How to Develop Children's Early Literacy: A
Guide for Professional Carers and Educators
Introduction
Contributors: By: Laurie Makin & Marian Whitehead
Book Title: How to Develop Children's Early Literacy: A Guide for Professional Carers and Educators
Chapter Title: "Introduction"
Pub. Date: 2004
Access Date: October 19, 2019
Publishing Company: SAGE Publications Ltd
City: London
Print ISBN: 9780761943334
Online ISBN: 9781446215609
DOI: [Link]
Print pages: 1-14
© 2004 SAGE Publications Ltd All Rights Reserved.
This PDF has been generated from SAGE Knowledge. Please note that the pagination of the online
version will vary from the pagination of the print book.
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© Laurie Makin and Marian Whitehead 2004
Introduction
Greetings to Our Readers
• Do you look after a child or a group of children between birth and school entry?
• You may be studying for a vocational qualification in early childhood.
• Are you a nursery nurse, teaching assistant or a qualified teacher working with under-5s for the first
time?
• Maybe you help out in a nursery or day care centre or preschool.
• You may be just thinking about being or doing one of these things.
If so, this book is for you.
Meet the Authors
Laurie Makin is Director of the Children and Education Research Centre at the University of Newcastle in
Australia. