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How Most Children
                  Learn to Read

By: Derry Koralek and Ray Collins (1997)

Play is the work of children – through play and interaction, children learn how to talk, listen, read, and write. Read about typical behaviors of emergent and beginning readers, and how each of these behaviors relate to reading and writing.

In this article

Between the ages of four and nine, your child will have to master some 100 phonics rules, learn to recognize 3,000 words with just a glance, and develop a comfortable reading speed approaching 100 words a minute. He must learn to combine words on the page with a half-dozen squiggles called punctuation into something – a voice or image in his mind that gives back meaning. (Paul Kropp, 1996)

Emerging literacy

Emerging literacy describes the gradual, ongoing process of learning to understand and use language that begins at birth and continues through the early childhood years (i.e., through age eight). During this period children first learn to use oral forms of language (listening and speaking) and then begin to explore and make sense of written forms (reading and writing).

Listening and speaking

Emerging literacy begins in infancy as a parent lifts a baby, looks into her eyes, and speaks softly to her. It's hard to believe that this casual, spontaneous activity is leading to the development of language skills. This pleasant interaction helps the baby learn about the give and take of conversation and the pleasures of communicating with other people.Young children continue to develop listening and speaking skills as they communicate their needs and desires through sounds and gestures, babble to themselves and others, say their first words, and rapidly add new words to their spoken vocabularies. Most children who have been surrounded by language from birth are fluent speakers by age three, regardless of intelligence, and without conscious effort.Each of the 6,000 languages in the world uses a different assortment of phonemes – the distinctive sounds used to form words. When adults hear another language, they may not notice the differences in phonemes not used in their own language. Babies are born with the ability to distinguish these differences. Their babbles include many more sounds than those used in their home language. At about 6 to 10 months, babies begin to ignore the phonemes not used in their home language. They babble only the sounds made by the people who talk with them most often.During their first year, babies hear speech as a series of distinct, but meaningless words. By age 1, most children begin linking words to meaning. They understand the names used to label familiar objects, body parts, animals, and people. Children at this stage simplify the process of learning these labels by making three basic assumptions:
  • Labels (words) refer to a whole object, not parts or qualities (Flopsy is a beloved toy, not its head or color).
  • Labels refer to classes of things rather than individual items (Doggie is the word for all four-legged animals).
  • Anything that has a name can only have one name (for now, Daddy is Daddy, and not a man or Jake).
As children develop their language skills, they give up these assumptions and learn new words and meanings. From this point on, children develop language skills rapidly. Here is a typical sequence:
  • At about 18 months, children add new words to their vocabulary at the astounding rate of one every 2 hours.
  • By age 2, most children have 1 to 2,000 words and combine two words to form simple sentences such as: "Go out." "All gone."
  • Between 24 to 30 months, children speak in longer sentences.
  • From 30 to 36 months, children begin following the rules for expressing tense and number and use words such as some, would, and who.

Reading and writing

At the same time as they are gaining listening and speaking skills, young children are learning about reading and writing.At home and in child care, Head Start, or school, they listen to favorite stories and retell them on their own, play with alphabet blocks, point out the logo on a sign for a favorite restaurant, draw pictures, scribble and write letters and words, and watch as adults read and write for pleasure and to get jobs done. Young children make numerous language discoveries as they play, explore, and interact with others. Language skills are primary avenues for cognitive development because they allow children to talk about their experiences and discoveries. Children learn the words used to describe concepts such as up and down, and words that let them talk about past and future events. Many play experiences support children's emerging literacy skills. Sorting, matching, classifying, and sequencing materials such as beads, a box of buttons, or a set of colored cubes, contribute to children's emerging literacy skills. Rolling playdough and doing fingerplays help children strengthen and improve the coordination of the small muscles in their hands and fingers. They use these muscles to control writing tools such as crayons, markers, and brushes.As their language skills grow, young children tell stories, identify printed words such as their names, write their names on paintings and creations, and incorporate writing in their make-believe play. After listening to a story, they talk about the people, feelings, places, things, and events in the book and compare them to their own experiences. Reading and writing skills develop together. Children learn about writing by seeing how the print in their homes, classrooms, and communities provides information. They watch and learn as adults write – to make a list, correspond with a friend, or do a crossword puzzle. They also learn from doing their own writing. The chart below offers examples of activities preschool and kindergarten children engage in, and describes how they are related to reading and writing.

