Transcript Definition of Emergent Literacy

Definition of Emergent Literacy
Refers to the fact that young children learn
about books, print, and writing long before
they can read and write or before going to
school. This term was first used in 1966 by
Marie Clay, and developed further from the
80s. Emergent literacy also emphasizes the
relationship between reading writing,
listening and speaking.
Emergent literacy
 From 0-4/5 years
 Timing established by nurture, not nature
(how is this different from language
development?)
 Current emphasis is 1) preparation for
kindergarten 2) preventing academic &
reading difficulty, ultimately academic
failure.
Some indicators of emergent literacy
development
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Pretend writing.
Pretend reading from favorite books.
Listening to stories.
Producing fictional narratives.
Detecting rhymes.
Identifying major elements of a book.
Acting out stories.
Pointing out familiar words in the environment.
Producing nursery rhymes.
Components of emergent literacy
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Oral language
Emergent writing (pretend writing).
Print knowledge
Alphabet knowledge
Phonological awareness.
What puts a child at-risk for
emergent literacy challenges?
 Intrinsic factors Extrinsic factors
 Interaction between intrinsic & extrinsic
factors.
Group activity (in pairs)
 Think of one negative intrinsic and one
negative extrinsic factor and try to figure out
a possible way they may interact.
 Think of one positive intrinsic and one
positive extrinsic factor & try to figure out
how they may interact.
Emergent literacy: disturbing facts
 50% of American children enter school with a risk
factor that will affect their performance (e.g.,
abuse, poverty, etc).
 0nly 24% 4th graders are proficient readers.
 37% of 4th graders read below grade level.
 Proficient children by ethnicity: white: 41%,
Hispanic: 15%; Black: 13%.
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See: National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2004
 A poor reader in 1st grade will remain a poor
reader in 4th grade (probability of .88)
Some evidence-based approaches
to helping children develop
emergent literacy skills
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Storybook reading intervention.
Print-rich environments
Literacy-rich play settings
Mediated writing
Formal curricular