From Scribbles to Writing Early Literacy Foundations for

From Scribbles to Writing: Early Literacy Foundations for Print Knowledge Lucy Hart Paulson, Ed. D. , CCC-SLP September, 2009

“The more children know about language and literacy before they begin formal schooling, the better equipped they are to succeed in reading. ” (Snow, Burns, and Griffin, 1998)

Definitions • Early literacy learning is defined as the time period from birth to six years of age (Robyak, Masiello, Trivette, Roper & Dunst, 2007, National Early Literacy Panel, 2005). • Early reading occurs in kindergarten into the early elementary grades.

NAEYC : DAP (2009) “The point of the whole preschool-primary spectrum [education] is not for children to learn primary grade skills at an earlier age; it is for their teachers to take the first steps together to ensure that young children develop and learn, to be able to acquire such skills and understandings as they progress in school. ” National Association for the Education of Young Children, Developmentally Appropriately Practice, 2009

Goals • Deepen understanding of the early literacy foundation of print knowledge; • Improve strategies for designing rich activities that enhance children’s understanding of print; • Enhance assessment procedures to make the best use of the data.

Early Literacy Connections

Topics • Perception of literacy development • Developmentally appropriate practice • Scientific-based research findings

What is your perception of early literacy development? • Indicate the number for the following items that best represents your feelings about how children develop literacy. 1= strongly disagree 2 = disagree 3 = undecided 4 = agree 5 = strongly agree

1. In order to learn to read, a child needs to know letters names and letter sounds. 2. Becoming literate is a continuous, developmental process that begins very early in life. 3. Early reading and writing practices exhibited by children result from direct exposure and guidance. 4. To become literate, young children must have many and varied opportunities to read and write.

5. The teaching of literacy must be systematic and sequential in operation. 6. Reading and writing activities should be provided throughout the day in all areas of curriculum. 7. Reading includes the mechanical skill of turning printed symbols into sounds that are language. 8. Play is one of the ways for young children to learn about written language.

What is your perception of children’s literacy development? • Add the scores from items 1, 3, 5, and 7. Evidence-based Reading Research perspective • Add the scores from items 2, 4, 6, and 8. Emergent literacy perspective

Evidence-based Reading Research Perspective • Focuses on a core set of knowledge and skills young children must develop to become successful readers and writers along with the strategies that can be used to teach these skills through explicit instruction.

Emergent Literacy Perspective • Places a heavy value on the social and meaning-based aspects of literacy and creating a learning environment for children to explore and learn.

8 Principles for a BALANCED approach to Early Literacy Instruction 1. Focus on the core skills that are predictive of successful reading. 2. Oral language lays the foundation. 3. Storybook reading is the cornerstone. 4. Create print-rich environments. 5. Provide many opportunities for listening, talking, reading, and writing. 6. Use developmentally appropriate forms of direct instruction.

8 Principles for a BALANCED approach to Early Literacy Instruction 7. Help parents support their children’s language and literacy learning. 8. Early literacy assessment and instruction should be guided by standards that define the knowledge and skills needed to become successful readers and writers. (Vukelich & Christie, 2004)

Long Held Beliefs of Early Childhood Educators • Children learn best through play and not through work. • Children learn best when they direct the pace and content of their own learning. • Children’s mental abilities develop at a natural pace. • When children do not learn something, they are not yet “developmentally ready”; instructional strategies are not to blame. • It is not developmentally appropriate to assess children’s academic skills. (c) Lucy Hart Paulson

National Early Literacy Panel Results • Oral language, phonological processing and print knowledge are strongly predictive of how well children will learn to read and write. • Targeted practices are more likely to be effective than non-targeted practices. • When many unrelated skills are targeted simultaneously, the learning outcomes are not as strong as compared to interventions that focus on a one skill or a set of inter-related skills. Dunst, Trivette, Hamby, 2007

Two best school-entry predictors of how well children will learn to read during the first two years of instruction &Letter Knowledge &Phonemic Awareness National Reading Panel, 2000

Some level of phonemic awareness is necessary for children to begin to understand the: Alphabetic Principle (An understanding of letter - sound relationships)

Alphabet Knowledge Leading to the Alphabetic Principle • Alphabet knowledge - the idea that spoken words are represented by written symbols, is the underpinning of alphabetic understanding. • Alphabetic principle - the understanding that there is a systematic relationship between letters and speech sounds. Alphabetic Principle Alphabet Knowledge Phonemic Awareness

Phonological Awareness Skills Rhyming - production of finger plays, songs - matching and production of rhymes Alliteration - identification and production of words with the same initial sound Blending - combining a sequence of syllables then sounds to produce a word Segmenting - identifying syllables then individual sounds in words Manipulation – deleting, adding, switching sounds within words

Phonological Awareness Skill Ages at which Skills Begin to Develop Rhyming Produce rhymes, finger plays, and songs Match words that rhyme Produce words that rhyme Alliteration Match words with same initial sounds Produce words with same initial sound Blending Combine syllables to produce words Combine sounds to produce words Segmentation Identify syllables in word Identify sounds in words Manipulation change words by deleting, adding, and switching sounds 2 - 3 years 3 - 5 years 5 - 6 years 3 - 5 years 6 - 7 years 3 - 4 years 4 - 5 years 3 - 4 years 5 - 6 years 6 - 7 years and up

Written Language Connections

Topics • Print Awareness • Alphabet Knowledge Leading to the Alphabetic Principle • Becoming a Writer

Print Awareness • Young children’s language and vocabulary becomes more complex as they develop an understanding of how print works; • Teaching children about how print works is a central goal during the preschool and kindergarten years; • When children’s experiences with print are limited, their lack of exposure puts them at risk for developing difficulty in learning to read and write.

