This document discusses early literacy research and strategies to strengthen early literacy skills in young children. It summarizes findings that show low-income children often enter kindergarten less prepared in early literacy skills like letter recognition and phonological awareness. Research also finds that preschool classrooms often do not devote enough time to developing oral language and other literacy skills. The document recommends strategies for developing skills in oral language, print awareness, alphabet knowledge, and phonological awareness to help prepare all children for success in kindergarten.

1. Early Literacy Foundations
Penny Danielson
South Carolina Department of Education
September 26, 2014

2. Goals for Today
• Early Literacy Research
– National Research
– S.C. Research
• Strategies to Strengthen Early Literacy
• Read to Succeed and Early Learning
• Readiness Assessment
• Q & A
2

3. Building Literacy Foundations
Reading and Early Learning Team 3

4. Beginning Kindergarten Students’ School Readiness Skills by
Socioeconomic Status (SES)
Lowest SES Highest SES
Recognizes letters of the
alphabet
39% 85%
Identifies initial sounds of
words
10% 51%
Writes own name 54% 76%
Hours read to before
kindergarten
25 1,000
Accumulated experience with
words
13 million 45 million
Source: S.B. Neuman, “From rhetoric to reality: The case for high-quality
compensatory prekindergarten programs,” Kappan 85 (2003): 286-291.

5. 30 Million Word Gap
“Children in poverty hear 30 million
fewer words by the time they are four
years old than children with
professional parents.”
-Hart and Risley, 1995
If you haven’t heard the words,
you can’t speak or understand the words
to later read the words.

6. Preschool Classrooms can
Provide many opportunities to
Foster Oral Language…
But is this actually happening????
6

7. Time Spent on Early Literacy
• Researchers looked specifically at how much of the
preschool day was spent devoted to early literacy and
language. This would include:
– Book readings,
– children looking at books on their own,
– writing,
– activities to encourage expressive oral
language, and
– alphabet /letter sounds.

8. National Center for Early Development and
Learning Findings
A surprisingly high percentage of the pre-kindergarten
day is spent eating meals and
performing routines like hand-washing or
standing in line.
Additionally, children are not engaged in
constructive learning or play a large
portion of the day.
Children have relatively few meaningful
interactions with adults during the pre-k
day.

9. Findings on Time devoted to
Language and Literacy
• Read to (child is being read to by an
adult) (5%)
• Pre-read/read (child is reading or exploring
books on his/her own or with peers) (3%)
• Letter/sound learning (phonemic awareness
activities) (4%)
• Oral language development (child is
involved in activities where teacher is trying
to build expressive language) (7%)
• Writing (writing, pretending to write) (2%)

10. Results from a Multi State SWEEP Study

12. S.C. Early Childhood Classrooms
SC data in 2007 revealed these findings:
• Pre-K classrooms – Similar low scores in to
the national average scores using the CLASS
instrument in the areas of concept development
and teacher interactions.
• Classroom literacy environments ranked below
average on ELLCO – measures of literacy and
language

13. 13

14. National Early Literacy Panel (NELP)
Developing Early Literacy (2009)
Synthesis of all high-quality scientific
research that identified preschool and
kindergarten skills that predict later
reading

15. NELP Findings
Found These Highly-Significant Predictors
of Successful Literacy:
– Oral Language: Vocabulary and Syntax
– Alphabetic Knowledge
– Phonological Awareness
– Print Knowledge/Concepts
National Early Literacy Panel: Developing Early Literacy (2009)

16. Focus on Literacy Areas
Oral
Language
Phonological
Awareness
Alphabet
Knowledge
Print
Awareness

17. Oral Language Identified as Key to
Reading Success
Vocabulary at age 3 predicts
reading comprehension scores at
age 9-10.
(Hart and Risley, 2003).

18. From age 3 onward a child should
build a vocabulary store of at least
2,500 words per year. He or she
should encounter and explore at
least 2 words each day.
Roskos, Tabors, & Lenhart (2004), p. 1.

19. Oral Language Development
• To read effectively, children need to be able to express and
understand ideas fully.
• They need to understand that stories have:
– events that occur in sequence
– characters
– beginning, middle, end
• They need to be able to respond to questions and ask questions to
clarify what is not understood

20. What Can We Do?
– Read aloud!
– Hold meaningful conversations
– Record language experience stories
– Engage in shared book experiences
– Tell stories from wordless picture books
– Encourage children to make connections
with the text

21. Enrich children’s vocabulary by:
21
• Using varied words.
• Expressing ideas in full
sentences
• Expanding the child’s
comments, but don’t take
over
• Presuming their
knowledge about a topic is limitless

