groups felt that education was too inconsistent across the different states, and today’s students are preparing to enter a world in which colleges and businesses are demanding more than ever before. To ensure that all students are ready for success after high school, the Common Core State Standards established clear universal guidelines for what every student should know and be able to do in math and English language arts from kindergarten through 12th grade: “The Common Core State Standards do not tell teachers how to teach, but they do help teachers figure out the knowledge and skills their students should have” (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012).

Explore the Core!

Go to iowacore.gov and click on Literacy Standards. Spend some time looking at the K-3 standards. Notice how consistent they are across the grade levels. Each has specific requirements within the categories:

• Reading Standards for Literature
• Reading Standards for Informational Text
• Reading Standards for Foundational Skills
• Writing Standards
• Speaking and Listening Standards
• Language Standards

Download the Iowa Core K-12 Literacy Manual . You will use it as a reference when you are creating lessons.

Next, explore the Subject Area pages and resources. What tools does the state provide to teachers to support their use of the Core?

Describe a resource you found on the website. How will you use this when you are a teacher?

Watch this video about the Iowa Literacy Core Standards:

• Literacy is typically defined as the ability to ingest, understand, and communicate information.
• Literacy has multiple definitions, each with a different point of focus.
• “New literacies,” or multiliteracies, are a combination of multiple ways of communicating and making meaning, including visual, audio, spatial, behavioral, and gestural communication.
• As online communication has become more prevalent, digital literacy has become more important for learners to engage with the wealth of information available online.
• Critical literacy develops learners’ critical thinking by asking them to use an analytic lens that detects power, privilege, and representation to understand different ways of looking at information.
• The Common Core State Standards were established to set clear, universal guidelines for what every student should know after completing high school.

Resources for teacher educators

• Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework [PDF]
• Common Core State Standards
• Iowa Core Instructional Resources in Literacy

Gonzalez, N., Moll, L. C., & Amanti, C. (Eds.). (2006). Funds of knowledge: Theorizing practices in households, communities, and classrooms . New York, NY: Routledge.

Lau, S. M. C. (2012). Reconceptualizing critical literacy teaching in ESL classrooms. The Reading Teacher, 65 , 325–329.

Literacy. (2018, March 19). Retrieved March 2, 2020, from  https://en.unesco.org/themes/literacy

Neuman, S. B., & Celano, D. (2001). Access to print in low‐income and middle‐income communities: An ecological study of four neighborhoods. Reading Research Quarterly, 36 (1), 8-26.

Neuman, S. B., & Moland, N. (2019). Book deserts: The consequences of income segregation on children’s access to print.  Urban education, 54 (1), 126-147.

New London Group (1996). A Pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures.  Harvard Educational Review, 66 (1), 60-92.

O’Brien, J. (2001). Children reading critically: A local history. In B. Comber & A. Simpson (Eds.), Negotiating critical literacies in classrooms (pp. 41–60). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Ordoñez-Jasis, R., & Ortiz, R. W. (2006). Reading their worlds: Working with diverse families to enhance children’s early literacy development. Y C Young Children, 61 (1), 42.

Saha S. (2006). Improving literacy as a means to reducing health disparities. J Gen Intern Med. 21 (8):893-895. doi:10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00546.x

UNESCO. (2017). Literacy rates continue to rise from one generation to the next global literacy trends today. Retrieved from http://on.unesco.org/literacy-map.

Vasquez, V.M., Janks, H. & Comber, B. (2019). Critical Literacy as a Way of Being and Doing. Language Arts, 96 (5), 300-311.

Vlieghe, J. (2015). Traditional and digital literacy. The literacy hypothesis, technologies of reading and writing, and the ‘grammatized’ body. Ethics and Education, 10 (2), 209-226.

Zimmerman, E. B., Woolf, S. H., Blackburn, S. M., Kimmel, A. D., Barnes, A. J., & Bono, R. S. (2018). The case for considering education and health. Urban Education, 53 (6), 744-773.U.S. Department of Education. Institute of Education Sciences.

U.S. Department of Education. Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2022 Reading Assessment.

Methods of Teaching Early Literacy Copyright © 2023 by Constance Beecher is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Neag School of Education

Best practices in early childhood literacy.

• by: Shannon Kelley
• October 20, 2021
• Community Engagement

Editor’s Note: Shannon Kelley, Neag School doctoral candidate in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction , prepared the following rapid research brief — in affiliation with the Center for Education Policy Analysis, Research, and Evaluation (CEPARE) .

Learning to read is critical to children’s success in school and opportunities once they reach adulthood. The foundation of reading is laid in the preschool years. The ultimate goal of reading development is successful reading comprehension, which is the ability to process and interpret the written language. To comprehend a text, a reader must be able to simultaneously decode the words and apply their background knowledge to make meaning (Hoover & Gough, 1986). Although this task appears to be natural for fluent readers, it is in fact not. The ability to read is a human technology that develops over time through instruction and purposeful activities (Seidenberg, 2017).

