Supporting
Language and
Early Literacy:
at Home
and in
Early Childhood
and Community Settings
Session 1:
Vital Components
Our Mission:
To engage in a collaborative process to develop and disseminate cross-systems early literacy professional
development that is evidence-based and culturally responsive to address the needs of all children, birth through five
Early Literacy Advisory Group
Wisconsin
Parent
Education
Initiative
Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council
For more information, please contact: Gaye Tylka, Project Coordinator, [email protected]; 608.786.4844
Your
…
• (insert your name/title here)
• Insert your co-presenter’s name/title here)
for this Session …
• Become familiar with standards that apply to
language and early literacy development for
children, birth through 5 years
• Identify and define the vital components of an
early literacy program
• Describe strategies adults can use to support
language and early literacy development
for today’s Session
Check-in Activity
Discussion in pairs or small groups:
• What do you hope to achieve by participating
in this session?
• What are your expectation of the facilitator(s)
in this session?
Guidance from the Wisconsin Department
of Public Instruction:
• Deliver content-rich curriculum with challenging
but achievable goals in ways that honor and
respect the unique learning needs of young
children
• Use a play-based curriculum to develop self
regulation, language, cognition, and social
competence
• Core or universal curriculum should include
support for all developmental domains and
content areas as described in the WMELS
The Wisconsin Model for Response to Intervention: Applications in Early Childhood Settings. WI Dept. of Public instruction,
June 2012 http://www.collaboratingpartners.com/curriculum-assessment-rtl-for-preschool.php
Dual Language Learners (DLLs)
“Children, birth to 5, who are learning 2 or more
languages at the same time, as well as those learning a
second language (English) while continuing to develop
their home or first language.”
As cited in Language in Play: Introduction to the Early English Language Development (E-ELD) Standards,
Webinar 2013 www.wida.us/EarlyYears
• Universal practices, the foundation for meeting the
needs of all children, includes differentiated
instruction
• Adaptations and modifications to
meet
the needs of individual children
essential – it’s
Developmentally
Appropriate Practice
(DAP)!
Dual Language Learners (DLLs)
For guidance and support for serving DLLs, refer to the
following resources:
• WIDA Early Years
www.wida.us/EarlyYears
• Wisconsin Early Childhood Collaborating Partners
Serving Dual Language Learners Facts and Tips:
http://www.collaboratingpartners.com/dual-language-learnersfacts-and-tips.php
• Office of Head Start
Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center
https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/cultural-linguistic
Exposure to print, books and
read alouds are important, but
not enough to prepare children
to become readers and writers.
Intentional teaching - using shared (dialogic) reading,
shared writing, and multiple opportunities to interact
with writing, letters, sounds, and spoken words - is
necessary.
Children might also need some explicit
developmentally appropriate instruction to learn
vocabulary, phonological awareness, the alphabet,
and print concepts.
WISCONSIN MODEL EARLY LEARNING STANDARDS
Teaching Cycle
Assessment
Gathering information to determine what the child
can do and what the child is ready to learn
• Data Collection
• Data Analysis
Implementation
Providing meaningful,
experiential activities that
support individual and group
goals guided by supportive
interactions and relationships
Planning and Curriculum Goals
Deciding what should be done to
promote development and what we
want children to learn
• Needs Identification and Prioritization
• Planning (Strategy/Indicators)
Based on learning standards and
current research, what are the vital
components of early literacy?
Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards
(WMELS)
Domain III. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
AND COMMUNICATION
A. Listening and Understanding
A.EL.1 - Derives meaning through listening to
communications of others and sounds in the
environment
A.EL.2 - Listens and responds to
communication with others
A.EL.3 - Follows directions of increasing
complexity
Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards
(WMELS)
Domain III. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AND
COMMUNICATION
B. Speaking and Communicating
B.EL.1 - Uses gestures and movements (nonverbal) to communicate
B.EL.2 (a, b & c) Uses vocalizations and spoken
language to communicate (includes language
forms - syntax, semantics, and pragmatics)
Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards (WMELS)
Domain III. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
AND COMMUNICATION
C. Early Literacy (2011 Update)
C.EL.1 - Develops ability to detect, manipulate, or
analyze the auditory parts of spoken language
C.EL.2 - Understands that the alphabet represents
sounds of spoken language and letters of written
language
C.EL.3 - Shows appreciation of books and how print
works
C.EL.4 - Use writing to represent thoughts or ideas
Early Literacy
Wisconsin Common Core State Standards
(CCSS) – English Language Arts (ELA)
• What is expected of students
by the end of 5-year-old
kindergarten (5K) & beyond
• To identify the alignments &
connections between
WMELS – Literacy and the CCSS-ELA for 5K:
http://bit/ly/earlyliteracy
Reading
Foundational
(RF)
Informational
Text (RI)
Reading
For more info:
http://standards.dpi.wi.gov/
stn_ela-tchingandlrng
ELA
Writing
Literature (RL)
Speaking &
Listening
Language
Research-based Early Literacy Content Areas
• Oral Language
(WMELS A. Listening & Understanding & B. Speaking &
Communicating)
•
Vocabulary
(WMELS A. Listening & Understanding & B. Speaking &
Communicating)
• Phonological Awareness
(WMELS C. Early Literacy)
• Alphabet Knowledge
(WMELS C. Early Literacy)
• Concepts about Print
(WMELS C. Early Literacy)
•
Writing
(WMELS C. Early Literacy)
Primary Source: Roskos, K., Lenhart, L. & Noll, B. Early Literacy Materials Selector: A
Tool for Review of Early Literacy Programs, Corwin/SAGE, Thousand Oaks, CA., 2012
Elements of early literacy development are interrelated and interdependent
Oral Language
Writing
Vocabulary
Goal:
A Literate
Young Child
Concepts of
Print
Phonological
Awareness
Alphabet
Knowledge
National guidance
Children need 3 sets of interrelated skills and
knowledge, taught and cultivated over time, to
reach reading proficiency:
• language and communication skills
• content knowledge
• “mechanics” of reading
A Governor’s Guide to Early Literacy: Getting All Students Reading by Third Grade,
National Governors Association, Washington, DC., 2013
http://www.nga.org/files/live/sites/NGA/files/pdf/2013/1310NGAEarlyLiteracyReportWe
b.pdf
Growing Wisconsin Readers
• A statewide initiative of the WI Department of
Public Instruction, rooted in public libraries, to
provide caregivers of young children with early
literacy information
• Describes developmental literacy characteristics
for each age group
• Suggests books for each age group
• Tips on how to read effectively with babies,
toddlers, and young children
What is “oral language”?