22. Planning Purposeful Multiple
Readings of Children’s Books
PD for Teachers on Effective Preparation
– Planning form
– High Quality Children’s Books
• Vocabulary
• Background knowledge

24. Concepts About Print
An understanding of how print works is crucial to
reading
– print conveys meaning, not pictures
– print is tracked from left to right and top to
bottom
– you read words not pictures
– The left page is read before the right
– words are separated by spaces

26. Print-Rich Classrooms
Let’s Take a Look….
Literacy-Rich Classroom Environments
ELLCO – Early Language and Literacy
Classroom Observation tool
Pre-K – K and K-3, Research Edition
Brookes Publishing

27. Learning about the Alphabet
The question is not
should we teach the
alphabet,
but
how do we teach
the alphabet?

28. Alphabet Knowledge
• Ability to name letters is an excellent
predictor of early reading achievement
– consists of two parts
• recognizing letters
• writing letters
• Introduce letter knowledge embedded
within the context of words so children
see it meaningfully

29. Alphabet Knowledge
What to do?
– Read alphabet books (put in centers!)
– Provide children’s names and interesting
words in writing center
– Provide letter stamps and picture stamps to
match
– Always start with what children know!
(Names)
– Provide opportunities for children to write
(not copy) their names

30. “Teaching” Alphabet Knowledge
NAEYC and IRA recommend young children
learn about letters and sounds of language as
part of early literacy experiences in
meaningful and relevant ways (1998).

31. Interesting Writing Centers and
Materials

32. Early Alphabet Knowledge through Writing
Writing looks more “writing like”
Disconnected scribble with letter-like
forms, letters
Bridge, Pierce et al 2009

33. “Once the children get into the routine of writing,
they develop ownership over their work. They gain
control over their writing when they can choose their
own topic, paper, and format, whether to work alone
or with a friend, and how to share their work.”
Bobbi Fisher, Joyful Learning, 1998
South Carolina Department of
Education

34. Names Everywhere!
How could you make “name puzzles”?

35. The Name Game

36. Alphabet Toys and Books

37. Writing to Make Center Choices

38. Alphabet in Block Center

39. Phonological Awareness:
Getting the p-words straight
• Phonological awareness refers to the whole
spectrum from beginning awareness of speech
sounds and rhythms to rhyme awareness and
sound similarities and, at the highest level,
awareness of syllables or phonemes
• Phonemes are the smallest units in speech

40. Phonological Awareness Development
1
2
3 4
5 6 7 8

41. Phonological Awareness Development
1
Listening
2
Rhyming
3
Alliteration
4
Syllables
5
Beginning
Sounds
Onsets
6
Ending
Sounds
Rimes
7
Medial
Sounds
middle
8
Phonemes
Segmenting and
blending

42. Phonological Awareness
• Becoming attentive to the sound structure of language
-- becoming phonologically or phonemically aware --
is an “ear” skill, unlike phonics, which is the relation
between letters and sounds in written words
• One of the best ways to teach letter/sound relations is
to draw attention to initial sounds (onsets) and word
endings (rimes)
• Phonological processing is the ability to identify,
remember, separate (segment), blend, and manipulate
speech sounds within words

43. Phonological Awareness Provides the Foundation
for Later Phonics Instruction
• By listening at ages 2, 3, and 4, children are
beginning to gain experiences with sounds and
characteristic rhythms and structures
• Explicit phonics instruction in 5K and 1st grade
builds on these listening skills but means doing
whatever is necessary to teach children all the
information and skills they need to learn to
read…but doing so appropriately--NO
WORKSHEETS!

44. Sample Materials to Enhance
Phonological Awareness

45. I’m thinking of something that
begins with the sound…

46. Letter-Sound Games that go with
children’s books

47. Pointers for Children to Use to Find
Beginning Sounds

48. Enhancing Phonological Awareness
• Studies have shown that just 20 minutes three times a
week over four months has a dramatic difference in
children’s awareness
• Phonological awareness activities can happen throughout
the day
– During transition activities, routines, and play:
• Play rhyming games to call attention to rhyme
• “One two three, come along to me” What two words rhyme?
• Offer fun chances for segmentation of morphemes and syllables
• Can you say only a little bit of “butterfly?” What would butterfly be
without the butter?