What children might do

How it relates to reading and writing

Make a pattern with objects such as buttons, beads, small colored cubes.By putting things in a certain order, children gain an understanding of sequence. This will help them discover that the letters in words must go in a certain order.
Listen to a story, then talk with their families, teachers, or tutors and each other about the plot, characters, what might happen next, and what they liked about the book.Children enjoy read-aloud sessions. They learn that books can introduce people, places, and ideas and describe familiar experiences. Listening and talking helps children build their vocabularies. They have fun while learning basic literacy concepts such as: print is spoken words that are written down, print carries meaning, and we read from left to right, from the top to the bottom of a page, and from the front to the back of a book.
Play a matching game such as concentration or picture bingo.Seeing that some things are exactly the same leads children to the understanding that the letters in words must be written in the same order every time to carry meaning.
Move to music while following directions such as, put your hands up, down, in front, in back, to the left, to the right. Now wiggle all over.Children gain an understanding of concepts such as up/down, front/back, and left/right, and add these words to their vocabularies. Understanding these concepts leads to knowledge of how words are read and written on a page.
Recite rhyming poems introduced by a parent, teacher, or tutor, and make up new rhymes on their own.Children become aware of phonemes – the smallest units of sounds that make up words. This awareness leads to reading and writing success.
Make signs for a pretend grocery store. Children practice using print to provide information – in this case, the price of different foods.
Retell a favorite story to another child or a stuffed animal.Children gain confidence in their ability to learn to read. They practice telling the story in the order it was read to them – from the beginning to the middle to the end.
Use invented spelling to write a grocery list at the same time as a parent is writing his or her own list.Children use writing to share information with others. By watching an adult write, they are introduced to the conventions of writing. Using invented spelling encourages phonemic awareness.
Sign their names (with a scribble, a drawing, some of the letters, or "correctly") on an attendance chart, painting, or letter.Children are learning that their names represent them and that other words represent objects, emotions, actions, and so on. They see that writing serves a purpose to let their teacher know they have arrived, to show others their art work, or to tell someone who sent a letter.

Becoming readers and writers

By the time most children leave the preschool years and enter kindergarten, they have learned a lot about language. For five years, they have watched, listened to, and interacted with adults and other children. They have played, explored, and made discoveries at home and in child development settings such as Head Start and child care.

Kindergarten

Beginning or during kindergarten, most children have naturally developed language skills and knowledge. They…Know print carries meaning by:
  • Turning pages in a storybook to find out what happens next
  • "writing" (scribbling or using invented spelling) to communicate a message
  • Using the language and voice of stories when narrating their stories
  • Dictating stories
Know what written language looks like by:
  • Recognizing that words are combinations of letters
  • Identifying specific letters in unfamiliar words
  • Writing with "mock" letters or writing that includes features of real letters
Can identify and name letters of the alphabet by:
  • Saying the alphabet
  • Pointing out letters of the alphabet in their own names and in written texts
Know that letters are associated with sounds by:
  • Finger pointing while reading or being read to
  • Spelling words phonetically, relating letters to the sounds they hear in the word
Know the sounds that letters make by:
  • Naming all the objects in a room that begin with the same letter
  • Pointing to words in a text that begin with the same letter
  • Picking out words that rhyme
  • Trying to sound out new or unfamiliar words while reading out loud
  • Representing words in writing by their first sound (e.g., writing d to represent the word dog)
Know using words can serve various purposes by:
  • Pointing to signs for specific places, such as a play area, a restaurant, or a store
  • Writing for different purposes, such as writing a (pretend) grocery list, writing a thank-you letter, or writing a menu for play
Know how books work by:
  • Holding the book right side up
  • Turning pages one at a time
  • Reading from left to right and top to bottom
  • Beginning reading at the front and moving sequentially to the back
Because children have been learning language since birth, most are ready to move to the next step – mastering conventional reading and writing. To become effective readers and writers children need to:
  • Recognize the written symbols letters and words used in reading and writing
  • Write letters and form words by following conventional rules
  • Use routine skills and thinking and reasoning abilities to create meaning while reading and writing
The written symbols we use to read and write are the 26 upper and lower case letters of the alphabet. The conventional rules governing how to write letters and form words include writing letters so they face in the correct direction, using upper and lower case versions, spelling words correctly, and putting spaces between words.Routine skills refer to the things readers do automatically, without stopping to think about what to do. We pause when we see a comma or period, recognize high-frequency sight words, and use what we already know to understand what we read. One of the critical routine skills is phonemic awareness – the ability to associate specific sounds with specific letters and letter combinations.Research has shown that phonemic awareness is the best predictor of early reading skills. Phonemes, the smallest units of sounds, form syllables, and words are made up of syllables. Children who understand that spoken language is made up of discrete sounds – phonemes and syllables – find it easier to learn to read.Many children develop phonemic awareness naturally, over time. Simple activities such as frequent readings of familiar and favorite stories, poems, and rhymes can help children develop phonemic awareness. Other children may need to take part in activities designed to build this basic skill.Thinking and reasoning abilities help children figure out how to read and write unfamiliar words. A child might use the meaning of a previous word or phrase, look at a familiar prefix or suffix, or recall how to pronounce a letter combination that appeared in another word.  

First and second grades

By the time most children have completed the first and second grades, they have naturally developed the following language skills and knowledge.         