• Phonology (sounds used in a given
language)
• Syntax (grammar/structure of language)
• Semantics (word meaning, vocabulary)
• Pragmatics (social aspects of language)
Tompkins, G.E. Literacy in the Early Grades, 4th Ed., Pearson Education, USA, 2015
Halliday, M. Language as a Social Semiotic: The Social Interpretation of Language and Meaning, University Park
Press, Ann Arbor, MI, 1978
Dramatic Play
Center
A telephone, magazines, and occupational photos are
strategically located by these chairs to create a space for
children to interact and engage in conversation.
Book Center
PUPPETS add an extra dimension to the book area for pretend play, story telling
and re-telling. The poster explains to observers what children are learning while
engaged with puppets.
Art Center or
anywhere
Photos of families and children are displayed on the back of this shelving unit at eye
level. Children visit this display often, engage in conversations about their families, and
use their names in print as models when signing their art projects.
Storytelling
• An oral tradition in many cultures
• Enhances language and literacy curriculum
• Supports vocabulary growth, listening,
comprehension, an other early literacy
components
• Another method of differentiating instruction
What is “vocabulary”?
• Meaning of words
• Often refers to the quantity and
quality of words a child
understands and uses
• Research shows increased
vocabulary and experience with
language leads to greater success
in school
Environmental Print “Word Wall”
ABC “owls” set the stage for the children to bring in their favorite words,
labels, and logos for display.
Discovery & Math Center
Non-stereotypical and culturally rich photographs are found in each center that depict occupations and
include print to build vocabulary.
Check-in with Daily
Question
As children arrive, they respond yes/no
to the daily question by placing their
name tag in the corresponding column.
Discovery & Math Center
Print, numerals, and vocabulary building are all evident in this display.
33
Language and Literacy:
Preparing our Children for 3rd Grade Literacy Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D.
Clip #1 - Introduction
Clip #2 – Language Foundations
What is
“Phonological Awareness”?
• Hearing and understanding the different
sounds of a spoken language
• Ability to hear, identify and manipulate
individual sounds in words (phonemic
awareness)
• Develops along a continuum of complexity
(Beginning - rhymes, beginning sounds,
segmentation)
Source:
http://www.earlyyearsliteracy.com/uploads/4/2/5/4/425
4519/phonological-awareness.gif
Clapping
Hey, diddle,
diddle
The cat &
the fiddle
SPEAKING & SINGING
Nursery Rhymes
listening
DRUMMING,
RHYTHMS
What is
“Alphabet Knowledge”?
• Names letters and their sounds
• MORE than reciting or singing the ABCs
• Includes “alphabetic principle” –
Understands …
=> letters have specific sounds
=> a letter is a symbol
=> symbols grouped together form
words
=> strings of words form sentences with
communicative intent
Large Group Area
Evidence suggests connecting names and sounds of alphabet letters to
children’s names is an effective way to introduce the alphabet.
What is
“Concepts about Print”?
•
•
•
•
Understands that print carries a message
Environmental print
Spoken words can be written down and read
English “Conventions of print” – moves left-toright; upper/lower case letters, punctuation,
etc.
• Book characteristics (front/back/spine)
Classroom Print / Prompts
Children learn independence and functional use of print when they are provided with instructional
prompts such as this one for
dressing to go outside.
Dramatic Play Center
Books and print are incorporated into this area to reflect real
kitchen environments and functions of print.
Story book Read Alouds
Don’t forget the essential role of families in supporting
language and early literacy development!
Snack Center
Children decide when they want snack and, using print and pictures, serve
themselves. Two to four chairs at the table offer an opportunity for children to
engage in conversation while they eat. An adult can join in to support language and
appropriate social interaction.
What about “writing”?
• Begins with scribbles
• Preschoolers often combine print with drawing
• Understands that thoughts/words can be
represented through symbols
• Shared writing
• Name writing
• Foundation for formal writing later
Writing Center
Children find a variety of writing tools, papers, cards, prompts and
activities to use here.
Discovery & Math Center
Writing options and experimental toys are always available on
this table, at just the right height for children.
Large Group Area
Morning message is read aloud
during large group time and used
to target literacy concepts of print.
Double Focus!
Highly effective teachers and caregivers…
provide daily, intentional language and early literacy
learning opportunities for the children they serve, and …
engage families in providing daily, intentional
language and early literacy learning opportunities for their
own children!
Winton, P.J., McCollum, J.A., & Catlett, C. Practical Approaches to Early Childhood Professional Development: Evidence, Strategies, &
Resources. Zero to Three, Washington, DC., 2008
Wrap-up
• What information is new to you? How will
this information impact your practice?
• Share additional ways you support language
and literacy learning in your setting.
• What questions do you still have about
teaching early literacy?