Print Awareness Concepts • Recognizing print in the environment; • Understanding that print carries meaning; • Knowing that print is used for many purposes; • Experiencing print through writing.

How Children Develop Print Awareness Concepts Babies and Toddlers – manipulate books by banging, dropping and chewing in them; – Learn how to handle books and turn pages; – Attend to books for short periods of time – Begin to recognize shapes and symbols in their environment; – Enjoy shared book reading.

3 - to 4 -Year-Olds – Begin to learn about the letters of the alphabet; – Recognize signs and logos; – Understands that print is read; – Know that print has different purposes; – Display reading and writing attempts.

5 - to 6 -Year-Olds – Understand that writing is used to convey messages; – Know that print has specific form and symbol structure; – Recognize and read some words; – Recognize, name, and write many alphabet letters.

Developing Print Awareness • Different ages need different strategies; • Many experiences are necessary; • Intentionally guiding children’s learning is important.

Print Awareness Skills • • • Book awareness Identifying print and pictures Symbol recognition Left to right sweeping 1: 1 word correspondence

Magic Mirror Have the children create a “magic mirror” and then use it to find words in the environment. They can write the words on pieces of paper and then make a word book. Younger children may use their mirror to find the target concept that is being taught, such as colors, numbers, letters, animals, etc. BELLS, p. 203 -206

Alphabet Knowledge Leading to the Alphabetic Principle • Alphabet knowledge - the idea that spoken words are represented by written symbols, is the underpinning of alphabetic understanding. • Alphabetic principle - the understanding that there is a systematic relationship between letters and speech sounds. Alphabet Knowledge Alphabetic Principle

Developing Alphabet Knowledge • When learning alphabet letter names, young children typically: – Recognize and name a few letters (especially the ones in their names); – Recognize beginning letters in familiar words; – Learn more capital and lowercase letters; – Relate some letters to the specific sounds the letters represent. (Neuman et al. , 2000)

• Preschoolers know that the alphabet letters are a special category of visual symbols that can be named. • 3 - to 4 -year-olds identify an average of about 10 letters. • 4 - to 5 -year-old preschoolers recognize and name many letters. (Shaywitz, 2003; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998)

Ways to help children learn ABCs and DEFs Place alphabet letters: – Where children can see them; – Where children can refer to them where they work; – Where children can handle them. Neuman, et al. , 2000

ABC “EYE Chart Make a chart of the alphabet letters that follows the pattern of the ABC song. Use it as a song card or in the housekeeping center as an “eye” chart. ABCD EFG HIJK LMNOP QRS TUV WX YZ abcd efg hijk lmnop qrs tuv wx yz BELLS, p. 267 -268

Letter Shape Pieces Cut out half circles and sticks out of some sturdy material such as thin foam, wood, cardboard, etc. You need 2 large half circles, 2 large sticks, 3 small half circles, and 3 small sticks to make all the letters. This combination makes one set. By creating multiple sets, you and your children can make letters and words with the pieces.

Becoming a Writer • Preschool children who are encouraged to express themselves on paper – without feeling constrained for correct spelling and proper handwriting – have a better understanding of that writing has a real purpose. (Sulzby, 1985)

Why Writing is Important • When children are encouraged to produce their own writing they feel comfortable taking risks and exploring their sense of written language. • Young children who have had regular opportunities to express themselves on paper, without feeling too constrained for correct spelling and proper handwriting, have a better understanding that writing has real purpose. • Encouraging writing during the preschool years and praising children’s attempts to write have become standard practices in early childhood settings.

What About Handwriting? • Young children often write using big letters and often have a lot of line overruns (Schickendanz & Casbergue, 2004). • Movements using a rigid fist grip come from the muscle of the upper arm and not smaller hand movements. • With time and with activities that help develop small muscle control, they learn to relax their muscles and form the lines, circles, and scribbles that start to resemble writing (Machado, 1999).

What Young Children Do • Writing is a complex process that develops with familiarity and experience with the writing process at different rates with spurts and lags. • Children typically like to play with writing and begin to move from imitating patterns to creating them. • They begin to attend to specific print such as the letters in their names and will write messages which they expect adults to read.

