National Network for Child Care's Connections
Newsletter
Peggy Patten, M.Ed.
Staff Development Coordinator
Human Resources and Family Studies
University of Illinois
Copyright/Access Information
There has been a good deal of research that supports the link
between literacy and school success. In fact, failure in reading
in the early grades can lead to failure in later schooling. Consider
the following research findings:
Literacy refers to reading and writing skills, and builds on
oral language skills such as speaking and listening. While formal
teaching contributes to skill development in reading and writing,
substantial growth in literacy occurs outside of school.
Child care providers who spend a lot of time with children, can
foster the development of literacy in children. Listed below are
some measures you can use to determine how literacy-friendly (or
literacy-supportive) your program is. Look around your program:
IS YOUR CHILD CARE ENVIRONMENT 'PRINT-RICH'?
Are there a lot of materials or areas for children to experiment
with letters, words and numbers? These include such items as books
(for children of all ages), labels for children to see and read,
newspapers, magazines, crayons, pencils, paper (of all kinds),
envelopes, chalkboards, magnetic or stamp block letters, typewriters,
notes written for children, cooking or science recipes for children
to use, lists for grocery shopping, directions for children to
refer to in an obstacle course, graphs to read and use, and so
on.
DO THE CHILDREN HAVE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES TO USE THE MATERIALS
IN A MEANINGFUL WAY?
Are there planned activities on a daily basis such as adults reading
a variety of books to children, children reading on their own,
children reading to other children or to adults, reading recipes
in cooking activities, writing and reading letters in a post office
dramatic play, making menus in a restaurant dramatic play? Other
planned activities can include making Valentines or get well cards
for a sick child, sending thank you notes to a local librarian
after a recent visit, making personal dictionaries with words
children can spell, playing cards or board games, journal writing,
dictating stories, and so on. Are there unplanned activities on
a daily basis? Are there places for children to go during free
time where they can read and write?
DO YOU MODEL THE USE OF READING AND WRITING IN REAL LIFE SITUATIONS?
Do you read labels, instructions, and packages to children? Do
you write reminder notes to children about upcoming field trips?
Do you show children that you value books by taking pride in your
collection of books, by using the library often, by taking good
care of books, and by sharing your own enjoyment of good children's
and adult literature?
ARE THERE DAILY OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXTENDED AND MEANINGFUL CONVERSATION?
Meaningful conversation between children and between adults and
children can occur during meal time, after a walk outdoors or
a field trip, before a holiday or other event, or after watching
a movie together.
ARE THERE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE CREATIVE USE OF LANGUAGE?
Do you sing songs with silly words, use rhymes and riddles, create
stories using puppets or a flannel board, or put on skits?
DO YOU HELP CHILDREN MAKE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN LETTERS AND
WORDS?
You can help children understand the rules that govern our printed
language by building on what they already know. For example, you
can point out that a STOP sign begins with the same letter as
Sam's name, that the words "go" and "no" sound
alike, or that Chelsea's name begins with the same sound as the
word "cheese," and so on.
The latest Nation's Report Card on Reading (Foetsch, 1992) found
that most elementary school students reported that they read very
little. In contrast to the seven hours per day the television
set is on in the average home, 82 percent of elementary grade
children reported not reading a single book in the preceding month.
The growing body of research on literacy development and its connection
to school success should persuade us to provide the best literacy-supportive
opportunities we can for children in our care. Getting children
hooked on books early in life is one of the best gifts you can
give them.
Ammon, M. S. (1992). *Reading: The Key To Learning*. University
of California-Berkeley Cooperative Extension.
Ammon, M. S. (1992-93). Literacy development: Problems and possibilities
(Parts 1-4). *Human Relations Newsletter*. University of California-Berkeley
Cooperative Extension.
Foetsch, M. A. (1992, May). Reading in and out of school: Factors
influencing the literacy achievement of American students in Grades
4, 8, and 12, in 1988 and 1990. *The Nation's Report Card.* National
Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Education.