Children’s literacy foundations are established as early as infancy and grow throughout early childhood when the brain is at its greatest plasticity levels (Hutton et al., 2020). The development of oral language skills, understanding of the alphabetic principle, and knowledge of print concepts are the greatest predictors of children’s future reading ability (e.g. Burns et al., 1999; Snow, 2006; Strickland et al., 2004). Young children who experience rich language environments have greater oral language skills (e.g. vocabulary knowledge & listening comprehension) and phonemic awareness (Kuhl, 2011; Strickland et al., 2004). Parents and guardians can support children’s development of oral vocabulary and print awareness through organic conversations and shared reading activities while a strong preschool literacy program provides instruction in more specific knowledge like the alphabetic principle and concepts of print (Burns et al., 1999; Snow, 2006). Children’s attendance at a preschool with a strong literacy program is highly correlated with reduced special education placements and retention in later elementary school and is especially impactful for children who grow up in poverty (Meloy et al., 2019; Yoshikawa et al., 2013).

Children who have abundant opportunities to interact with language from infancy to early elementary school are more likely to develop into skilled and fluent readers.

In this policy brief, I present a brief overview of early childhood literacy including its importance for future literacy achievement. I then detail six best practices for preschools of all types [1] , discuss the importance of family literacy, and offer three high-leverage strategies parents and guardians can use with their children. Finally, I offer a review of best practices to support literacy development in the preschool to kindergarten transition. I conclude with a brief set of recommendations for bringing high-quality literacy practices to preschools and families in schools serving large numbers of low-income children and English language learners.  

What is early childhood literacy?

Preschool literacy instruction is focused on the development of children’s emergent literacy which includes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that ultimately promote reading and writing development (Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998). Although children will develop many literacy skills during this time, research indicates that the following are most important (National Reading Panel, 2000; Neuman & Dickinson, 2001; Snow, 2006):

• Oral language: includes expressive and receptive vocabulary & listening comprehension skills
• Alphabetic principle: includes knowledge of the alphabet & phonological awareness (the ability to recognize and manipulate sounds in words)
• Print awareness: includes understanding and recognition of environmental print and text features

Why is children’s literacy in early childhood critical?

Students’ experiences both at home and school play critical roles in their literacy development. Evidence suggests children learn most of their language and vocabulary related knowledge at home through caregiver and sibling interactions while they learn code related knowledge like phonemic awareness at school (Horowitz‐Kraus & Hutton, 2015). Literacy instruction in both of these spaces can be both spontaneous and planned, individual and community-based (Snow, 2006). Literacy skills and knowledge are not something that exist exclusively in a classroom; rather, they can be taught and learned in all aspects of a preschoolers’ life. For example, while a preschool teacher leads a small group in a planned rhyming activity to promote phonemic awareness, a parent or guardian might ask a four-year old to identify all the signs that have writing on them as they complete an errand around town to promote print awareness. Given all that children must learn to ultimately become readers, it is important to emphasize that there is no hierarchy in emergent literacy development – children’s understanding that the pictures in the book are connected to the written text matter just as much as children’s knowledge of the alphabet.

Evidence suggests children learn most of their language and vocabulary related knowledge at home through caregiver and sibling interactions while they learn code related knowledge like phonemic awareness at school.

Children will develop emergent literacy skills at varying rates according to their home language environment, preschool instruction, and personal development. Although there is no “typical” development path, there are a set of skills and knowledge teachers and caregivers can use to determine where a student is on the developmental continuum (see Table 1).

Note: Adapted from Snow (2006).

Understanding where students fall along a developmental continuum allows teachers and caregivers to provide intervention where necessary. Children who fall behind in their literacy development are at greater risk of not becoming fluent readers because of the Matthew effect, or the phenomena in which children with early reading difficulty have less exposure to texts because they read less, ultimately slowing their language and reading development (Stanovich et al., 1986). Children will experience reading challenges for any number of reasons, but reading difficulty is most often highly correlated with poverty, intellectual disability, hearing problems, dyslexia, ELL, and language disorders (Snow, 2006). Although these may be risk factors in children’s reading development, a strong preschool literacy program and partnerships with families can mitigate the effects on children’s reading development. In the next sections, I offer a review of the literature on best practices for preschool instruction and strategies families can use at home.

What are instructional best practices in preschool?