Print Developmental Sequences 1. Pre-conventional 2. 3. 4. 5. - Scribble Mock Letters Random Letter Strings Semi-phonetic Phonetic Transitional Conventional

Stage 1 Preconventional Phase • Logographic stage of literacy development • 3 levels of writing with no letter/sound connection • typically occurs between the ages of 2 through 4 years of age - Scribble - Mock letters - Random letter strings

Stage 2 Semi-Phonetic Phase • Early alphabetic stage of literacy development • Beginning awareness of the connection between the alphabet letters and the speech sounds • Typically begins in late preschool years and into kindergarten

Stage 3 Phonetic Phase • Later alphabetic stage of literacy development • Close letter/sound correspondence • Typically begins in kindergarten and 1 st grade

Stage 4 Transitional Phase • Well-developed understanding of the alphabetic principle and the written structures of print • Typically begins in 2 nd to 3 rd grade Pleese pass the pees.

Stage 5 Conventional Phase • Orthographically and grammatically correct print • Typically begins into the later elementary grades. Please pass the peas.

• Identify which level of print development each of the following represents:

“His face got away. Him teeth got away. Him eyeballs got away. ”

“The lizard bited the snake. ”

Picture Story/Word Story • A technique that can be used to engage young children in writing by demonstrating for them the developmental levels of writing. • This approach helps children feel comfortable writing at their own level and helps them move onto the next level. BELLS, p. 323 -324 and Appendix G

Hints for making this activity work: • Let each of the children have their own draft book or journal book to use when it is their “kid” writing time. • They should be encouraged to not only draw pictures but also write at their developmental level. • We need to model the next levels of print for them showing them how writing works and provide many opportunities to write.

Assessing children’s writing provides useful indicators of their level of print development and their understanding of the sound structure of language.

Continuum of Print Knowledge Activities • • “kid writing” dictating stories to us to write for them writing letters learning how to shape them writing their names and other words drawing playing with letters etc…

Examples of Print Development Activities Picture Story / Word Story Have the children draw a picture on the top half of a piece of paper or in a journal and write a describing sentence on the bottom half of the page. Encourage them to use their own creative writing. Do not focus on correct spelling. BELLS, p. 323 -324

• Describe the components of print knowledge. • What skills do children need to learn the alphabetic principle? • Describe the stages and characteristics of print development. • Describe developmentally appropriately strategies to facilitate print development in young children.

Assessment Connections

Topics • What is Assessment • Why Assessment is Important • What Do We Need to Assess

• Brainstorm and list all the types of assessments you use? Make a list of the types of assessments the participants currently use on chart paper.

What is Assessment is a process not an event.

Why Assessment is Important • Accountability – for children’s learning and program effectiveness • Early Identification – using validated predicative indicators – to help children who are not learning at the expected rate reach their maximum potential

Early Language Indicators for Literacy Difficulties 2 ½ YEARS 3 YEARS 4 YEARS 5 YEARS - produce only short, simple sentences - less accurate word production - receptive language problems - difficulty naming items, objects, people - may have phonological patterning problem - word junction problems - problems differentiating similar sounding w - problems distinguishing and producing complex sound clusters and complex word - poor naming - poor rhyming - poor letter and sound knowledge - poor phonemic awareness

What Do We Need to Assess? • Oral Language • Phonological Awareness • Print Knowledge

Early Literacy Checklist Language Use Phonological Awareness Print Knowledge Adapted from Building Early Literacy and Language Skills, Paulson (2001)

Early Academic Skills • 2007 meta-analysis identified early math skills as an important predictor of later academic success. (Duncan et al. 2007) 70 (c) Lucy Hart Paulson

What About Play? • Play is vital to children’s social, emotional and cognitive growth – perhaps the most important tool our children have to work through new experiences, ideas, and feelings. • American children now spend almost twice as much time in supervised, structured settings as they did two decades ago (Carlsson-Paige, 2008). 71

What About Play? • Children’s play has become far less creative, with children mimicking what they have seem in the media, rather than coming up with it by themselves (Carlsson-Paige, 2008). • Electronic toys often keep children learning at the surface level – telling children what to do – leading to passive learning. • Toys such as handheld video games can easily become a substitute for social interaction. 72

What About Play? • Children are absorbing media of all kinds for hours a day. – 8 to 18 -year-olds spend an average of nearly 6½ hours per day consuming media (Roberts, Foehr, Rideout, 2005). – 2 to 7 -year-olds average 3 hours of “screen time” – 68% of under the age of 2 average just over 2 hours of screen use (Kaiser survey, 2003). 73

Impact of “Screen Time” • Studies have shown that TV viewing affects early brain growth and the development of social, emotional, and cognitive skills (American Academy of Pediatrics). • There is an association between media viewing and language development in children under age 2 years (Zimmerman, Christakis, Meltzoff, 2007). 74

The brain is activity-dependent. Neural circuits need to be consistently activated over time to be strengthened. Those that are rarely excited may be dropped away. 75

What do we do? 76

Important Experiences for Literacy Learning • Both formal and informal interactions including: – – – – Shared storybook reading Interactive conversations Storytelling and role-playing Rhyming games and finger plays Word play and games Print rich materials Writing opportunities • Using Developmentally Appropriate Practice 77

Deepen our own understanding of the processes involved in children’s learning, so we can do the best job we know how. 78