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(Unit 2) Topic 8: Promoting Early Literacy

3 Clock Hour of Early Childhood Education

Reading to Infants and Toddlers

​Topic 8 Page 6

Have you ever wondered if it is worth the effort to read to infants and toddlers? Perhaps you have assumed that until children develop their own language skills, reading experiences will not be meaningful. But more and more researchers are learning that reading to infants and toddlers can be very beneficial (Whitehurst & Lonigan, 2001). Sharing books and other reading materials with children at a young age can establish a strong foundation for later literacy skills (McLane & McNamee, 1991). ​

When parents and caregivers read to young children early and often, the children see reading as something that is fun to do. They become familiar with the sound of language that is used in books. This supports early literacy by focusing on phonological awareness. ​

Phonological awareness, the ability to detect and manipulate the sounds of spoken language, is a powerful contributor to literacy development. ​​

Children who can turn their attention to the sounds of spoken language are well-positioned to later grasp the alphabetic principle. This is the understanding that letters represent discrete sounds of spoken language. Understanding this concept facilitates their ability to decode (identify) printed words and to encode (put into print) words. In short, phonological awareness contributes to children’s understanding of how spoken language and written language are related.

Phonological awareness develops along a continuum. Children generally become aware of larger units of sound, such as syllables, before they notice and can manipulate smaller units of sound, such as onsets and rimes (/st/ is the onset in stop and /op/ is the rime) and eventually phonemes (the individual sounds of spoken language). When toddlers giggle at two rhyming words in a song or story, they are noticing how language sounds. When preschoolers comment that two words begin the same, or they point to the correct picture card in a guessing game in which an adult names an animal in segmented form (for example, the adult says each sound in the word dog separately: /d/-/o/-/g/), they are demonstrating progress in phonological awareness development. Phonological awareness is stimulated by particular experiences with language, and adults play a key role in ensuring that children have those experiences. Activities, games, books, poetry, and songs that draw attention to and stimulate manipulation of sounds should be a part of early literacy programs, and adults must be intentional and explicit in fostering this critical component of literacy development.

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Example:
Link, a one year old, is sitting in his teacher’s lap looking at a favorite board book. As the page turns to a picture of a fire engine, his face lights up and he laughs with delight as his teacher imitates a siren. He reaches for the book and turns the page himself to see the next vehicle, a police car. As he looks at the picture his teacher shows him a toy police car and says, “Look, Link! We have a car like that.” Together the teacher and child begin to push the police car across the floor, making engine noises.

​The example above shows the joy both Link and his teacher share in reading together. Link benefits from the sense of closeness he feels to his teacher. He responds to the sound of his teacher’s voice and the comfort of being held. He learns from looking at the pictures, hearing the sounds in the words, and interacting with his teacher. The teacher helps Link make connections between the pictures in the book and the materials in the classroom.

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(Unit 2) Topic 8: Promoting Early Literacy * Navigation Menu