A majority of children ages 3-6 spend their weekdays in the care of someone other than their primary caregivers (Green et al., 2006). These arrangements include public and private preschools and home-based daycares. Preschool literacy instruction most often focuses on group activities like read aloud and alphabet instruction. In a survey of 180 preschool teachers, Green et al. (2006) found that 78% of preschool teachers read aloud to kids in groups and 93% taught the alphabet while 58% taught features of books and 63% taught about how words are arranged. The impact of preschool programming on a child’s reading development depends on teacher training, parental involvement, and length of program enrollment. In addition, researchers have found that preschool literacy instruction was more effective when teachers had a wide variety of print materials and, in one study, more children present in the classroom (Green et al., 2006; Neuman & Roskos, 1997).

Strong preschool literacy programs focus on developing children’s oral language skills, knowledge of the alphabetic code, and print knowledge. Teachers’ direct instruction can be both code and meaning-focused so students learn letters and sounds while also engaging with the meaning of words and stories (Piasta, 2016). Teachers can develop print rich environments by labeling parts of the classroom, making a variety of texts available, and cultivating many opportunities for children to talk. Research suggests that phonemic awareness and letter knowledge instruction is best supported by lessons that are brief (10 -15 minutes max), highly engaging and fun, and follow a predictable pattern (e.g. begin with rhyming followed by phonemic awareness games that have them identify/add/delete/substitute sounds, and finish with learning a new letter and sound). Class conversations and shared book reading can be more free-flowing, allowing children to engage in authentic engagements (Piasta, 2016).

Evidence indicates that teachers should actively encourage students to develop strong oral language skills and knowledge in their first language; this base affirms the children’s home language identity and serves as a foundation for the students to build on as they learn to speak and read in English.

It is important that preschool teachers keep in mind the variety of learners in their classrooms including being thoughtful about incorporating strategies to meet the needs of students for whom English is not a first language. Evidence indicates that teachers should actively encourage students to develop strong oral language skills and knowledge in their first language; this base affirms the children’s home language identity and serves as a foundation for the students to build on as they learn to speak and read in English. Researchers have found positive effects for instruction in phonemic awareness, print knowledge, and vocabulary for students who do not yet have English oral proficiency (Roberts et al., 2004). If the students’ first language shares an orthography with English (i.e. Spanish, Portuguese), print knowledge is highly transferable and can be instructed in either language (Farver et al., 2009). In addition, children who are English Language Learners benefit from explicit instruction in phonemic awareness and vocabulary in English and in frequent opportunities for adult-child conversation with feedback.

The following practices have been identified as having the greatest impact on student literacy outcomes (see Appendix A for links to additional resources).

Literacy rich environments.

A literacy rich preschool classroom promotes students’ ongoing engagement with language throughout their school day, which promotes understanding of environmental/every day print (e.g. food labels, street signs, clothing logos, etc.) and allows for independent reading activities. Literacy rich classrooms include:

• A library nook with a recommended 5 books per child with illustrations that are about everyday experiences, favorite topics, or skill foci (e.g. ABCs, rhyming) that take about 10-15 minutes to read with children (Neumann & Roskos, 1997).
• Labeled classroom parts (e.g. sink, table, etc.) which provide multiple opportunities for letter and word recognition and an understanding of how print is related to the environment.
• Play areas that incorporate literacy-related materials (e.g. cookbooks, maps, notebooks) that allow children to develop an understanding of how literacy is central to everyday life.

Interactive read aloud.

Interactive read aloud, also called dialogic or shared reading, is consistently ranked as the most impactful activity on preschoolers’ literacy development both at home and at school (Dennis & Horn, 2011). This form of reading allows children to actively engage with both code and meaning levels of the text which helps them develop understandings of the concepts of print (i.e. book features like titles, dialogue, etc.) and practice listening comprehension. An interactive read aloud should position the children as active participants in the story and should be a dynamic conversation between the adult and children about the text and connections the children have (see Table 2 for a guide).

Note: Table taken from Dennis & Horn (2011).

Print referencing.

Print referencing is a strategy that can be incorporated during any literacy activity but is most often used during interactive read aloud to point out important and interesting ideas about print to bring to students’ attention. Teachers can use this strategy to highlight the relationships between letters and sounds, to teach students new concepts of print, and to instruct new vocabulary. Justice & Ezell (2004) suggest the following three print referencing techniques:

• Ask questions about the print (e.g. What do you notice about the word red on this page?).
• Offer comments about print (e.g. I see the date on the newspaper the man is reading).
• Track your finger under print while you read.

Interactive conversations.