49. “Becoming literate in the modern world is
indeed an increasingly complex task.
Reading and writing abilities don’t just
happen. They are acquired, nurtured and
refined through the acts of those who
provide appropriate instructional contexts
and support.”
Strickland, D.S.
Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey

50. Critical Elements…….
• print-rich classroom with numerous children’s books,
fiction and non-fiction at varying levels, and
• significant time in daily schedule devoted to language and
literacy development, and
• developmentally appropriate literacy curriculum which
guides intentional teaching of literacy and language skills,
as well as background knowledge, and
• prevalence of small group and one-on-one teacher/child
time, with intensity based on the changing needs of
students, and
• hands-on educational materials in centers to support
alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, oral language
development, and writing

51. • Connect new experiences to what children
already know – SCAFFOLDING
• Make learning experiences meaningful
• Are Purposeful and
– Base decisions on knowledge of child
development
– Plan content based on standards and
curriculum

52. Implement effective, developmentally
appropriate teaching practices—
A plan for implementing teaching practices
proven effective in raising literacy achievement,
guided by standards and evidence-based
research, delivered in a literacy-rich environment
to authentically engage all young children.
****S.C. Good Start, Grow Smart Early
Learning Standards currently being revised.

53. NAEYC and IRA Joint Position Paper on Reading
and Writing – NAEYC.org
https://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSR
EAD98.PDF
The official statement of the National Association of
the Educators of Young Children and the
International Reading Association on appropriate
practices for preschoolers literacy areas. It is a good
resource for teachers, administrators, and parents.
South Carolina Department of
Education

54. Recommendations for Plan of Action
• Findings from two S.C. Early Literacy projects
provide models for replication
– Professional development – sustained over time
with on-site technical assistance
– Assessment and Screening tools
– Focused, literacy curricula
– Literacy-rich classrooms
– Partnerships And Involvement of Parents/families

55. Read to Succeed
and Early Childhood
• Pre-K to be an important part of the State,
District and School Literacy Plans
• In-class intervention for students with
Language and or Literacy learning needs
55

56. Early Childhood Interventions
What is an intervention for Pre-K?
• Developmentally appropriate activities
• Small groups and one-on-one intervention for up
30 minutes per day in total.
What is not an intervention?
• Assigning students to a computer lab to complete
an online program.
• Requiring students to complete worksheets.
R2S Office
Reading and Early Learning Team

57. Read to Succeed Impacts EC
• Pre-K - Expanded and Strengthened
• Effective Early Language / Literacy teaching
strategies
• Statewide Readiness Assessment
• Language and Literacy Assessment in 2014-15
• Additional Domains in 2016-17
• All 4K and 5K students to be assessed
• State Department, Office of Assessment funds and
provides PD on administration
57

58. Purpose of the Readiness Assessment
To provide teachers and parents with information to
address the readiness needs of each student,
especially by identifying language and literacy
needs, so teachers can plan for small groups and to
individualize as well as to involve the parents in
meeting each child’s needs.
Additionally, decisions can be made as to whether
further diagnostic assessment is needed.
58

59. Readiness Assessment
• Readiness Assessment required by Read to Succeed
Legislation (page 5 and page 10):
• EC Stakeholders developed characteristics RFP
• The Request for Proposal (RFP) – approved by State
Board of Education, July 9, 2014
• “Off the Shelf” Assessment –procured through a bid
process by Budget and Control Board in August
• Must be administered within first 45 days of enrollment
• Contact Office of Assessment with questions related to
administration: Kevin Fatica kjfatica@ed.sc.gov
(803) 734-8282
59

60. For More Info about
Readiness Assessment
Kevin Fatica
Office of Assessment
SC Department of Education
Phone: (803) 734-8282
kjfatica@ed.sc.gov
South Carolina Department of
Education

61. tinyurl.com/readingtosucceed
R2S Office
Reading and Early Learning Team

62. It’s Up to You…
Make a Difference for our
Children
62

63. Contact Information
Penny Danielson, Early Learning and
CDEP Coordinator
pdanielson@ed.sc.gov
803-734-8251
R2S Office
Reading and Early Learning Team

64. Questions

65. .
Every Child Will Enter Kindergarten
Prepared to Succeed

66. Primary Resources
1. “Research and Practice in the Field of Early Literacy Learning.”
(November 2013). Getting on Track Early for School Success:
www.norc.org/gettingontrack
2. “From rhetoric to reality: The case for high-quality compensatory
prekindergarten programs,” Susan Neuman: Kappan 85 (2003): 286-291
3. National Center for Early Development and Learning Findings
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/4283, retrieved:
Sept. 23, 2014.
4. S.C. Education Oversight Committee CDEPP Evaluation, 2008
5. CLASS Assessment: http://teachstone.com/the-class-system/
6. ELLCO Assessment: http://www.brookespublishing.com/resource-center/
screening-and-assessment/ellco/ellco-pre-k/
7. Hart and Risley, Meaningful Differences: research implications, 1995,
http://www.strategiesforchildren.org/eea/6research_summaries/05_Meaningf
ulDifferences.pdf
R2S Office
Reading and Early Learning Team