They…Improve their comprehension while reading a variety of simple texts by:
  • Thinking about what they already know
  • Creating and changing mental pictures
  • Making, confirming, and revising predictions
  • Rereading when confused
Apply word-analysis skills while reading by:
  • Using phonics and simple context clues to figure out unknown words
  • Using word parts (e.g., root words, prefixes, suffixes, similar words) to figure out unfamiliar words
Understand elements of literature (e.g., author, main character, setting) by:
  • Coming to a conclusion about events, characters, and settings in stories
  • Comparing settings, characters, and events in different stories
  • Explaining reasons for characters acting the way they do in stories
Understand the characteristics of various simple genres (e.g., fables, realistic fiction, folk tales, poetry, and humorous stories) by:
  • Explaining the differences among simple genres
  • Writing stories that contain the characteristics of a selected genre
Use correct and appropriate conventions of language when responding to written text by:
  • Spelling common high-frequency words correctly
  • Using capital letters, commas, and end punctuation correctly
  • Writing legibly in print and/or cursive
  • Using appropriate and varied word choice
  • Using complete sentences
The chart below offers examples of activities children engage in and describes how they are related to reading and writing.

What children might do

How it relates to reading and writing

Discuss the rules for an upcoming field trip, watch their teacher write them on a large sheet of paper, and join in when she reads the rules aloud.Children experience first-hand how different forms of language – listening, speaking, reading, and writing – are connected. They see language used for a purpose, in this case to prepare for their field trip. They see their words written down and hear them read aloud.
Look in a book to find the answer to a question.Children know that print provides information. They use books as a resource to learn about the world.
Read and reread a book independently for several days after the teacher reads it aloud to the class.Children read and reread the book because it's fun and rewarding. They can recall some of the words the teacher reads aloud and figure out others because they remember the sequence and meaning of the story.
Read some words easily without stopping to decode them.Children gradually build a sight vocabulary that includes a majority of the words used most often in the English language. They can read these words automatically.
Read words they have never seen before.Children use what they already know about letter combinations, root words, prefixes, suffixes, and clues in the pictures or story to figure out new words.
Use new words while talking and writing.Children build their vocabularies by reading and talking, sharing ideas, discussing a question, listening to others talk, and exploring their interests. Using new words helps them fully understand the meaning of the words.
Recognize their own spelling mistakes and ask for help to make corrections.Children understand that spelling is not just matching sounds with letters. They are learning the basic rules that govern spelling and the exceptions to the rules.
Ask questions about what they read.Children understand that there is more to reading than pronouncing words correctly. They may ask questions to clarify what they have read or to learn more about the topic.
Choose to read during free time at home, at school, and in out-of-school programs.Children learn to enjoy reading independently, particularly when they can read books of their own choosing. The more children read, the better readers they become.

Key Points About Development

  • Children develop in four, interrelated areas – cognitive and language, physical, social, and emotional.
  • Most children follow the same sequence and pattern for development, but do so at their own pace.
  • Language skills are closely tied to and affected by cognitive, social, and emotional development.
  • Children first learn to listen and speak, then use these and other skills to learn to read and write.
  • Children's experiences and interactions in the early years are critical to their brain development and overall learning.
  • Emerging literacy is the gradual, ongoing process of learning to understand and use language.
  • Children make numerous language discoveries as they play, explore, and interact with others.
  • Children build on their language discoveries to become conventional readers and writers.
  • Effective readers and writers recognize letters and words, follow writing rules, and create meaning from text.
  • Successful programs to promote children's reading and literacy development should be based on an understanding of child development, recent research on brain development, and the natural ongoing process through which most young children acquire language skills and become readers and writers.
 Endnotes

Endnotes

Click the "Endnotes" link above to hide these endnotes.Keith Stanovich, "Romance and Reality (Distinguished Educator Series)," Reading Teacher," 47(4), (Newark, DE: International Reading Association, 1993-94), 280-91.Excerpted from: Koralek, D. & Collins, R. (December, 1997). How Most Children Learn To Read. On the Road to Reading: A Guide for Community Partners. America Reads Challenge, U. S. Department of Education.Developmental timelines
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http://www.readingrockets.org/article/386?theme=print© Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. Reading Rockets is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. Reading Rockets® is a registered trademark of WETA.Stay informed! Subscribe to our e-mail newsletters.       
           
How Children Learn to Read

By: Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities (1999)     

Building blocks of reading  Reading skills are like building blocks. To learn to read well, children need the blocks of knowing the sounds of letters and the blocks of knowing the meanings of words (vocabulary), word parts (grammatical markers) and groups of words (overall meaning or semantics). To build these foundations of reading, children need effective reading instruction.The best ways for parents to learn about the kinds of reading instruction at their child's school is to talk with teachers, listen to him or her talk about what they do during the day, and examine homework assignments. Knowing the differences between phonics and whole language - the two main approaches to teaching reading - can help parents determine what methods their child's school is using to teach reading.      