Oral language skills are highly correlated to future reading ability (Neuman & Dickinson, 2001). Teachers can actively incorporate dynamic conversation opportunities into circle times, shared reading, meals, play, and other classroom activities. These conversations give children models of speech, teach them new vocabulary words, and offer them the opportunity to practice their own speech. The following talk strategies have empirical evidence suggesting additional benefits for students (Piasta, 2016):

• Recasting: Restating what the child said with more detail or correct language (e.g. child says, “Milk” and the teacher responds, “I want milk please!”
• Expanding: Adding details to the child’s statement (e.g. child says, “Baby cry” and the teacher responds, “The baby is hurt so she’s crying”)
• Open-ended questions: Asking the child to expand their statement (e.g. child says, “I’m sad” and teacher responds, “Why are you sad?”)
• Extended reciprocal and responsive conversations: Engaging in multiple extended questions and responses with children

Small group instruction.

Preschoolers can learn many literacy skills through play and reading, but some skills and knowledge require explicit instruction from a classroom teacher. Given preschoolers’ attention spans and varying development patterns, it is wise to instruct in small groups (Piasta, 2016). This allows teachers to pay close attention to students’ individual needs and to adapt instruction as needed. The following are skills/knowledge to teach in small groups:

• Alphabet knowledge: Directly instruct letter names and sounds together and use memory aides.
• Phonological awareness: Pair with alphabet instruction and build in phoneme manipulation tasks like identifying, blending, and segmenting.
• Vocabulary: Directly instruct new words, allow for multiple interactions with the words, provide opportunities for students to use them, and post the words in the classroom. Teachers can also instruct vocabulary through book reading by introducing three new words, describing them using student friendly language, relating them to topics kids already know, and making them “come alive” through pictures or movements during book reading (Wasik, 2010).
• Writing: Provide many different opportunities for children to engage in written expression; this may include: letters, stories, picture captions, etc. Allow students to use invented spelling or attempt to represent words in print on their own. One study illustrated that students who often used invented spelling had better literacy skills because it allows them to reinforce their understanding of the relationships between letters and sounds (Ouellette & Senechal, 2008). This is most appropriate for older preschoolers who have learned at least a handful of letters though younger students should be encouraged to draw and write as well.

Assessment.

Preschool teachers can use both formal and informal literacy assessment to get an idea of students’ literacy progressions and where they are in relation to their peers. Because literacy development is so variable at this stage, teachers should use assessment data to understand how to better support students rather than as a strict categorization of their literacy abilities (Lonigan et al., 2011). Research indicates that students are most successful in literacy development if they develop knowledge and understanding of the alphabetic code, oral language skills, and print awareness in preschool, so assessments should be focused on students’ letter and vocabulary knowledge, phonological awareness, and print concepts (Snow, 2006).

There are three primary forms of assessment for preschool literacy: screeners, diagnostics, and progress monitoring tools. Screeners are often brief measures used on all students to determine which students are at risk of delayed literacy development. Diagnostics are longer assessments used to identify specific domains in which students need more support; these are expensive and long tests which should be reserved for students with low screener scores. Progress monitoring tools allow teachers to track students’ academic progress over time; standardized measures of this type for all students are less widely available for preschool literacy. Currently, the field of special education offers a handful of tests based on a General Outcome Measurement Approach , which measures student growth over many points in time (Greenwood et al., 2011) , to help early childhood educators determine when a student might need an intervention (see Appendix A for links to assessment resources).

What can families do to support literacy development at home?

Children develop almost all of their neural connections for sensory pathways and language during their first six years of life (Nelson, 2000). For this reason, preschoolers’ experiences both at school and at home are critical to successful literacy development. In one study, researchers found a significant relationship between children’s vocabulary knowledge and expressive language and the amount of time children spent engaged in book reading with their mothers (Roberts et al., 2005). The home literacy environment promotes multiple opportunities for language learning which are necessary for neural connections development through factors like the amount of shared adult-child reading, the number of books in the house, and children’s interaction with print (Horowitz‐Kraus & Hutton, 2015).

Fortunately, best practices for family literacy support require few resources and can be built into existing family routines. Researchers have consistently identified shared book reading as the most impactful activity families can do to support preschool literacy development as it promotes vocabulary development, understanding of text features, and print awareness (Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998). In addition, authentic and frequent open-ended conversations with adults in the home support children in enhancing their receptive and expressive vocabularies. A strong oral vocabulary is a critical foundation for reading development as it allows children to both understand the content of texts and identify words as they learn to decode in early elementary school.

The following family practices have been identified as having the greatest impacts of students’ literacy development (see Appendix B for links to additional resources).

Shared reading.

