1. Development of Literacy: Reading and Writing
Chapter Outline and Summary
Chapter Outline
Case Study: Phyllis and Benjamin Jones
Theories of Literacy Development
• The Information Processing Perspective
• The Whole-Language Perspective
• The Sociocultural Perspective
• Critiquing Theories of Literacy Development
Literacy in the Early Years
• Emergent Literacy
• Effects of Early Literacy Experiences
Development in Reading
• Development of Phonological Awareness
• Development of Word Recognition
• Development of Reading Comprehension
• Chall’s Stages of Reading Development
• Approaches to Reading Instruction
• General Strategies for Promoting Reading Development
Development in Writing
• Development of Handwriting
• Development of Spelling
• Development of Composition Skills
• Development of Syntax and Grammatical Rules
• Development of Metacognitive Processes in Writing
• General Strategies for Promoting Writing Development
Developing Literacy in a Second Language
Diversity in Literacy Development
• Gender Differences
• Socioeconomic Differences
• Ethnic Differences
• Cross-Linguistic Differences
Exceptionalities in Reading and Writing Development
• Dyslexia
• Writing Disabilities
• Helping Children and Adolescents with Reading and Writing Disabilities
Reading and Writing as Facilitators of Cognitive Development
Case Study: The Texas Tutoring Program
Summary
Summary
Theories of Literacy Development
Information processing theorists propose that reading and writing involve the same
mechanisms (attention, working memory, metacognitive strategies, etc.) that are involved in
cognition more generally. Whole-language theorists draw parallels between literacy
development and oral language development and suggest that children learn to read and write
most effectively within the context of authentic literacy activities. Sociocultural theorists apply

2. Vygotsky’s ideas to the development of reading and writing and so emphasize culture-specific
literacy practices, the importance of conversations with adults, and the gradual internalization
of such practices and conversations. The three theoretical perspectives sometimes yield
different implications about how children can most effectively learn to read and write.
Early Literacy
When toddlers and preschoolers have multiple and varied experiences with reading and writing
materials and activities, they learn a great deal about the nature of written language; for
instance, they learn that spoken language is represented in a consistent fashion in written
language and that different kinds of printed materials serve different purposes. Such
knowledge, known as emergent literacy, provides an important foundation for the reading and
writing skills that children acquire once they begin school.
Reading Development
Skilled reading involves knowing letter-sound correspondences, recognizing individual letters
and entire words quickly and automatically, using context clues to facilitate decoding,
constructing meaning from the words on the page, and metacognitively regulating the reading
process. Phonological awareness (hearing the distinct sounds within spoken words), word
decoding skills, and the automatic recognition of many common words typically develop in the
early and middle elementary school years. Reading comprehension and metacognitive
strategies continue to develop throughout childhood and adolescence. Strategies for fostering
reading development include teaching parents strategies for effective storybook reading,
promoting children’s phonological awareness, providing many opportunities to read authentic
literature, and engaging children and adolescents in discussions about what they read.
Writing Development
To become skillful writers, children and adolescents must not only master handwriting and
spelling but must also discover how to communicate their thoughts clearly; learn conventions of
capitalization, punctuation, and syntax; and metacognitively regulate the entire writing effort.
Handwriting is usually mastered in the elementary grades, but other aspects of writing continue
to develop throughout the school years. Educators can promote writing development by asking
youngsters to clarify their goals for writing and the audience for whom they are writing,
organize their thoughts before they begin to write, and focus more on clear communication
than on writing mechanics in early drafts. Teachers should assign authentic writing tasks in all
areas of the curriculum, scaffold students’ initial efforts in various genres of writing, and provide
sufficient criteria and feedback to guide students as they revise their written work.
Literacy in a Second Language
To some extent, children can apply the reading and writing skills they’ve learned in one
language to literacy tasks in a second language as well. However, certain aspects of literacy
(e.g., the particular sounds that letters represent or the direction in which writing proceeds) may
be somewhat language-specific.
Diversity and Exceptionalities in Reading and Writing
On average, girls read and write slightly better than boys, and children from middle- and upper-
income families have better developed literacy skills than children from lower-income families.
Different ethnic groups place greater or less emphasis on literacy activities, and young

3. children’s preliteracy knowledge and skills may vary accordingly. Children who speak
languages with phonetically regular and predictable spelling patterns (e.g., Italian or German)
learn to read and spell more easily than children who speak less regular languages.
Some children who are intellectually gifted have superior reading and writing skills; children
with mental retardation typically show delays in reading and writing. Children with visual or
hearing impairments may show delays as well, due either to little familiarity with the
conventions of written language (in the case of visual impairments) or less ability to capitalize
on letter-sound relationships (in the case of hearing impairments). Yet some children have
reading or writing disabilities despite average or above average intelligence and normal vision
and hearing; such disabilities should be identified and addressed as early as possible, ideally
no later than first grade.
Reading and Writing as Facilitators of Cognitive Development
Reading and writing development can promote cognitive development more generally. When
children and adolescents read regularly, they add to the knowledge base (including knowledge
of vocabulary) that helps them interpret and respond to their experiences. Various writing
activities encourage youngsters to develop such cognitive skills as elaboration, analysis, and
critical thinking.