Phonics focuses on the sounds of letters and words  A phonics approach focuses instruction on learning to associate printed letters and combinations of letters with their corresponding sounds. Phonics instruction gives students strategies to unlock or decode words.A phonics approach to teaching reading can include:
  • "Sounding out" words as a way of figuring out new words. For example, in a phonics lesson, "moon" would be sounded out as "mm-oo-nn."
  • Practice worksheets or exercises on letter sounds, matching pictures with spoken words, short vowel/long vowel or letter of the week.
Whole language focuses on comprehension  The whole language approach is based on the understanding that reading is finding the meaning in written language. Multiple experiences with words - written and spoken - are what children need to learn meanings of words.A whole language approach to teaching reading can include:
  • Teaching reading and writing throughout the day in the context of the lesson topics
  • Teachers emphasizing storybooks rather than worksheets as well as multiple writing opportunities
A balanced approach can help all children learn to read  A decade of research shows us that there is no one best way to build students' literacy skills. A balanced approach to teaching reading combines a strong foundation in phonics with whole language methods. Only through more than one kind of instruction can students gain the skills to recognize and manipulate the sounds of letters and words and the skills to understand what they read. Since all children learn differently, only a balanced approach to teaching reading can give all children the skills they need to read well.   

An effective reading program  From long-term studies conducted by the National Institutes of Health, it is known that an effective reading program should include the following components.
  • Recognize that students learn to read in a certain order: first they must understand that words are made up of different sounds, then associate sounds with written words, and finally they can decode words and read groups of words.
  • Students who have trouble learning to read need to be specifically taught the relationships of letters, words and sounds. (Awareness of letter/sound relationships is the main tool good readers use to decode unfamiliar words.)
  • Each child needs a different amount of practice to be a fluent reader.
  • Phonics instruction should be based on individual student needs and taught as part of a comprehensive, literature-based reading program.
  • Abundant opportunities for children to read at their own reading level help them to learn to read for meaning and enjoy reading.
  • Highly trained teachers can help children develop good, overall literacy skills: good vocabularies, knowledge of correct syntax and spelling, reasoning skills and questioning skills.
Reading instruction for children with learning disabilities  For children with language-based learning disabilities, learning to read is especially difficult because they have a harder time with sounds of letters and words than their peers. Research indicates that because phonics instruction focuses on recognizing and manipulating sounds of letters and words, more intense phonics instruction may be beneficial for children with learning disabilities.    

Early warning signs of learning disabilities  From preschool through fourth grade, parents can watch for the following signs their child may have a learning disability:
  • Slow to learn the connection between letters and sounds
  • Difficulty "sounding out" unknown words
  • Repeatedly misidentifying known words
  • Makes consistent reading and spelling errors including letter reversals (b/d), inversions (m/w), transpositions (felt/left), and substitutions (house/home)
  • Transposes number sequences and confuses arithmetic signs (+, -, x, /, =)
  • Difficulty understanding or remembering what is read because so much time and effort is spent figuring each word
If a child regularly displays one or more of these behaviors, he or she may have a learning disability and parents should seek appropriate testing and intervention from their child's school.With diagnostic tests, it can be predicted with a high degree of accuracy which students in kindergarten and first grade will have difficulty learning to read. Identifying reading difficulties early means children have more time to learn to be successful readers. Since reading is learned more easily and effectively during the early years, identifying language-based learning disabilities and providing appropriate interventions give children more time to learn to read well.   
                   
How Children Learn Through Play

As infants, children explore their physical and social world through their senses. Adults can facilitate learning through play by providing infants with opportunities to see, touch, taste, and smell a variety of phenomena. At this stage, give-and-take games such as peek-a-boo with loving, responsive adults help infants learn to interact socially.

  At the toddler stage, children begin to develop the ability to engage in early pretend play - imitating familiar events in their lives. Toddlers experience strong emotions which they are not yet able to fully understand. By acting out emotion-laden scenes in their play, such as reassuring a doll that mommy will return, toddlers learn to cope with fears and they gain the self-control that will propel them to the next stage of development.                  

 As children enter the preschool and kindergarten years, they begin to explore the world through indirect experiences such as stories, pictures, and television programs. Information gained in this way becomes the basis for imaginative play which takes children beyond the here and now.                   

 At this stage, play activities such as drawing, building with blocks, dance, music, and crafts help children expand their knowledge and understanding of the world while developing eye-hand coordination and other motor skills. Children also become increasingly focused on peers at this stage. They benefit from play activities, props, and toys that encourage them to interact with others and engage in 'dramatic' make-believe play.                                  

 As children move into the elementary school years, the focus shifts from dramatic or pretend play to 'games with rules' and organized sports which require strategy and skill. Games with rules include traditional board games, card, video, and computer games, as well as physical games such as tag and 'red rover.' Through these play experiences, children hone their ability to relate to others, their gross motor skills, and their eye-hand coordination.       

 At about age 9 to 12, team sports take on increasing importance, helping children refine their abilities to reason, think strategically, and interact with others. They also refine these skills through play activities such as crafts, advanced building sets, science projects, sophisticated jigsaw puzzles, and computer and video games.            