Language benefits from shared reading have been shown to begin with children as young as six-weeks old (Burns et al., 1999). Children who read with their families at home and who make regular visits to the local library demonstrate stronger vocabulary skills (Senechal et al., 1996). When caregivers read with their children, they can use the following strategies to make the activity engaging and to emphasize critical language and vocabulary skills (Roberts et al., 2005):

• Simple description: Describe a character, animal, object, simple action, or location; “Look at the zebra- I see he has white and black stripes. What else do you notice?”
• Elaborate description: Explain, summarize, or elaborate on plot; “George is really curious so he asks lots of questions and explores the world.”
• Links to world: Ask questions or make comments that help the child make connections between the text and their experiences; “Who else do you know that is very curious?”
• Predictions and inferences: Ask child to predict what might happen or ask questions about character motivations/feelings; “Why do you think George was sad after he lost his boat?”
• Book concepts: Refer to parts of the book or book reading process (e.g. turning the page, pointing out the title, etc.)
• Letter-sound relationships: Point out letter-sound information; “This word is Cat begins with a “c” which makes the sound /k/ .”
• Recall and recite: Ask child to tell you about the text; “Oh that was a great story, can you tell me about it?”

Open-ended conversation.

Children’s exposure to the world outside of school and home allows them to develop rich background and vocabulary knowledge which further strengthens the synapses needed for reading development. Parents and guardians can use these experiences to facilitate rich open-ended conversations with children by asking open-ended questions that allow children to explain their ideas and understandings. Although adventures outside of the home are a great time to engage in these conversations, these same techniques can be applied to everyday tasks around the home like eating meals together and getting dressed for school. In addition, these are great opportunities to introduce and explain new vocabulary (Strickland et al., 2004). Here are some tips for facilitating strong conversations:

• Get on the child’s level (if possible)
• Actively listen and respond to what the child says
• Take turns talking
• Ask questions about what the child is doing, seeing, or talking about
• Give time for the child to respond
• Extend children’s language (e.g. if the child says “car”, you can say “yes a red car is parked”)
• Ask children to explain their thinking by using “why” and “how” questions Develop a standardized format to communicate with kindergarten teachers. Preschools and kindergartens use a range of assessment and data tracking methods however both have copious information about students’ literacy development. To streamline the coordination of record sharing and teacher communication, preschools can create a standardized format to capture literacy-related information, prioritizing data on children’s vocabulary, alphabet knowledge, and print awareness.

Language games.

Children’s phonemic awareness is strengthened by their interactions and understanding of language. Families can support this understanding by leading children in games that help them pay attention to the different sounds and relationships in letters and words. These activities can be spontaneous, brief, fun, and as simple as singing a song together. Ideas include:

• “I spy” or Treasure Hunts: Lead children to identify an object around them by saying, “I spy something that starts with the letter a ” or “Find me something in the room that starts with the letter ” These tasks require students to link the name of the letter ( a) with its sound in the word which reinforces phonemic awareness and understanding of letter-sound correspondences (Games for 3-year-olds).
• Rhyming: Lead children in a game of rhyme generation by saying, “I know a word that rhymes with cat , it’s rat . Your turn, tell me a word that rhymes with rat .” Rhyming is a foundational skill of phonemic awareness as it requires students to pay attention to the middle and end sounds of the word. This attention supports their ability to segment unknown words, which is a critical skill for early decoding (Palmer, I. M.).
• Sing nursery rhymes & other songs: Nursery rhymes and other classic early childhood songs promote language development through the inclusion of repetition, rhyming, and alliteration (Paquette & Rieg, 2008). Singing helps children develop new vocabulary knowledge and promotes joy in the language learning experience (see  ideas of songs ).

Supporting literacy in the preschool to kindergarten transition

School and home-based preschool experiences allow children to develop the foundational literacy skills they need to build on throughout early elementary school as they learn to read. By the end of kindergarten, children are expected to recognize and write the letters of the alphabet, demonstrate phonemic awareness by generating rhymes and isolating, blending, and segmenting phonemes in words, and have a solid understanding of the structures of books and other print materials (Burns et al. 1999). The transition from preschool to kindergarten requires students to take on more independence, follow routines, and engage in more challenging academic work. For this reason, it can be a challenging transition for some children. Additionally, preschools and kindergartens are often separated by physical distance and system administration; that is, many children attend private or home-based preschools prior to entering the public school system (Purtell et al., 2020). Despite these differences, there is much that both preschools and families can do to set children up for success during this transition (see Appendix C for links to additional resources.

