Parent Involvement in Early Literacy
When it comes to early literacy success and subsequent academic accomplishment, parental participation is the most important predictor. But according to a 2007 assessment by the National Endowment for the Arts, the number of literate persons in the United States who do not read exceeds the number of people who are genuinely illiterate in terms of literacy. What can we do to alter this pattern for the sake of our children’s future?
PreK/Early Childhood Development Domains
Early childhood educators and parents are well aware that preschool-age children require a great deal of modelling as they progress through social/emotional, cognitive, and gross/fine motor skills development. In the recent decade, many experts in the field of education have stressed the relevance of play-based curriculum and the critical role it plays in the development of a child’s creativity and social skills. Through programmes that fall under the SEI (Social/Emotional Skills) umbrella, such as anger control, problem-solving, and empathy skills, children learn how to get along with people throughout their preK and early elementary school years, as well as throughout their early childhood. Kindergarten teachers are appreciative of the early role that prekindergarten teachers perform in this first modelling and development of children. PreK learning activities such as cutting, sketching, sorting, painting, catching, throwing, kicking, hopping, and leaping help to develop both fine and gross motor abilities in the young child.
Cognition Domain: Early Literacy Needs Today
Recent prekindergarten research, on the other hand, has focused primarily on cognition within early childhood development, as well as on the role of parental participation in prekindergarten reading development. The value of daily adult/child reading time, as well as having 100 or more books in one’s home, has been stressed in previous early literacy study, and these factors have been linked to a kid being academically ready and successful in kindergarten. Recent study has demonstrated that reading as a stand-alone activity will not benefit children who are developing pre-literacy competencies (Phillips et al., 2008). Unfortunately, the most recent research on parent participation in early literacy has found that children need to be taught more specific skills while being read to in order to be successful with early literacy abilities, which is contrary to popular belief (Roberts, Jurgens, & Burchinal, M., 2005).
Parent Involvement: What Skills Need to be Part of a Daily Routine?
Parental involvement in early literacy has been shown to be associated with increased academic attainment. Children require regular practise with their reading role models from their parents in order to navigate successfully through the early stages of literacy development. In accordance with research, parents should concentrate on the words on the page when reading with their prekindergartener (Evans, Shaw, Bell, 2000).
Here are some ideas for achieving literacy achievement for both starting and experienced readers:
As you read, make a point of pointing to each word on the page. This early literacy technique will assist children in forming connections between printed text, stories, and illustrations. This skill also aids in the development of a child’s ability to follow a line of text from one end to the other.
Read the title aloud to your youngster and ask him or her to offer a prediction. Beginning readers and seasoned readers alike must make predictions before beginning to read a novel. In addition, it will help to ensure that the child’s own reading skills, both now and in the future, will integrate previewing and prediction techniques.
Take “photo walks” throughout the neighbourhood. Make it a point to encourage your child to use the picture clues included in most early readers and picture books to describe the storey before reading it.
While reading, demonstrate fluency and bring your own enthusiasm and energy to the reading experience for your child. When reading aloud, both novice and seasoned readers have difficulty with altering pitch, intonation, and correct variation when speaking. Shared reading will be beneficial to older readers as well (taking turns).
After each book is finished, ask your youngster some follow-up questions. Reading comprehension is the reason we read in the first place — to learn something new. Children at all grade levels are asked to compare and contrast their comprehension of ideas in the new CCORE standards, which measure children’s preparation for the workplace and college in the United States. It takes time and effort to master this skill. Assist your youngster in comparing and contrasting his or her knowledge of a particular narrative with that of another. Inviting your child to relate a personal experience that is comparable to an issue or topic in a storey is a good idea. When children are assessed in school, they are expected to use higher-order thinking skills (critical thinking), which can be demonstrated through written and spoken evaluations. It is impossible for a teacher to require every student to use a critical thinking skill on a daily basis. Parents are able to do so.
If at all feasible, connect your reading and writing. Every day literacy exercise should include the establishment of a relationship between reading, writing, and conversation (or debate). A parent who is writing in a journal or on a piece of paper should listen to a small child dictate. In order for a child to begin to develop a brain connectivity between reading and writing, it is critical that they model the production of sentences that are linked with the words of a tale. A child’s method of creating drawings contributes to the storey by bringing his or her own personal originality to it. A further step toward this early balanced literacy strategy is the sharing of these images of personal experiences and individual interpretations related to the sentence he or she has made on the page by himself or herself.
Literacy from the start and throughout one’s life is transformative and continually growing. To be successful in this endeavour, the process must begin when a child is first learning to read and must be as intuitive to him or her as it was when he or she first began to speak. This can be accomplished through the use of repetition, appropriate skills, and role modelling.