In many cases, play activities at this age become the basis for life-long interests and hobbies. While children begin to play less in the traditional sense as they move into their teenage years, they begin to transform their interests and hobbies into the 'play of the adult.'    Learning - and learning through play - is a continuous and rewarding journey!Source: www.childrensmuseums.org/programs/playingforkeeps.htm  
           
The Link Between Play
 & Learning
    From birth to adolescence, constructive play is vital to most aspects of children's intellectual, emotional, social, and physical development. Consequently, play prepares children for academic learning - as they begin their school years and at each step along the way. Ultimately, play prepares children for rewarding adult lives. Many experts believe that adult personality may very well have its foundation in the play of the child.     Through constructive play, children expand their intelligence - their knowledge and understanding of the world around them. Play is a testing ground for language and reasoning skills - a laboratory for learning to connect to challenges children face in school, such as literacy, math, and science concepts.  Constructive play stimulates the imagination - encouraging creative problem solving and providing opportunities for accomplishments that help children develop confidence, self-esteem, a sense of their own strengths and weaknesses, and a positive attitude toward learning.   These are the tenets of emotional well being.  Where would any of us be today without the ability to imagine - to 'paint' a picture of the future we want and the steps we need to take to get there? Where would we be without the desire to continue learning and the skills to overcome obstacles throughout our adult years? Constructive play encourages children to fully realize their potential - in school and beyond.   Constructive play is also a catalyst by which children learn to develop relationships with others. Through play, children learn to take the perspective of another; they learn self-control and the ability to take turns, negotiate, compromise, and work out conflicts. In fact, studies show that children who play make-believe or games with rules are more empathetic, less physically aggressive and more cooperative with other children and adults - essential behaviors that help children succeed in school throughout life.     Through play, children develop gross motor skills (physical mobility and muscle control) and fine motor skills such as eye-hand coordination - a critical precursor to reading and writing skills. Equally important, play helps make learning fun! Play fuels children's imagination and sparks creativity, making the learning journey pleasurable and joyous.       
  

 

Helping Children Learn at Home: Math & Science Tips for Young Children
     Did you know that the games you play with your toddlers and preschoolers can influence their interest in learning math and science as they grow older? Young children are capable of learning such concepts as big and small, high and low, fast and slow, and heavy and light. By helping your children learn these concepts, you are helping them begin to learn about math and science.   According to educational experts from the National Science Foundation ("Helping Children Learn at Home," 1997), "young children are natural mathematicians and scientists" because of their curiosity and their desire to explore and experiment.   When parents encourage their children to ask questions and help children explore and discover the natural world, they are helping build an interest in math and science. Many experts say that children who have such experiences when they are very young develop an enjoyment for and a confidence in math and science that pays off as they get older.          

Here are some ideas for what you can do to develop your preschooler's interest in math and science:

  • Go for a walk with your child. Take time to stop along the way and watch things that children notice, such as flowers, animals, and bugs. Talk with your child about what you see, and ask about what he sees.
  • Draw pictures together. Draw a picture of what you have seen, whether it was on your walk together, on your front steps, in the backyard, or from your window. Ask your child to draw a plant, an animal, or a favorite place, and then ask her to tell you about the drawing.
  • Turn a drawing into a story. Write down what your child says about the picture he just drew. Ask him to make up a story about the picture, and save it with other artwork and stories he has developed.
  • Listen to your child and ask questions about what she is seeing and doing. Children need to have time every day to tell another person about what they have seen or what they think. When you ask your child to tell you about a walk or a trip to the zoo, you are encouraging her to think and choose words.
  • Choose toys that help your child learn. Young children learn about the world primarily by playing. As a result, they need toys that encourage them to imagine and explore, which are not necessarily those that are advertised on television. Toys do not have to be expensive, but they should be simple, safe, and long-lasting. Some ideas for toys include:      
    • Balls. They can be bounced, rolled, thrown in the air, the grass, or the sidewalk. Which bounces the highest? Lowest? Which ones sink in water? Which ones float?
    • Blocks. Building blocks can be a great math and science toy because they help children learn about engineering and geometry. You can either buy a set of wooden, plastic, or cardboard blocks, or you can make your own out of egg cartons, cereal boxes, or wood scraps. For young children, make sure the blocks are big enough to handle easily and keep out of mouths. Have enough blocks in different shapes and sizes to build unusual structures. Have children paint the blocks in bright colors.
    • Puzzles. Puzzles help children learn to solve problems as well as learning about shapes, sizes, and colors. For toddlers, make sure the puzzle has some large pieces. You can make your own puzzle by pasting a magazine picture onto a piece of cardboard, then cutting it into large pieces. Or make a puzzle from one of your child's drawings. As children get older, they can do more difficult puzzles.
    • Plant a garden with your child. Planting a garden, any size, is a great family activity. A garden can be a patch of dirt in the yard or a container on a window sill, and it has a season of math and science lessons in it. Measure the space or container, determine where the plants will get sunlight, find out how much seeds will cost, count the seeds, measure the rows, watch the plants grow and chart their growth, pick vegetables, look for insects, and learn what plants need to be healthy.
    • Read to your child. Read books aloud every day. Look at picture books and talk about what you see. Alphabet and counting books are always popular, and you'll experience a sense of pride as you watch your children learn. Plan a regular time to go to the school library, pubic library or bookmobile. Enlist brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and grandparents to help read stories. Have your child read to you if he wants to or tell you a story based on the pictures in the book. Remember that it does not matter if you read in English, Spanish, or Chinese as long as you help your child develop a reading habit.
    • Monitor TV watching. Turn off the TV and limit viewing. Too much TV viewing takes time away from other activities. Many experts have shown that children who do things other than watch TV usually do better in math and science in school. When you do let your child watch TV, look for high-quality educational programs, and watch and discuss programs with your child to help build a habit of critical reflection.

