Early Reading and

Scientifically-Based Research
Implications for Practice in Early Childhood
Education Programs
National Association of State Title I Directors Conference
February 2003
Melanie Kadlic & Mary Anne Lesiak
Office of Student Achievement & School Accountability
U.S. Department of Education
Why is High-Quality Preschool
Important?
• 68% of low-income 4th graders cannot read
at the proficient level. (NAEP, 2000)
• 90% chance that a poor reader at the end of
1st grade will be a poor reader at the end of
4th grade. (Juel, 1988)
• A majority of reading problems can be
prevented in preschool and the early grades.
(NRC, 1998)
 Why is High-Quality Preschool
Important?
• Children in high-quality preschools display better
language, cognitive and social skills than children
who attended low-quality programs.
(Cost, Quality and Outcomes, 1999)
• Children who participated in cognitive focused
preschools were less likely to repeat a grade or be
referred to special education. (Art Reynolds,
2000)
We know that…

• There is an indelible connection between

language development, vocabulary, and
early reading.
• Knowledge and content have an important
role in developing language, cognition, and
early reading skills.
• Reading is a learned skill, not a biological
awakening.
We know that…

• Children need coherent, intentional

instruction in the preschool years.
• The literacy environment at home and in
school makes a difference.
• Reading aloud to children is very important.
• Preschool teachers need sustained high
quality professional development.
We know that…

• All developmental domains are closely

related.
• Growth in language and cognition should
occur in the context of the other areas of
development, including social, emotional,
and physical.
 A Place to Start

• Cognitive Development
• Language Development
• Book Reading
• Classroom Environment
• Professional Development
 Federal Programs that Support
Early Reading

• Title I, Part A
• Even Start Family Literacy Program
• Early Reading First
• Early Childhood Educator
Professional Development Program
 Early Childhood Cognitive
Development

“From birth through age 5, children are developing

the language, thinking, physical, emotional, and
social skills that they will need for the rest of their
lives.”
-Helping Your Pre-School Child, 2002
 Early Childhood Cognitive
Development

What do we mean by “early childhood

cognitive development” ?

Children's development of knowledge, skills,

and dispositions, which help them to think
about and understand the world around them.

- Teaching Our Youngest, 2002

 Early Childhood Cognitive
Development
Why is it important to stimulate children’s
cognitive development from the moment they are
born?
• Research shows a strong connection between a
child’s cognitive development early in life and their
later success in school and life.

e.g.: Children who can distinguish the building blocks

of speech at 6 months are better at acquiring the
skills for learning to read at 4 and 5 years of age.
(Good Start, Grow Smart)
 Early Childhood Cognitive
Development

What developmental research tells us about how to

promote children’s cognitive development:
• Young children learn most effectively from quality
interactions with caregivers.
• Teachers support children’s learning through scaffolding,”
which refers to a broad of interactive styles that support
the young child’s attention, cognitive and language skills.
• Scaffolding occurs in everyday situations.
- Dr. Susan Landry, 2001
 Early Childhood Cognitive
Development
What types of scaffolding can teachers provide that result in
optimal cognitive and social outcomes for children?
• Providing classroom environments that expose children to print and materials
that foster their understanding of concepts
• Responding to children’s requests and signals promptly and sensitively
• Maintaining and expanding on children’s interests in specific learning
activities
• Providing children with choices and prompting children to make thoughtful
decisions
 Developing Listening and
Speaking Skills

Through conversation with peers and teachers, children gain

valuable language skills that are vital for their success in reading
and writing. It is important for teachers to:
• Ask open-ended questions that invite children to expand upon their
answers
• Present new words to children to expand their vocabularies
• Respond to questions and let children take the conversational lead
so they may build their language skills
• Gently reinforce the rules of good listening and speaking
throughout the day
 Teaching about the Sounds of
Spoken Language

Phonological awareness refers to children’s

ability to notice and work with the sounds in
language.
Research shows that how quickly children
learn to read often depends on how much
phonological awareness they have when they
begin kindergarten.
 Teaching Strategies to Promote
Phonological Awareness
• Choosing books to read aloud that focus on sounds,
rhyming and alliteration
• Inviting children to make up new verses of familiar
words or songs by changing the beginning sounds of
words
• Playing games where children isolate the beginning
sound in familiar words, and generate rhyming words
 Teaching about Letters

Research shows it is important for young children to be able to:

•Recognize and name letters
•Recognize beginning letters in familiar words (especially their
own name)
•Recognize both capital and lowercase letters
•Relate some letters to the specific sounds they represent

Teachers can reinforce teaching about letters through the

classroom environment, by providing letters as manipulatives,
by playing games with letters, and by helping children write
letters.
 Building Children’s Background
Knowledge and Skills

The more children know about their world, the easier it is

for them to read and learn when they get to school.
Teachers can help children build knowledge by:
• Providing opportunities to explore and work with
materials in a variety of ways in order to develop concepts:
e.g., cooking, taking care of plants, dramatic play.
• Sharing informational books. Use books with photos or
illustrations that children can easily understand.
 Why is Reading Aloud to
Children Important?

It helps them acquire the information and skills they need in

life, such as:
• Knowledge of printed letters and words, and the
relationship between sound and print.
• The meaning of many words.
• How books work, and a variety of writing styles.
• The world in which they live.
• The difference between written language
and everyday conversation.
• The pleasure of reading.
 Strategies for Reading Aloud

• Make reading enjoyable by choosing a

comfortable place to read.
• Establish a pattern of reading frequently to
children.
• Help children learn as you read.
• Ask children questions as you read.
• Encourage children to talk about the book.
• Read many kinds of books.
• Reread favorite books.
Book Reading vs. Book Sharing

Book Reading Book Sharing

• The adult reads the • The child assists the
book to the child. adult in telling the
The adult is the story. The child and
center in the process. the adult share the
reading process.
Strategies that Encourage Shared
Reading
Teach Children About Books:
• Know how to handle the book appropriately.
• Recognize book features such as the front and back
covers, and the top and bottom, of the book.
• Understand that a book has a title, was written by
an author, and has drawings done by an illustrator.
• Recognize that printed letters and words run from
left to right and from top to bottom.
Strategies that Encourage Shared
Reading
Prior to Reading the Book
• Page through the book with the child.
• If re-reading a favorite, ask the child to recall what
happens in the book.
• If reading a new book, ask the child to make
predictions.
– What do you see in the pictures?
– What do you think this book is about?
– What do you think will happen in the book?
• Listen to the child’s answers.
Strategies that Encourage Shared
Reading

While reading the book prompt the child to talk

about the book.
• Ask What, Where, When, Why and How
– What is that?
– Where do you think they are?
– What time is it in the story?
– Why do you think she did that?
– How do you think he felt?
– How did they do that?
Strategies that Encourage Shared
Reading

• Encourage the child to complete a part of

the sentence.
– Four little monkeys jumping on the ___,
One fell off and broke his ___.
Strategies that Encourage Shared
Reading

• Relate events in the book to activities and

events in the child’s life.
– Remember when we…?
– Have you ever seen…?
– When was the last time you felt…?
– What’s your favorite…?
Strategies that Encourage Shared
Reading

• Allow time for the child to respond.

• Give the child appropriate feedback.
• Expand the child’s response.
Basic Classroom Structure that
Encourages Development of
Language & Literacy
 Why is the Environment
Important?
“That the environment influences children’s
behavior is a well-established maxim in early
childhood education. As children engage in their
environment, they adapt their intellectual tools to
meet new situations or challenges, integrating
thought and action. Both their mental and their
physical processes are the means by which
children achieve new understandings and
developing skills.” (Roskos & Neuman, 2001)
 Divide Classroom Space by
Activity

• Classroom is divided by cupboards, screens or tables to

define activities.

• Smaller spaces encourage greater language and

collaboration, extended and richer conversation.
 Enhance Dramatic Play Area

• Many classrooms include a housekeeping area for

dramatic play.

• Add other authentic settings such as a bank, office,

library, grocery store, flower shop, or zoo.
 Have A Comfortable Place to
Read
• The library should be inviting and provide lots of
comfortable space for children to curl up with a book!

• Also encourage children to extend their reading

experience with puppets, writing materials and
listening equipment.
 Allow Access to a Variety of
Books
Books are
• Attractively displayed.
• Accessible to children.
• Diverse, including storybooks, alphabet & counting
books, non-fiction concept books, and picture books
from a variety of authors and publishers.
 Allow Access to a Variety of
Books

• Change the collection of books in the classroom

based on the topics being studied in class using
the local public library.

