Emergent Literacy refers to the literacy development that occurs before children learn to read. The importance of the birth through preschool years cannot be overemphasized. A wide range of experiences with printed and spoken language, from infancy through early childhood, will strongly influence a child’s future success in reading. Research consistently shows that the more children know about language and literacy before they enter school, the better equipped they are to succeed in reading. 

 

Read on for an overview of six areas that are important to emergent literacy development!

1) Phonological Awareness

Phonological Awareness is an awareness of the sounds in spoken language. Learning to pay attention to the sounds in words is important because when children learn to read they will be matching those sounds to print, as they learn the sounds that letters make.

Sharing nursery rhymes, fingerplays, and books and songs that involve language play are all ways to build phonological awareness that young children will enjoy.

2) Language and Vocabulary Development

Language and vocabulary development are key components of early literacy. A child’s oral language, both receptive and expressive, provides the foundation for understanding lessons in school. Listening and speaking skills can be thought of as the “building blocks” of literacy development!

Reading and talking about books together is a wonderful way to build a child’s vocabulary. Having conversations with adults has been shown to be the best way to develop children’s oral language.

3) Letter Recognition

Learning about letters and developing an understanding of the alphabetic principle are important skills for school readiness. Children who can recognize some letters (particularly those in their names), and who understand that letters represent the sounds in words and this is how we read and write, are well on their way to becoming readers!

Sharing age appropriate alphabet books, giving children the opportunity to explore letter shapes with magnetic and foam letters and encouraging them to experiment with writing are all developmentally appropriate ways to build letter recognition and an understanding of the alphabetic principle.

4) Narrative Skills and Comprehension

Narrative skills and comprehension are terms referring to understanding a story as it is read. Comprehension can be thought of as "the goal" of reading. Research shows that children who have the opportunity to listen to and talk about lots of stories in the preschool years will develop an understanding of narrative, or story, structure and story language.   

Giving young children opportunities to interact with a story by making predictions, retelling parts of the story, and talking about their favorite parts will encourage them to be active and engaged listeners. This will help to set the stage for them to become active, engaged readers when they learn to read!

5) Concepts About Print

Concepts about print is referring to book and print awareness. This includes knowing the parts of a book, how to hold a book and turn the pages, that print tracks from left to right and top to bottom, and the idea that print conveys meaning. Understanding these basic concepts about print helps to prepare children for formal reading instruction in school.

Sharing books with children provides a natural vehicle for emphasizing these concepts. Pointing to and reading the title and author of the book, talking about the cover picture, occasionally running your finger along the print as you read are all ways to build an understanding of concepts about print.

6) Print Motivation

And last but not least is the area of Print Motivation. Getting children excited about books and reading is so important for emergent literacy development! Helping them start school with this motivation in place will go a long way to ensuring reading success!

Having books in the home, letting children see that the adults in their life value reading and writing, giving books as gifts, etc., are all ways to foster print motivation. Visits to the public library are fun (and free) outings that will get young children excited about books and reading! Check out their storytime offerings in your neighborhood. Most libraries offer wonderful, engaging programs that foster all of the above mentioned emergent literacy concepts!