Early language and literacy (reading and writing) development begins in the first three years of life and is closely linked to a child's earliest experiences with books and stories. The interactions that young children have with such literacy materials as books, paper, and crayons, and with the adults in their lives are the building blocks for language, reading and writing development. We now know that children gain significant knowledge of language, reading, and writing long before they enter school. Children learn to talk, read, and write through such social literacy experiences as adults or older children interacting with them using books and other literacy materials. Looking at early literacy development as a dynamic developmental process, we can see that the first three years of exploring and playing with books, singing nursery rhymes, listening to stories, recognizing words, and scribbling are truly the building blocks for language and literacy development.
Big Ideas
Language, reading, and writing skills develop at the same time and are intimately linked. • Early literacy development is a continuous developmental process that begins in the first years of life.
Early literacy skills develop in real life settings through positive interactions with literacy materials and other people.
Early Literacy Behaviors
Book Handling Behaviors - Behaviors related to a child's physical manipulation or handling of books, such as page turning and chewing.
Looking and Recognizing Behaviors related to how children pay attention to and interact with pictures in books, such as gazing at pictures or laughing at a favorite picture. Behaviors that show recognition of and a beginning understanding of pictures in books, such as pointing to pictures of familiar objects.
Picture and Story Comprehension Behaviors that show a child's understanding of pictures and events in a book, such as imitating an action seen in a picture or talking about the events in a story.
Story-Reading Behaviors Behaviors that include children's verbal interactions with books and their increasing understanding of print in books, such as babbling in imitation of reading or running fingers along printed words.
Boston University Medical Center, Erikson Institute, & Zreo to Three. 2014. Early Literacy. Retrieved from www.zerotothree.org/BrainWonders Risa. April 2012. Culture, Language, and Literacy. Retrieved from http://www.glogster.com/risa2wmu/culture-language-and-literacy/g-6lson3ar6v49eflt6ami0a0