• Choose books that portray the cultural and

language backgrounds of the children.
 Have a Writing Center
The Writing or Journal Center is
•Attractive.
•Central to the room.
•Equipped with writing implements and paper.

Also, encourage children to identify themselves as

writers.
 Provide Opportunities to Write
Throughout the Room

• Place paper, pens, pencils, crayons throughout the

room.
• Encourage students to “write.”
• Allow students to observe teachers writing.
 Display Children’s Work

Children’s work should be displayed throughout the

room.
 Creating a Print Rich
Environment

A print rich classroom is one in which

children interact with many forms of print
including signs, labeled centers, wall
stories, word displays, labeled murals,
bulletin boards, charts, poems and other
printed materials.
 Research on Print in the
Environment

•Design changes in literacy areas in the classroom

that children see outside of the early childhood
environment (e.g., cookbooks, writing tools
telephone books newspapers) foster more
involvement and increased literacy events (Hall,
1978)
•Preschool children spontaneously used almost
twice as much print in their play than they did
prior to the environmental changes (Neuman &
Roskos, 1989)
 Research on Print in the
Environment

It is important for young children to:

• Recognize print in their surroundings.
• Understand that print carries meaning.
• Know that print is used for many purposes.
• Experience print through exploratory writing.
 Caption Photographs, Pictures,
and Drawings

• Discuss pictures and captions with children.

• Encourage children to dictate their labels for their
own artwork.
 Post Information

• Feature posters, calendars, and bulletin boards that

display information.
• Build activities around engaging children in this
information.
 Label Objects and Areas of the
Room

• Meaningful print displayed throughout the room.

• Objects that children see and use in their lives are
labeled.
• Print is placed at children’s eye level.
 Include Printed Items for
Dramatic Play

Ideas include
• Menus, order pads, play money
• Recipes, empty food cartons, marked
measuring spoons and cups
• Memo pads, envelopes, and address labels
Professional Development
Activities

The statutory definition lists 15

activities that a grantee must include
in a context relevant to preschool,
some of which are…
High-quality Professional Development
includes activities that:

Improve and increase teachers’

knowledge of the academic subjects
they teach, and enable teachers to
become highly qualified.
High-quality Professional Development
includes activities that:

• Are an integral part of broad school-wide and

district-wide educational improvement plans.
• Give staff the knowledge and skills to provide
students with the opportunity to meet challenging
state academic content and student academic
achievement standards.
• Are aligned and directly related to these standards
and assessments, and to curricula and programs
tied to them.
High-quality Professional Development
includes activities that are:

High-quality, sustained, intensive, and

classroom-focused in order to have a
positive and lasting impact on classroom
instruction and the teacher’s performance in
the classroom.
High-quality Professional Development
includes activities that:

Advance teacher understanding of effective

instructional strategies that are:
– Based on scientifically based research
– Strategies for improving student academic
achievement or substantially increasing the
knowledge and teaching skills of teachers
High-quality Professional Development
includes activities that are:

Developed with extensive participation of

teachers, principals, parents, and
administrators of schools to be served under
the ESEA.
High-quality Professional Development
includes activities that are:

• Designed to give teachers of limited English

proficient children, and other teachers and
instructional staff, the knowledge and skills to
provide instruction and appropriate language
and academic support services to those
children, including the appropriate use of
curricula and assessments.
• Provide instruction in methods of teaching
children with special needs.
High-quality Professional Development
includes activities that:

Are, as a whole, regularly evaluated for their

impact on increased teacher effectiveness
and improved student academic
achievement, with the findings of the
evaluations used to improve the quality of
professional development.
 High-quality Professional
Development includes activities that:

Instruct teachers on how to use data and assessments to

inform and instruct their classroom practice.
Having information about children’s progress helps teachers
plan their teaching, and can help teachers identify children
who need special help.
Teachers can monitor children’s progress by:
• Observing them in daily activities and interactions.
• Collecting samples of their drawings, paintings, and writing.
• Keeping notes about what they say and do.
• Encouraging them to talk about their own progress.
• Using valid screening tools.
• Talking with parents and caregivers about children’s progress.
High-quality Professional Development
includes activities that:

Include instruction in ways that teachers,

principals, pupil services personnel, and
school administrators may work more
effectively with parents.
 Early Reading and
Scientifically-Based Research
Thank you for attending!

Melanie Kadlic Mary Anne Lesiak

Eceprofdev@ed.gov ERF@ed.gov