Source:

Helping children learn at home. (1997, March 27). Pointers for Parents (National Science and Technology Week Publication SP/96-8). Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation.Prepared for Parent News by Dawn Ramsburg for the National Parent Information Network (NPIN)   
   

 

How Most Children
                  Learn to Read

By: Derry Koralek and Ray Collins (1997)

Play is the work of children – through play and interaction, children learn how to talk, listen, read, and write. Read about typical behaviors of emergent and beginning readers, and how each of these behaviors relate to reading and writing.

In this article

Between the ages of four and nine, your child will have to master some 100 phonics rules, learn to recognize 3,000 words with just a glance, and develop a comfortable reading speed approaching 100 words a minute. He must learn to combine words on the page with a half-dozen squiggles called punctuation into something – a voice or image in his mind that gives back meaning. (Paul Kropp, 1996)

Emerging literacy

Emerging literacy describes the gradual, ongoing process of learning to understand and use language that begins at birth and continues through the early childhood years (i.e., through age eight). During this period children first learn to use oral forms of language (listening and speaking) and then begin to explore and make sense of written forms (reading and writing).

Listening and speaking

Emerging literacy begins in infancy as a parent lifts a baby, looks into her eyes, and speaks softly to her. It's hard to believe that this casual, spontaneous activity is leading to the development of language skills. This pleasant interaction helps the baby learn about the give and take of conversation and the pleasures of communicating with other people.Young children continue to develop listening and speaking skills as they communicate their needs and desires through sounds and gestures, babble to themselves and others, say their first words, and rapidly add new words to their spoken vocabularies. Most children who have been surrounded by language from birth are fluent speakers by age three, regardless of intelligence, and without conscious effort.Each of the 6,000 languages in the world uses a different assortment of phonemes – the distinctive sounds used to form words. When adults hear another language, they may not notice the differences in phonemes not used in their own language. Babies are born with the ability to distinguish these differences. Their babbles include many more sounds than those used in their home language. At about 6 to 10 months, babies begin to ignore the phonemes not used in their home language. They babble only the sounds made by the people who talk with them most often.During their first year, babies hear speech as a series of distinct, but meaningless words. By age 1, most children begin linking words to meaning. They understand the names used to label familiar objects, body parts, animals, and people. Children at this stage simplify the process of learning these labels by making three basic assumptions:
  • Labels (words) refer to a whole object, not parts or qualities (Flopsy is a beloved toy, not its head or color).
  • Labels refer to classes of things rather than individual items (Doggie is the word for all four-legged animals).
  • Anything that has a name can only have one name (for now, Daddy is Daddy, and not a man or Jake).
As children develop their language skills, they give up these assumptions and learn new words and meanings. From this point on, children develop language skills rapidly. Here is a typical sequence:
  • At about 18 months, children add new words to their vocabulary at the astounding rate of one every 2 hours.
  • By age 2, most children have 1 to 2,000 words and combine two words to form simple sentences such as: "Go out." "All gone."
  • Between 24 to 30 months, children speak in longer sentences.
  • From 30 to 36 months, children begin following the rules for expressing tense and number and use words such as some, would, and who.

Reading and writing

At the same time as they are gaining listening and speaking skills, young children are learning about reading and writing.At home and in child care, Head Start, or school, they listen to favorite stories and retell them on their own, play with alphabet blocks, point out the logo on a sign for a favorite restaurant, draw pictures, scribble and write letters and words, and watch as adults read and write for pleasure and to get jobs done. Young children make numerous language discoveries as they play, explore, and interact with others. Language skills are primary avenues for cognitive development because they allow children to talk about their experiences and discoveries. Children learn the words used to describe concepts such as up and down, and words that let them talk about past and future events. Many play experiences support children's emerging literacy skills. Sorting, matching, classifying, and sequencing materials such as beads, a box of buttons, or a set of colored cubes, contribute to children's emerging literacy skills. Rolling playdough and doing fingerplays help children strengthen and improve the coordination of the small muscles in their hands and fingers. They use these muscles to control writing tools such as crayons, markers, and brushes.As their language skills grow, young children tell stories, identify printed words such as their names, write their names on paintings and creations, and incorporate writing in their make-believe play. After listening to a story, they talk about the people, feelings, places, things, and events in the book and compare them to their own experiences. Reading and writing skills develop together. Children learn about writing by seeing how the print in their homes, classrooms, and communities provides information. They watch and learn as adults write – to make a list, correspond with a friend, or do a crossword puzzle. They also learn from doing their own writing. The chart below offers examples of activities preschool and kindergarten children engage in, and describes how they are related to reading and writing.

