Beginning Reading Behaviors in Young Children
Strategies for Identifying and Encouraging Emergent Literacy
Jan 15, 2009
Young children display numerous behaviors that demonstrate a beginning understanding of what reading is and how to do it (Clay, 1993). More than forms of play or imitation of adult behaviors, these behaviors are forms of emergent literacy that may be fostered by parents or caregivers in order to better prepare children for reading instruction.
Emergent Literacy Behaviors
A child who is in the process of becoming literate
- knows the front and back of a book and opens it from left to right.
- knows that the reader is using the words, not the pictures, to tell the story.
- knows that the reader reads from left to right, and from top to bottom, and can trace the “return sweep” a reader uses as he finishes one line of text and moves to the next.
- knows that words, sentences and stories all have a beginning and an ending.
- knows that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the words on the page and those being spoken by the reader.
- knows that words are made up of letters.
- knows that letters make sounds.
- can identify punctuation marks.
- can identify upper and lower case letters
- "reads" environmental print, such as cereal boxes, fast food signs, road signs, and other highly familiar text and images.
Strategies for Parents
Parents who want to foster emergent literacy should employ strategies that make reading a focus in the home, rather than trying to teach disparate skills outside a natural context. The following seven strategies will encourage the development of written literacy in much the same way as speech is learned, through authentic use and practice.
- From birth, provide lots of books, making them accessible to children, even if they end up worn out. Children love to choose and page through their own books.
- Read aloud to children several times a day, such as after meals and before nap and bedtime. Children love to hear the same story over and over as they "learn" it. Young children do not yet realize that the story is in the words and will think the reader has simply memorized the story to tell. In time, they notice the words on the page and gain an understanding of the reading process.
- Let children see the adults in the home reading daily. Talk about reading and why it is enjoyable or useful for gaining information.
- Discuss characters and plots with children as stories are read. Make a game of predicting what will happen next or guessing how a character feels by the expression on his or her face. Ask the children what they would do in a situation like the one the character is in.
- Provide opportunities for book responses….drawing characters, dressing-up, writing (dictating) their own adventures similar to the books they are reading.
- Visit the library regularly and participate in the family literacy activities offered there and by many local school and park districts.
- Limit TV or other screen time, so that children get in the habit at an early age of choosing reading for pleasure.
Conclusion
By following these strategies, parents offer young children a literacy-rich environment where early reading behaviors will emerge naturally and provide a strong foundation upon which teachers will build when they begin formal reading instruction.
Further Reading
Clay, Marie. An Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1993.
National Research Council. Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting Children’s Reading Success. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 1999.
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