• Literacy program: The most important thing preschools (including public, private, and home-based programs) can do is establish strong literacy programming. This includes creating literacy rich environments with many accessible books, leading daily interactive story times, and building in many opportunities for adult-child and child-child conversations (Burns et al., 1999).
• Family partnerships: Programs can actively work with families to create shared literacy models by incorporating reading and its importance into daily activities. To do this, programs can invite families to story time, send books home regularly, partner with local libraries for family visits and book sharing, provide families with a clear model of dialogic reading and print referencing (this can include handouts and video links), and host family literacy nights where children, caregivers, and teachers engage in book reading and language games (Dennis & Horn, 2011).
• Communication with kindergartens: Because many children do not attend public preschool, there is often a gap in communication from preschool to kindergarten. Preschool teachers can minimize this gap by actively communicating with local kindergarten programs about students’ experiences and academic needs. School districts can strengthen this partnership by bringing preschools and kindergartens together to align programming and information structures and by issuing surveys of local preschools to gather information about children’s experiences including type of school, length of program, and attendance history (Purtell et al., 2020).
• Partner with non-English speaking families: Evidence from a 2008 study (Roberts) suggests that shared reading in students’ primary language is just as effective as in English, especially if the same story is read at home and at school. Because research illustrates that students primarily learn oral language skills like vocabulary and expression at home, students benefit from partnerships that encourage shared reading and other language games in their primary language. Schools can partner with non-English speaking families by providing them with reading material and suggested practices in their primary language and by actively encouraging word play and engaging conversations with their children (Restrepo & Towle-Harmon, 2008).
• Kindergarten transition days: One of the most important things families can do to support the preschool to kindergarten transition is attend the transition days or experiences that the schools offer. This allows children to meet their teachers and classmates and the parents/guardians to develop a positive relationship with the teachers.
• Bridge preschool-kindergarten communication: Before children exit preschool, parents/guardians can ask the preschool teachers about their child’s literacy skills. Parents can share this information with the kindergarten teacher; having an initial understanding of students’ oral language, alphabet knowledge, and print awareness allows the kindergarten teacher to act quickly to deliver responsive intervention for students who may need it.
• Home literacy practices: When children begin kindergarten, families should continue nightly shared reading and regular library visits. It is important for children to view literacy experiences as enjoyable and motivating, especially as they begin to read as the process can be challenging for many children. Allowing children to choose books to read and using those books as time for engaging dialogue and sharing keeps these experiences meaningful and light for children.

Recommendations

The evidence on the benefits of early literacy development is clear – children who have strong oral language skills, alphabet knowledge, and beginning print awareness are more likely to become proficient readers in early elementary school (National Reading Panel, 2000). Fortunately, there are many promising practices that school districts, private, public and home-based preschools, and families can implement to support preschoolers’ literacy development. I outline recommendations below.

School District

• Provide ongoing teacher training. A range of training exists for preschool teachers including professional developments on emergent literacy practices and on implementation of specific curricula (Piasta, 2016). Teachers who receive high quality training in shared book reading practices and language development strategies are more likely to feel confident in their instruction and have greater effects on students’ literacy development (Green et al., 2006; Piasta, 2016; Wasik, 2010). Organizations like the National Association for the Education of Young Children and Reading Rockets  offer a host of online resources and accessible modules.
• Create structures for public, private, and home-based preschool providers to connect with district kindergarten teachers. Because kindergarten is often most students’ first interaction with the public school system, kindergarten teachers often lack critical information about students’ previous literacy experiences (Purtell et al., 2020). The school district can mitigate this gap by providing communication structures or professional development opportunities for preschool and kindergarten teachers to share information about curriculums and student progress.
• Host multiple family literacy opportunities. Preschool teachers are uniquely positioned to support family literacy opportunities because they interact with caregivers daily during pick up and drop off. Teachers and preschools can use these moments to emphasize the importance of reading and language development by offering book sharing programs and shared reading examples. In addition, schools can support the community-based nature of literacy by hosting family literacy nights and regular library visits to immerse children and families in fun, meaningful literacy activities.

• Read with children nightly. Research literature (e.g. Scarborough et al. 1991; Snow, 2006) consistently ranks family shared book reading as the most impactful literacy development activity. Families can borrow books from local libraries, from preschools, or use digital options (see Reading Rockets for links).

[1] Throughout this brief, the term preschool refers to public school, private, and home-based programs.

Author Biography

Shannon Kelley is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Connecticut. Shannon’s research applies lenses from neo-institutional theory to understand how middle and high schools conceptualize and organize reading programs for students with persistent reading difficulty. Shannon has also engaged in research on teacher preparation, multisyllabic word reading instruction, and dyslexia discourse. Prior to graduate school, she taught high school English and middle school special education for almost a decade. In addition to her studies, Shannon currently teaches undergraduate and master’s-level courses on literacy instructional methods and works with local districts to design and implement high school reading intervention courses. 

CEPARE produces high-quality research, evaluation, and policy analysis that informs leaders and policymakers on a range of pressing issues, with a particular focus on enhancing social justice and equity across p-20 educational settings in Connecticut and beyond. CEPARE produced this brief as part of the SETER Alliance, which aims to strengthen and support learning opportunities in Connecticut’s Alliance districts.  Learn more about CEPARE cepare.uconn.edu . Access the original PDF of this brief (including all references and appendices).

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Literacy Development in Personal Experience Essay

Introduction.

