1. Fly High with Early Literacy
Reading & Writing Skills Development for Young Children

2. How We Learn to Read Emergent Literacy begins at birth
Children are surrounded with print materials in their homes – food labels, magazines, books, television programs
Encourage children to scribble, identify letters they know, trace letters and words with their finger or a pencil
Try out some fun activities with writing – writing in sand, using chalk on the driveway or sidewalk, finger paints
Encourage children to ask for objects or attention rather than pointing or using other non-verbal commands
Speaking and identifying the sounds of letters helps children with phonemic awareness and reading fluency
Notes:
Children see much more than we give them credit for… encourage them to explore and identify letters
Activities – hit Pinterest for ideas – there’s literally thousands of writing activities for young children
Planned ignoring is a tactic that teachers use to encourage students to speak versus demand attention using non-verbal cues (stomping, pointing, etc..) This can be used successfully at home to encourage speaking

3. The Stages of Reading Fluency
Advanced Reader
Intermediate Reader
Transitional Reader
Beginning Reader
Emergent Reader – Toddler to Preschool aged – identifying letters and some words. Sometimes pretending to read (pseudo-reading)
Beginning Readers – early school age K – 2) – Can read and understand print, decoding words
Transitional Readers (2nd -3rd grades approximately) – they can alter root words using prefixes/suffixes – creating new meaning
Intermediate readers – 4th to 6th/7th grade – reading fluency is becoming well-developed
Advanced readers – typically reached around high school levels - no longer “learning to read” – they now read to acquire knowledge.
Emergent Reader

4. What Are All of These Reading Terms?
Decoding? The process of translating print to speech
Phonemes? Small parts of speech that make up spoken language
Encoding? Better known as Spelling
Phonics? A method of teaching phonemic awareness; helps with spelling and reading
Sight Words – words that are frequently encountered in reading – students are taught to recognize them on sight
Decoding – using technical terms – it’s the process of turning print (graphemes) to phonemes (sounds)
Phonemes – think of them as spoken syllables (written syllables are often more familiar to individuals who have been reading and writing for many years)
Decoding, Encoding….. Learning to read and spell would have seemed a whole lot cooler if we’d used these terms as kids, right? 

5. How to Help Your Child Grow as an Emergent Reader
Talk to your child! From birth, talk to them and encourage them to mimic your words
Discourage baby talk - both from your child, and also well- meaning friends and relatives
Read books with your child regularly and use your finger to follow-along with the words on the page
Introduce new vocabulary whenever possible – explain the meaning of new words and use visual references when possible
When your baby is talking – repeat their sounds back to them – even if it’s babble. Add a sound or a word at the end each time you do this so they will continue to repeat and form new sounds
Reading – any picture books (Dr. Seuss & Eric Carle are some of my favorites!) work well with very young readers
Don’t be afraid to read aloud at a level far beyond your child’s reading ability – they will pick up vocabulary words as they’re listening
Use your smart phone to your advantage – if you’re out somewhere and don’t know what something is (example: a particular tree or flower) – use an app that helps you identify the object so you and your child are learning together!

6. Supporting Beginning Readers – Word Attack
Word Attack Strategy: Looking for clues – Are there pictures on the page that might help support the printed word? Do the words around the unfamiliar word lend any help to finding its meaning?
Word Attack Strategy: Chunking – “cutting” the word into parts that seem familiar (syllables) *Caution* - be careful not to encourage writing these “chunked” words in the syllables as they are spoken – this could lead to poor spelling habits down the road
Word attack strategies are great ways to make reading more accessible for beginning readers
They can use these two strategies and many more, such as “stretching” a word out, studying the beginning and end letters and trying to decode the word, skipping the word and reading the remainder of the passage or sentence, then come back to see if any context clues might apply. All of these are great ways to build confidence with young readers!

7. Classroom Reading Strategies
Choral Reading: Teacher and all of the students read a passage together (often displayed on overheard projector)
Why this works? Helps alleviate public speaking fears for young readers – their voice “blends in” to the group as they speak
Story Maps: Using a graphic organizer (meaning some form of visual) to find the structure of a story
Why this works? Students can predict the story based upon clues given, “explain” it using their own illustrations or words, then as they read, fill in the blanks
Choral Reading – think of a chorus – all singing together in-time. This helps with pace and also with inflection since students can mimic the teacher
Story Maps – graphic organizers – these don’t have to be complicated – can be done as a cartoon strip, a chart or graph, or any other basic visual. Students can create these so they have their own personal interpretation attached to the story.

8. The Ideal Reading Classroom
Print everywhere!
Labels
Charts
Definitions
Books
Word Displays
Alphabet charts
Make it welcoming!
Comfortable seating
Multiple stations for reading and writing
Bright colors
Pictures/photos
Plenty of writing supplies –
Paper
Pencils, crayons, markers
The key – make it appealing to young children. The bright colors, lots of things to explore, plenty of cozy places to sit and read… all of these add up to student interest in reading

9. At-Home Reading Practice Ideas
Have your child help you cook a meal
Reading recipes is a great way to practice reading and decoding
Do you have a pet? Have your child read to it!
Studies show that children are more comfortable reading to an animal than to an adult, especially if they’re reluctant readers
Join a reading program at the local library
Many libraries offer incentive programs to encourage children to read more books, especially over school breaks
Reading Recipes is also a great way to practice math skills!
If you don’t have a pet, your child could read to their favorite stuffed animal – an “audience” that won’t offer prompts or corrections (no matter how well-intended this is) can help readers become more confident in their skills
Local libraries often offer reading circles, visits from authors, heavily-discounted book sales, and many other ways to engage their patrons. Take advantage of these perks!

10. More At-Home Practice Ideas
Sight Word List Practice – ask your child’s teacher for a list of sight words that they will cover in upcoming classes
Reading together – let your child choose the topic and book, if possible. Even if it’s above their current reading ability, you can still read to them and they can follow along
The key to at-home reading is to offer ample opportunities for your child to read. It doesn’t have to be a formal activity for them to read and learn, and sometimes the less fuss made over getting them to read, the better!

11. Questions?
Feel free to contact me with any questions; you can also check out our school’s reading resource website – I’ll have a sign-up sheet available as you leave so you can provide your address. I’ll get you added to our group so you get all of the latest updates!

12. References
Roth, F. P., PhD, CCC-SLP, & Paul, D. R., Ph.D, CCC-SLP. (2006). Early Reading and Writing Development. Retrieved July 22, 2017, from childhood-basics/early-literacy/early-reading-and-writing- development
Story Maps. (2015, May 11). Retrieved July 22, 2017, from
Vacca, J. A., Vacca, R. T., Gove, M. K., Burkey, L. C., Lenhart, L. C., & McKeon, C. A. (2015). Reading and Learning to Read. Boston: Pearson Education Inc.