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What
is Emergent Literacy?
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Emergent
literacy is a term first used by Marie Clay to describe how
young children interact with books and when reading and writing,
even though they could not read or write in the conventional
sense. A vast amount of research has since been done within
the fields of psychology, child development, education, linguistics,
and sociology. Emergent literacy is a gradual process that
takes place over time from birth - until a child can read
and write in what we consider to be a conventional sense.
A key to the term literacy is the interrelatedness of all
parts of language: speaking, listening, reading, writing,
and viewing. It is never too early to begin reading to a child.
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Elements
of Emergent Literacy
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The
process of learning to read and write begins very early in a
child's life. Children have contact with many forms of communication
right from the start. Most children can identify common signs
and logos by the age of 2-3. They will begin to experiment with
written forms of communicating by scribbling long before they
can read.
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Reading
and writing develop at the same time in young children and are
interrelated. Children do not learn how to read first and then
learn how to write. Writing is often easier for some children
to begin with than reading.
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The
functions of reading often promote the learning of reading.
Literacy often develops from the need in real life situations
to get something done or to read so that they can learn. Literacy
is not a set of isolated skills, but rather a set of processes
that children see as a means to achieve goals.
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Children
learn literacy through active engagement with books and writing
opportunities. Children reconstruct their knowledge by rereading
favorite books and by using invented
spelling.
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Listening
to books plays a very important role in the literacy development
of children. Reading to children each day is one of the most
beneficial ways in which a parent can promote literacy. Children
develop a feel for the nature of written language at a very
early age by listening to books read aloud. They begin to understand
the function of reading and develop a positive attitude towards
it.
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Children
pass through the stages of emergent literacy in different ways
and at different ages. These developmental stages lead to the
skills needed for both reading and writing acquisition.
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Parents
can promote early literacy development for infants by:
* introducing cloth or cardboard books with brightly colored
pictures
* reading books that have rhyme, rhythm and repetition
like nursery rhymes
* pointing out words in the environment (such as on signs,
etc) and explaining the meaning of the words |
Parents
can promote early literacy development for toddlers and
preschoolers by:
* surrounding children with a literature rich environment
filled with books, magazines, games, etc.
* reading simple stories with one central character and
a basic plot
* responding to questions your child might have about
print in your house or elsewhere in the environment
* supporting early writing by making sure that paper,
crayons, pencils and markers are available |
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