Early literacy is everything children know about reading and writing before they can actually read and write.

Early literacy is a baby who chews on a book, a toddler who wants his favorite book read over and over, and a preschooler who "reads" the story from memory.

Early literacy skills begin to develop in the first 5 years of life.  A child's early experiences with books and language lay the foundation for later success in learning to read.

Early literacy is not the "teaching of reading."

Parents and caregivers are a child's first and best teacher.  Librarians, preschool teachers and other professionals who read to children can foster early literacy skills by providing an atmosphere that's fun, verbal and stimulating. The focus should not be on teaching, but on the fun you're having with them - offer a child plenty of opportunities to talk and be listened to, to read and be read to, and to sing and be sung to.

Children who are exposed to interactive, literacy-rich environments that are full of fun opportunities to learn language will develop early literacy skills.

When adults read, talk or play with a child, they are stimulating the growth of that child's brain and building the connections that will become the building blocks for reading. Brain development research shows that children who are read to have increased the brain's capacity for language and literacy skills and is the most important thing that can be done to prepare him for learning to read.

 

Adapted from Multnomah County Public Library.  For the original text, follow this link http://www.multcolib.org/birthtosix/earlyliteracy.html

 

For further reading on early literacy and later school success, read these articles, available on EBSCO database through the IU Library.

"Paraprofessional-Led Phonological Awareness Training With Youngsters At-Risk for Reading and Behavioral Concerns."  By:  Kathleen L. Lane, Todd Fletcher, Erik W. Carter, Carlos Dejud, and Jennifer DeLorenzo. Remedial & Special Education, Sep/Oct2007, Vol. 28 Issue 5, p266-276, 11p.

Open article as a pdf here.

"Examination of the Predictive Validity of Preschool Early Literacy Skills."By: Kristen Missall, Amy Reschly, Joseph Betts, Scott McConnell, David Heistad, Mary Pickart, Christina Sheran, and Doug Marston. School Psychology Review, 2007, Vol. 36 Issue 3, p433-452, 20p.

 

 Open article as a pdf here.

 

Alot has been published about the connection between cognitive development, early literacy education and a child's later success in education.  However, we need to be able to critically assess this information and not just accept it at "face value".  With that in mind...

 

It's time for your first Assignment - Book Review

Study the texts for this class (Early Literacy Storytimes @ Your Library: Partnering with Caregivers for Success by Ghoting/Martin-Diaz; Straight Talk About Reading: How Parents Can Make a Difference During the Early Years by Hall/Moats; and Teaching With the Brain in Mind by Jensen.)  Choose one about which to write a book review, not merely a book report.  In order to do this, you must analyze how the author builds his or her own argument. 

 

The book review is to be 3-5 pages in length, in 12-point Times or equivalent font, double-spaced with one-inch margins; totaling about 750-1250 words.  A bibliography is unnecessary, but the book you are reviewing should be properly cited (see below).  You are not required to consult any other readings, but any that you may use (such as existing book reviews) must also be cited. 

 

About 25% of your review should summarize the content of the book.  Here you will discuss what the author says.  This 25% may be concentrated in an initial paragraph, or distributed through your paper if you prefer to work from section to section of the book.

 

The remaining 75% should analyze and critique the author’s argument.  Does the book convey an interpretive argument, or does it simply narrate events?  What sources does the author use, and does the author give more weight to some sources than to others?  Do the author’s conclusions follow from his or her sources, and does he or she give consideration to alternative interpretations?   

 

Citation format: A full citation of your monograph should appear at the head of your paper, in addition to any title you want to give the review itself.  The format of a full citation is:

Author, Title (place of publication: copyright date). 

Thus, for instance:

William E. Klingshirn, Caesarius of Arles: The Making of a Christian Community in Late Antique Gaul (Cambridge, 1994).

In a book review you do not need to cite the book every time you refer to its contents, but you do need to give citations for direct quotes from the text.  The format to use in this assignment is parenthetical citations using a short form of the citation, as follows:  (author’s last name, keyword from title, p. #).  Thus: (Klingshirn, Caesarius, p. 223). 

 

 

Adapted from: Book Reviews. History 421 (World History I) and 435 (Western Civilization I) Dr.  Jonathan Couser. Fall  2007, University of New Hampshire.

 

Your Book Review will be worth 15 points.  Grading criteria will be:

  • Accuracy in conveying the contents of the book (4 pts)
  • Evidence of critical engagement in analyzing the author’s argument (3 pts)
  • Correct English usage (1 pt)
  • Correct citation (1 pt)
  • Upload to the space that corresponds to your book on our class Wiki (1 pt)
  • Make a thoughtful response to a peer’s paper (5 pt)

There are six early literacy skills that children need to learn to be prepared to read.  Click here to learn about them.

Photos by Yvette Couser

ECRR Logo from ALA Website