Literacy development occurs during children’s formative years, allowing them to acquire phonological awareness, fluency, and comprehension of their native language. Eventually, a child begins to make connections in the systematic connection between language and its use for communication and learning. It is a natural and unceasing process that forges each child’s approach to various aspects of literacy. However, some events may be critical in influencing a person’s perceptions and skills. A pivotal experience that helped shape my relationship with literacy was receiving an opportunity to meet a well-known author that constructively critiqued and encouraged my writing.

I learned to read at a relatively young age despite having minor speech-language pathology in the early years of my literacy development. By elementary school, I was an avid reader. It was a passion of mine to explore the fantasy worlds described in books. Reading was both a method of relaxation and a tool of learning for me at the same time. Overall, literary works were an inspirational influence on my psycho-emotional development as a child.

Despite the common misconception, my reading skills did not translate into writing. In class, I found myself excelling at comprehensive tests while struggling with writing. A significant issue was that, as a child, my imagination was overflowing with ideas. When beginning to write, I immediately visualized whole worlds and adventures similar to those in books. However, these thoughts were rapidly going through my mind, having no structure or logical format.

At one point during the transition to middle school, my parents wanted me to apply for a specific gifted program in the school district. The application process consisted of analyzing my grades and teacher recommendations (both of which made me eligible), as well as a written exam which was a timed essay. Eventually, I was declined admission simply due to the abhorrent and inconsistent quality of my writing. An event that strongly discouraged my efforts to write.

A few months later, it was announced that a well-known author of several adventure books that I enjoyed throughout elementary school was visiting the area. I was one of the few people selected by the English department to meet the author personally. We were asked to write an essay about the author’s work which could be a topic of discussion with him.

Eventually, the day came, and I had the opportunity to meet the author. It was a unique and unreal experience since I enjoyed his work and respected him as a person after reading his biography. The author noted that he had read our essays. At some point during the event, I had a chance to talk with him personally.

He clearly remembered my writing and proceeded to give me feedback. This was the first time I learned that professional writers had to develop complex plans and outlines when writing books in order to maintain structure and cohesiveness of thought. The author encouraged me to use writing as a medium to express ideas and knowledge in a way that I would want it to be presented to me. It was evident he could see the discouragement about my skills and sought to emphasize the importance of writing as an academic tool.

Afterward, my approach to literacy changed dramatically. I began to see rapid improvements in my skills, achieving better grades and entering into a gifted program the following year. I practiced writing for every school project and eventually became considered one of the top writers in my class throughout the rest of secondary education. A significant step towards the improvement of my writing, both creative and academic, was learning to express my thoughts competently.

The abundance of information I received from reading could now be translated to written expression. To this day, I continue to expand my literacy skills through improved vocabulary, phraseology, and genre-specific techniques. All these factors contribute to formulating an open-minded and expansive worldview while aiding me in structuring an argument to support my personal opinion.

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As literacy lags nationwide, Purdue researcher highlights ways to enhance reading and writing in young children

Written By: Rebecca Hoffa, [email protected]

A text message from a friend. A product label at the grocery store. A street sign. Even in the most basic elements of day-to-day life, reading is everywhere.

Cammie McBride , professor in the Purdue University Department of Human Development and Family Science and associate dean for research in the College of Health and Human Sciences , has dedicated her career to taking a global approach toward understanding how children learn to read, exploring literacy across English and Chinese languages, among others.

“Children need to learn to read and write because it helps us navigate our environments,” McBride said. “If we can’t read, that’s more difficult. If you look worldwide, illiteracy is correlated with gross domestic product and the learning of a country’s people.”

Cammie McBride

From contributing to a massive open online course (MOOC) titled “Teaching Struggling Readers Around the World” to developing new resources and screening capabilities, McBride’s developmental psychology approach toward literacy ranges from cognitive linguistics, or how the brain processes language, to the relationships among parents, children and teachers and how those influence reading and writing.

McBride also serves as a co-lead on a $1.5 million grant to strengthen literacy preparation for Indiana teachers using science-based methods.

“My whole career, I’ve tried to look at how children read in different aspects,” McBride said. “I’m really interested in: Does reading develop from birth or before birth even? There are lots of aspects that go into reading that start at the very beginning. I’ve always been interested in those developmental models.”

McBride noted that one of her most interesting research findings has been enhancing understanding of a new cognitive-linguistic skill that has a direct impact for reading in Chinese as well as vocabulary in English, Dutch and other languages. The task requires children to put together morphemes, or the smallest unit of meaning in language, in ways that make sense. For example, if a teacher or parent gave the example that the sun going down in the sky is called a sunset and then asked the child what the moon going down in the sky would be called, the expectation would be the child would answer “moonset.” They’re putting together smaller units in ways that make sense.

