Literacy: Today's Child

What
is involved in 'literacy'?

reading

writing

calculating

signing

When
does 'literacy training' begin?

Literacy skills are being formed from day one. Babies are learning that what they see and do is communicating a message

we begin our 'signing' education early-- augmentative communication-- with hand signs for hungry and bye-bye

recognizing cereal boxes, the Golden Arches (etc.), and 'stop signs' are three examples of early reading skills

Reading 'Components' some information adapted from "All Kinds of Minds" The skill of reading can be broken into two different components: decoding and comprehending. One must recognize the various components of words and then connect meaning to them -- both individually and as parts of sentences.
Decoding Decoding involves phonetics and whole word recognition. To read well one must be able to decode words quickly and correctly.
Sound Rhyming	Sound Blending	Sound Symbols
rhyming activities develops ability to focus on different components of a word	blending sounds together (or separating them) develops ability to recognize parts of the whole, remembering each part	recognizing the symbols and knowing what they represent is the third key to breaking the code of the written word
play rhyming games	divide compound words / syllables / phonemes	combine phonetics with whole word recognition
Combining different strategies to decode words gives children the tools to conquer reading. exposure to spoken word-- stories, songs, poems exposure to music--building the "neuro-connections" which assist with the rhythm of speech, as well as sensory-visual-physical learning provide visual cue cards for individual letters as well as sight words physically copying words assists the visual-spatial learning abilities play word games which practice labeling, word blending/separating sound words out -- recognizing the different letters, letter combinations look at words as a whole to encourage word recognition 'on sight' read, read, read
Comprehending Once the word is decoded, one must understand the meaning. Reading with meaning brings the written word to life. This process involves many different skills. one must be able to decode new words and recognize familiar ones-- and one must be able to do this quickly to not lose the affect the other comprehension tools one must be able to remember the other words of a sentence and their meaning one must be able to attend to the word, the sentence, the story, and the pictures as parts of a whole one must be able to use cues from the sentence, story, pictures to assist developing awareness of the context one must use imagery to create a world for the words to live in Other tools we can provide: label objects around them--in their room, in their house/school set up the environment conducive to reading/ concentrating assist them with decoding new words prior to reading sentences/ paragraphs help them look at pictures and previous text to predict what will happen next and what words they will be encountering provide books and stories that of interest to the child have them write their own books let them photograph objects to include in their stories or that represent things from what they are reading let them act out the stories, find music which represents the story, paint the 'world' they envision have them recap after a paragraph or certain amount of time don't break the flow of their process with 'annoying' questions/ tip building help them ask questions prior to reading (reading further): What do I know about the story? What do I think will happen next? What are the key words that I will see? don't over-extend reading time
RECAP

How can we help our children read?

expose them to letters, to symbols, to words

read to them, read with them

discuss pictures, words, stories

help them identify cues that will assist them

ask questions (examples )

write to them, write with them

play word / phonics games (see below)

expand their vocabulary: add descriptive words, provide proper terminology

match words with 3d objects and activities

expose them to 'things' and 'activities'

use their strengths to develop their skills

acknowledge efforts and accomplishments

help them make their own books

let them make pictures about the stories, play games, explore and research the topic

Story Cues:
By Looking At the Pictures...

what do you think this story is about?
what do you think is going to happen next?
how are they feeling?
what are they doing?
what happened before?
what words do you think we will find in the story?
have you seen this word before?
can you find your initial in any of these words?

Don't forget about WRITING the words --- if the graphomotor skills can't keep up, then a child is still struggling with communicating.