One hundred percent literacy is a relatively modern goal. According to The Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago (n.d.), writing was invented in 3200 BC. However, it was not until the Industrial Revolution, in the 19th century, that large numbers of ordinary people began to read and write. Today, most people believe that becoming a…

Reading readiness activities should lead to awareness and skills that will bring a child to a point on the reading acquisition continuum where he or she will be ready to benefit from more rigorous and formally structured activities in the classroom. Children's awareness of the following five aspects of language and literacy are helpful, if not…

Describes a child's gradual discovery and awareness of the meaning of print and her beginning reading experiences. (HTH)

Expresses a joint statement of concerns about present practices in pre-first grade reading instruction and makes recommendations for improvement. Guidelines and recommendations are the result of a collaboration among six national organizations. (KS)

Day care providers can develop emergent literacy in preschool children by using enlarged versions of books, discussing the books before reading, tracking the printed text while reading, using questioning techniques to illustrate meaning, discussing the stories after reading them, and enlisting parent involvement. (SH)

After introductory remarks on the magnitude of changes that have taken place in early childhood education within the last 30 years, discussion focuses on early childhood research related to cognitive learning, social learning, and literacy. Social learning in kindergarten is discussed in terms of research findings on the effects of positive social…

This brief article uses observational data of a 4-year-old child with a visual impairment to examine the development of early literacy skills through home literacy experiences. (DB)

Considers impact of print awareness on young children learning to read and developing metalinguistic understandings about written and oral language and literacy. Particularly emphasized are the developmental stages of beginning reading, which are supported by a review of research studies and suggest appropriate program content for initial reading…

Examines prereading and beginning reading from both a historical and a current perspective with emphasis on the implications of recent findings on children's literacy learning for instruction. (FL)

This paper examines the benefit of nursery rhymes in literacy acquisition. It begins by discussing the history and attribution of various rhymes and the linkage of nursery rhymes with Mother Goose. It then suggests literacy advantages of children who know nursery rhymes over children who do not, which include the abilities to: (1) learn the…

Describes children's process of constructing their own knowledge by going through one level after another of being "wrong" and relates this process to reading. Describes six strategies children invent and discusses implications for teaching. (AS)

Calls for reforms in instructional practices and curricula control in literacy programs that disenfranchise five- and six-year-olds who have already served for months or years as active members of the literacy club. Illustrated by one child's early literacy and kindergarten experiences. (BB)

Unproven beliefs about the process of reading and its instruction and about the effects of maturation and social structure on learning have obscured the question of what children know about how to read. An alternate conceptualization proposes that to learn to read children must obtain experience in three reading contexts: the use of print and its…

Contends that developing an interest in a particular topic is the first step in getting students ready to read in the social studies. Maintains the teacher must find ways of using what children already know and couple this with their experiential background to fulfill the need for establishing familiarity before reading. (TRS)

Presents picture-based and listening-based lessons designed to enhance teachers' awareness of the processes that lead to comprehension and to provide a framework within which they may develop their own lessons for comprehension awareness. (FL)