Early Childhood

Language And Literacy Development Chapter 5
DEVELOPING LITERACY SKILLS
Literacy development includes acquisition of oral language,
listening skills and the ability to read and write.
This begins at birth and continues in the home environment,
in social situations, and in preschool classrooms
as children interact with caring adults. Children learn
about language through everyday experiences. Songs,
chatter during diapering, at mealtimes or while riding
in the car; conversations with adults, and listening and
imagining during story time all contribute to literacy
development. The skills of learning to listen and speak
develop as children gradually become members of their
family unit and social groups.
Over time, as their circles of relationships widen,
children witness the power of listening and speech,
and the pleasure of reading and communicating orally
and through writing. They are immersed in literacy,
provided with direct instruction, encouraged to practice,
and motivated by adults who model, guide and
support.
The preschool years have an enormous influence
on children’s later success as speakers and readers.
Irrefutable research shows that a sizeable vocabulary
accurately predicts later academic performance in the
primary grades. The power of letter knowledge cannot
be underestimated. Providing opportunities to develop
print awareness, such as learning letter names, comparing
letter shapes and recognizing meaningful words
yields strong readers. The challenge is to create intel-
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lectually engaging settings that do not teach these components
in isolation but, rather, weave them into interesting,
complex experiences.
There is a great deal of information on literacy
and language development available to teachers and
administrators. This section builds on Connecticut State
Department of Education documents that focus on expectations
for literacy skills and concepts, and provide
guidance to preschool teachers. These include:
• Early Literacy Development: A Focus on Preschool,
(1999);
• The Connecticut Framework: Connecticut’s
Preschool Curriculum Framework, 1999 (and
2005 and 2006 reprints);
• Connecticut’s Blueprint for Reading Achievement,
2000; and
• Family Literacy Initiatives (See Family Literacy
section of Child/Family/School Partnerships
on Connecticut State Department
of Education website).
Early childhood teachers play vital roles in fostering
the development of these skills, which are critical
to preschool children’s future success as readers and
writers, and in life. This section reviews content and
teaching practices most appropriate for preschool children
based on scientifically based reading research. Key
principles in current research include those found in the
chart on pages 72 and 73.