What children might do

How it relates to reading and writing

Make a pattern with objects such as buttons, beads, small colored cubes.By putting things in a certain order, children gain an understanding of sequence. This will help them discover that the letters in words must go in a certain order.
Listen to a story, then talk with their families, teachers, or tutors and each other about the plot, characters, what might happen next, and what they liked about the book.Children enjoy read-aloud sessions. They learn that books can introduce people, places, and ideas and describe familiar experiences. Listening and talking helps children build their vocabularies. They have fun while learning basic literacy concepts such as: print is spoken words that are written down, print carries meaning, and we read from left to right, from the top to the bottom of a page, and from the front to the back of a book.
Play a matching game such as concentration or picture bingo.Seeing that some things are exactly the same leads children to the understanding that the letters in words must be written in the same order every time to carry meaning.
Move to music while following directions such as, put your hands up, down, in front, in back, to the left, to the right. Now wiggle all over.Children gain an understanding of concepts such as up/down, front/back, and left/right, and add these words to their vocabularies. Understanding these concepts leads to knowledge of how words are read and written on a page.
Recite rhyming poems introduced by a parent, teacher, or tutor, and make up new rhymes on their own.Children become aware of phonemes – the smallest units of sounds that make up words. This awareness leads to reading and writing success.
Make signs for a pretend grocery store. Children practice using print to provide information – in this case, the price of different foods.
Retell a favorite story to another child or a stuffed animal.Children gain confidence in their ability to learn to read. They practice telling the story in the order it was read to them – from the beginning to the middle to the end.
Use invented spelling to write a grocery list at the same time as a parent is writing his or her own list.Children use writing to share information with others. By watching an adult write, they are introduced to the conventions of writing. Using invented spelling encourages phonemic awareness.
Sign their names (with a scribble, a drawing, some of the letters, or "correctly") on an attendance chart, painting, or letter.Children are learning that their names represent them and that other words represent objects, emotions, actions, and so on. They see that writing serves a purpose to let their teacher know they have arrived, to show others their art work, or to tell someone who sent a letter.

Becoming readers and writers

By the time most children leave the preschool years and enter kindergarten, they have learned a lot about language. For five years, they have watched, listened to, and interacted with adults and other children. They have played, explored, and made discoveries at home and in child development settings such as Head Start and child care.

Kindergarten

Beginning or during kindergarten, most children have naturally developed language skills and knowledge. They…Know print carries meaning by:
  • Turning pages in a storybook to find out what happens next
  • "writing" (scribbling or using invented spelling) to communicate a message
  • Using the language and voice of stories when narrating their stories
  • Dictating stories
Know what written language looks like by:
  • Recognizing that words are combinations of letters
  • Identifying specific letters in unfamiliar words
  • Writing with "mock" letters or writing that includes features of real letters
Can identify and name letters of the alphabet by:
  • Saying the alphabet
  • Pointing out letters of the alphabet in their own names and in written texts
Know that letters are associated with sounds by:
  • Finger pointing while reading or being read to
  • Spelling words phonetically, relating letters to the sounds they hear in the word
Know the sounds that letters make by:
  • Naming all the objects in a room that begin with the same letter
  • Pointing to words in a text that begin with the same letter
  • Picking out words that rhyme
  • Trying to sound out new or unfamiliar words while reading out loud
  • Representing words in writing by their first sound (e.g., writing d to represent the word dog)
Know using words can serve various purposes by:
  • Pointing to signs for specific places, such as a play area, a restaurant, or a store
  • Writing for different purposes, such as writing a (pretend) grocery list, writing a thank-you letter, or writing a menu for play
Know how books work by:
  • Holding the book right side up
  • Turning pages one at a time
  • Reading from left to right and top to bottom
  • Beginning reading at the front and moving sequentially to the back
Because children have been learning language since birth, most are ready to move to the next step – mastering conventional reading and writing. To become effective readers and writers children need to:
  • Recognize the written symbols letters and words used in reading and writing
  • Write letters and form words by following conventional rules
  • Use routine skills and thinking and reasoning abilities to create meaning while reading and writing
The written symbols we use to read and write are the 26 upper and lower case letters of the alphabet. The conventional rules governing how to write letters and form words include writing letters so they face in the correct direction, using upper and lower case versions, spelling words correctly, and putting spaces between words.Routine skills refer to the things readers do automatically, without stopping to think about what to do. We pause when we see a comma or period, recognize high-frequency sight words, and use what we already know to understand what we read. One of the critical routine skills is phonemic awareness – the ability to associate specific sounds with specific letters and letter combinations.Research has shown that phonemic awareness is the best predictor of early reading skills. Phonemes, the smallest units of sounds, form syllables, and words are made up of syllables. Children who understand that spoken language is made up of discrete sounds – phonemes and syllables – find it easier to learn to read.Many children develop phonemic awareness naturally, over time. Simple activities such as frequent readings of familiar and favorite stories, poems, and rhymes can help children develop phonemic awareness. Other children may need to take part in activities designed to build this basic skill.Thinking and reasoning abilities help children figure out how to read and write unfamiliar words. A child might use the meaning of a previous word or phrase, look at a familiar prefix or suffix, or recall how to pronounce a letter combination that appeared in another word.  

