Learning to read in early childhood is a process that begins at birth. Terms like "early literacy development" are complex equations that include multiple phases of learning. The complexity doesn't end there: since children learn at different speeds and in different ways, educators must adapt their curricula to promote universal literacy and encourage their pupils to enjoy the learning process.
Pre-Reading
According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the only way to ensure that every child has the chance to reach his full potential is to invest in his first three years. One of these key investments involves setting the foundation for lifelong reading skills. By reading to children from infancy through toddler years, you give them the tools they need to read independently. KidsHealth, part of The Nemours Foundation's Center for Children's Health Media, says that reading to your children can: help them learn the alphabet, inform them that words are made up of smaller sounds, help them develop a large vocabulary of words that they know how to use, and teach them that marks on the page signify letters and words. These skills prime children for reading.
Stages of Early Literacy
Children learn to read in multiple stages. "Emergent" readers are generally in the age range of pre-kindergarten to first grade. They can generally write some letters (typically those in their own names) and pretend to read by combining information from images with what they remember hearing in the story. Children in the "early" reader stage are often in the first through second grade. They can recognize most letters by name and apply their knowledge of letters and sounds to try to read words. Children in the "early fluent/fluent reader" category are typically in the second through third grades. They can usually recognize many words with or without context and use their new word analysis skills to determine new words.
Early Reading Skills
Every successful reader has five main skills: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, reading comprehension and fluency. Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, recognize and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) while speaking. Phonics is the ability to connect written letters with the appropriate sounds. Vocabulary is the range of words readers need to know in order to communicate well. Reading comprehension is the ability to interpret the meaning behind words. Fluency (or oral reading) is the ability to read text quickly and accurately.
Approaches to Teaching
Two primary methods of teaching children how to read are the phonics approach and the whole language approach. The phonics approach focuses on teaching children to associate printed letters and letter combinations with the sounds they make. The whole language approach focuses on encouraging children to understand the meaning behind what they read. Whole language teachers will incorporate reading lessons throughout the day's subjects. Since every child learns differently, Learning Disabilities online (the national educational service the PBS station in Washington, D.C.) recommends balancing the curriculum with both approaches.
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a common learning disability that prevents the brain from breaking a word down into sounds, making it difficult to write and think about the sounds that make up the word. If learning disabilities such as dyslexia are noticed early on, they don't have to prevent affected children from being as successful as their peers. The sooner they are taught helpful reading and writing strategies, the better success they will have.
