What is Early Literacy?

True or False? Early literacy begins at birth.

TRUE!

From the moment your baby is born, he or she is constantly taking in and learning new words, ideas, concepts, and emotions. The process of getting ready to read begins long before a child’s first day of kindergarten. Children’s brains are naturally wired to be curious and make connections in the world around them.

Here are just a few examples of ways your baby is showing early literacy development:

• Making sounds
• Imitating facial expressions
• Babbling
• Pointing to pictures
• Turning pages in a book
• Imitating hand movements (i.e., fingerplays)
• Holding a crayon

Early Literacy Defined

"Early literacy refers to what children know about communication, language (verbal and nonverbal), reading, and writing before they can actually read and write. Early literacy encompasses all of a child’s experiences with conversation, stories (oral and written), books, and print."

(Source: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families, www.zerotothree.org)

Sing, Talk, and Read, DC (STAR) is a citywide campaign that was initiated by Mayor Vincent C. Gray last year, which focuses on the importance of singing, talking, and reading with your child to help develop early literacy skills.

Singing helps children learn, memorize, and enjoy new words and rhythms. It also helps children break down and understand the smaller sounds and syllables in words. Picture books by Jane Cabrera such as Row, Row Your Boat add fun verses and colorful pictures to already well-known songs and tunes. 

Talking with children through conversation or storytelling increases the amount of words they hear per day, and proportionally increases their vocabularies. Try telling a story to your little one using a wordless picture book by David Wiesner, such as the 2014 Caldecott Honor Winner Mr. Wuffles.

Reading aloud is not only an important bonding experience to have with your child; it is the single most important way to help your child be ready to read. It also helps motivate a child to read for enjoyment. It is never too early to read to your child. According to Dr. Sally E. Shaywitz, the author of Overcoming Dyslexia, a child can gain 1.8 million words per year by reading only 20 minutes a day. Choose to read a story with great new vocabulary words and wonderful rhythm and rhymes such as Grumpy Gloria by Anna Dewdney.

Interested in more early literacy tips?  Attend a storytime at your local library and check back next month for the next tip in this Early Literacy Series.