First and second grades

By the time most children have completed the first and second grades, they have naturally developed the following language skills and knowledge.         

They…Improve their comprehension while reading a variety of simple texts by:
  • Thinking about what they already know
  • Creating and changing mental pictures
  • Making, confirming, and revising predictions
  • Rereading when confused
Apply word-analysis skills while reading by:
  • Using phonics and simple context clues to figure out unknown words
  • Using word parts (e.g., root words, prefixes, suffixes, similar words) to figure out unfamiliar words
Understand elements of literature (e.g., author, main character, setting) by:
  • Coming to a conclusion about events, characters, and settings in stories
  • Comparing settings, characters, and events in different stories
  • Explaining reasons for characters acting the way they do in stories
Understand the characteristics of various simple genres (e.g., fables, realistic fiction, folk tales, poetry, and humorous stories) by:
  • Explaining the differences among simple genres
  • Writing stories that contain the characteristics of a selected genre
Use correct and appropriate conventions of language when responding to written text by:
  • Spelling common high-frequency words correctly
  • Using capital letters, commas, and end punctuation correctly
  • Writing legibly in print and/or cursive
  • Using appropriate and varied word choice
  • Using complete sentences
The chart below offers examples of activities children engage in and describes how they are related to reading and writing.

What children might do

How it relates to reading and writing

Discuss the rules for an upcoming field trip, watch their teacher write them on a large sheet of paper, and join in when she reads the rules aloud.Children experience first-hand how different forms of language – listening, speaking, reading, and writing – are connected. They see language used for a purpose, in this case to prepare for their field trip. They see their words written down and hear them read aloud.
Look in a book to find the answer to a question.Children know that print provides information. They use books as a resource to learn about the world.
Read and reread a book independently for several days after the teacher reads it aloud to the class.Children read and reread the book because it's fun and rewarding. They can recall some of the words the teacher reads aloud and figure out others because they remember the sequence and meaning of the story.
Read some words easily without stopping to decode them.Children gradually build a sight vocabulary that includes a majority of the words used most often in the English language. They can read these words automatically.
Read words they have never seen before.Children use what they already know about letter combinations, root words, prefixes, suffixes, and clues in the pictures or story to figure out new words.
Use new words while talking and writing.Children build their vocabularies by reading and talking, sharing ideas, discussing a question, listening to others talk, and exploring their interests. Using new words helps them fully understand the meaning of the words.
Recognize their own spelling mistakes and ask for help to make corrections.Children understand that spelling is not just matching sounds with letters. They are learning the basic rules that govern spelling and the exceptions to the rules.
Ask questions about what they read.Children understand that there is more to reading than pronouncing words correctly. They may ask questions to clarify what they have read or to learn more about the topic.
Choose to read during free time at home, at school, and in out-of-school programs.Children learn to enjoy reading independently, particularly when they can read books of their own choosing. The more children read, the better readers they become.

Key Points About Development

  • Children develop in four, interrelated areas – cognitive and language, physical, social, and emotional.
  • Most children follow the same sequence and pattern for development, but do so at their own pace.
  • Language skills are closely tied to and affected by cognitive, social, and emotional development.
  • Children first learn to listen and speak, then use these and other skills to learn to read and write.
  • Children's experiences and interactions in the early years are critical to their brain development and overall learning.
  • Emerging literacy is the gradual, ongoing process of learning to understand and use language.
  • Children make numerous language discoveries as they play, explore, and interact with others.
  • Children build on their language discoveries to become conventional readers and writers.
  • Effective readers and writers recognize letters and words, follow writing rules, and create meaning from text.
  • Successful programs to promote children's reading and literacy development should be based on an understanding of child development, recent research on brain development, and the natural ongoing process through which most young children acquire language skills and become readers and writers.
 Endnotes

Endnotes

Click the "Endnotes" link above to hide these endnotes.Keith Stanovich, "Romance and Reality (Distinguished Educator Series)," Reading Teacher," 47(4), (Newark, DE: International Reading Association, 1993-94), 280-91.Excerpted from: Koralek, D. & Collins, R. (December, 1997). How Most Children Learn To Read. On the Road to Reading: A Guide for Community Partners. America Reads Challenge, U. S. Department of Education.Developmental timelines
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