Literacy in Early Childhood Education By Diana Schalk English 289 Research Project

Focus on Literacy: Developing Our Children’s Language

What does the terms Language & Literacy mean? Language: Oral Language -Communicate through speaking and listening. -Symbols that is used to conduct meaning. -Finger movements, print and sounds. Literacy: Reading and Writing -Communicate through print. - Ability to form meaning through: media, concepts and ideas, and technologies.

Ohio Early Learning Content Standards English Language Arts °Phonemic Awareness, Word Recognition, and Fluency Standard- Examples include: Matching sounds and recognizing rhymes, talking about words and letters, and read out loud. Acquisition of Vocabulary Standard: Example includes: Engaging with conversation of children. Reading Process: Concepts of print, Comprehension Strategies and Self-monitoring Strategies Standard: Examples include: Including print throughout the children’s environment and talking about books. Reading Applications: Literacy Text Standard: Examples include: Including print though the children’s environment and talking about books. Communication: Oral and Visual Standard: Example includes: sharing stories and poems.

Developing Early Childhood Education though…… ☺Phonological Awareness ☺Phonemic Awareness ☺Phonics ☺Emergent Literacy

Phonological Awareness What is Phonological awareness? -This when children identify and manipulate larger parts of a spoken language. -Also covers awareness of other aspects of sound.

Phonological Awareness continued… -Oral Rhymes “Pat the Cat” -Identifying and working with syllables Clapping parts in a name such as “Ha-liey” -Onsets The first part of cat is c-. -Rimes “The last part of pig is –ig” -Identifying and working with individual phonemes in spoken words. “ The first sound in cat is kl.”

Phonemic Awareness What is Phonemic Awareness? -The ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds in spoken words. -Children should become aware of how the sounds in words work. Also, children must understand that words are made up of speech sounds, or phonemes.

Phonemic Awareness continued…. -Finding out which words in a set begin with the same sound. “Side, sell, and search all have a /s/ at the beginning.” -Saying the first or last sound in a word “The ending sound of cat is kl.” -Combining or blending separate sounds in a word to say it. “/p/ /a/ /t/.” Breaking a word into separated sounds. “to - /t/ /o/.”

Phonemic Awareness continued….. -Why is it important to know? Improves children's reading and word conception. Helps children learn how to spell. -Ways to help children develop it: Teach children to manipulate phonemes by using alphabet letters. When teaching only centers around one or two instead of several types of phoneme manipulative.

Phonics: -What is Phonics? Educates children the connection between the letters, which are graphemes, and their individual sounds, or phonemes, of a spoken language. Teaches children to use these relationships with reading and writing words.

Phonics continued…. -Why is phonics important to know? Guides to the comprehension of the alphabetic principle – the organized and predictable relationships between written letters and spoken sounds.

Emergent Literacy: What is emergent Literacy? Children learn about reading and writing at a very young age by watching and interacting with adults and other children as they use literacy in everyday life activites. -Three strands of research on emergent literacy: Children's concept about print. Early forms of reading and writing. Home literacy experiences.

Emergent Literacy: Children’s concept about print -Children begin to notice: Print has meaning. The difference between print and pictures. Print is practical and can be used to “get things done” Environment print- print in real-life contexts. The letters of the alphabet

Emergent Literacy: Early forms of reading and writing ●Pictures, not forming stories-looks at the pictures and makes comments ●Pictures, forming oral stories- looks at the pictures and makes a story ●Pictures, forming written stories- looks at the pictures and sounds like they are reading the story ●Print- attempts to read instead of looking at the pictures °Writing: ●Drawing as writing-pictures represent writing ●Scribble writing- continuous lines ●Letter-like units-marks that look like letters ●Nonphonetic letter strings- show no evidence of letter-sound relationship ●Copying from environment print-copies print found in the environment ●Invented spelling- using own spelling using letter-sound relationships ●Conventional- correct spelling most of the time

Emergent Literacy: Home literacy experiences □Factors to promote literacy at home for children: ■ Opportunities to see lots of print ■ Access to books ■ Observe parents, other adults, and older siblings using it in everyday life ■ Supportive adults ■Take place in play ■ Parent-child storybook reading

To sum up….. □Phonological Awareness □Phonemic Awareness □ Phonics ■ Identify and manipulate larger parts of a spoken language ▪Onsets, rimes, oral rhymes □Phonemic Awareness ■ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds in spoken words ▪Saying sounds, combing or breaking separate sounds □ Phonics ■connection between the letters and their individual sounds of a spoken language ▪Comprehension to the alphabetic principle □ Emergent Literacy ■watching and interacting with adults and other children in everyday activites ▫Concepts about print, early forms of reading and writing, and home literacy experiences.

References: ■ Armbruster, B., Lehr, F., & Osborn, J. (2003). Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks of Reading Instruction. Jessup, MD: US Department of Education ■Vukelich, C., Christie, J., Enz, B. (2008). Helping Young children Learn Language and Literacy: Birth through Kindergarten. Boston, MA: Pearson Education ■ NAEYC – National Association for the Education of Young Children…. Website: www.naeyc.org