“I think this task is really useful because we can test vocabulary to improve vocabulary, but this is another way, which is a focus on morphemes and how they come together,” McBride said. “If you understand how to put these together to make new aspects of meaning, you tend to be a better reader in Chinese, but also, this is a really good way to test for kids’ vocabulary development over time in every language. It’s a fun task — kids love to do that.”

McBride uses cognitive-linguistic skills like the example above in her research to understand methods for assessing children’s literacy and training teachers and families in what children need to learn to read. In order to read, McBride explained children must develop both oral language, such as vocabulary and forming sentences, as well as an understanding of print, such as understanding letters and their sounds. She explained that assessing children’s literacy skills early is important to keep them on track in their reading and writing development.

“These cognitive-linguistic skills are things we use in assessment and training,” McBride said. “Most 3- and 4-year-olds cannot read, and it would be weird to try to test them with reading materials before they can read, but you need to catch them quickly so that they don’t have a sense of failure and are always trying to catch up. If you test them at 3, 4 or 5 on cognitive-linguistic skills, this often can be a good way to determine if they’re at risk for reading difficulties and then give them some tools to help them improve.”

McBride mentioned dialogic reading is an effective tool parents can use to build up their child’s language skills. Rather than simply reading a book and looking at the pictures or testing the child on knowledge presented in the book, dialogic reading turns the process of reading into a conversation. Parents can ask open-ended questions, such as what the child thinks will happen next or if they’ve ever had a similar situation happen to them. The goal is to encourage two-sided communication.

If the child is struggling with reading, McBride’s go-to piece of advice is giving them more practice. While the same learning methods still can be effective with students who have a learning disorder, such as dyslexia, they may need to put more time and energy into practicing the reading process. McBride suggested literacy-based video games as a great tool to help children master literacy skills they may be struggling with. The important thing to keep in mind is to avoid burning the child out on reading.

“Keep it light because the other part of reading besides oral language and print is motivation,” McBride said. “You don’t want to get kids to feel like they’re being tested early; you want them to get interested themselves.”

After various nationwide setbacks toward literacy resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, McBride is currently looking to take her research one step further by making literacy tests, which screen for children’s risks for reading problems and often are expensive and require a licensed educational psychologist to administer, more accessible. Her most recent work is focusing on the development of affordable online tests for children and families — a significant step in continuing to improve children’s reading preparation.

“If we want to understand if children are maybe at risk for reading and writing problems early, it’s good to have tests that can help us to determine that,” McBride said.

• News: IITE and partners in action

A workshop on reading and media and information literacy was held in Moscow

On 4 September 2020, within the framework of the 33 rd Moscow International Book Fair, a workshop “Promotion of reading and media and information literacy in Russia: goals, objectives, achievements, challenges and perspectives” was held in Biblio-Globus Trading House in Moscow. The event was organized by the Russian Committee of the UNESCO Information for All Program, the Interregional Library Cooperation Centre, the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education, the Moscow State Pedagogical University and the Reading Association of Russia with the support of the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Media of the Russian Federation.

The event was held on-site and distantly and brought together over a hundred representatives of libraries, educational institutions, publishing houses, bookselling companies, the media, government agencies in the field of science, culture, education, communication and information.

The workshop was opened by welcome remarks from Mr. Boris Esenkin, President of Biblio-Globus Trading House, and Mr. Evgeny Kuzmin, Deputy Chair of the Intergovernmental Council and Chair of the Russian Committee of the UNESCO Information for All Program, President of the Interregional Library Cooperation Centre. The workshop was moderated by Mr. Sergey Bakeikin, Executive Director of the Interregional Library Cooperation Centre, Deputy Chair of the Russian Committee of the UNESCO Information for All Program, and Ms. Tatiana Murovana, Programme Specialist at UNESCO IITE.

A keynote speech on various aspects of promotion of reading was delivered by Mr. Evgeny Kuzmin, Deputy Chair of the Intergovernmental Council and Chair of the Russian Committee of the UNESCO Information for All Program, President of the Interregional Library Cooperation Centre. Ms. Natalya Borisenko, Leading Researcher at the Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education, spoke about the issues of screen and paper reading, relying on data from the study of adolescent reading practices. Ms. Elena Romanicheva, Leading Researcher at the Laboratory of Sociocultural Educational Practices of the Institute of System Projects of the Moscow City University, addressed the challenges related to promotion of reading in the context of school education as well as the ways to overcome them. Ms. Tatyana Zhukova, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Strategy of Education Development of the Russian Academy of Education, President of the Association of School Librarians of the Russian World, made a presentation about the implementation of the project “Reading Mom. Reading School” and its role in improving the reading literacy of students.

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The History of Moscow City

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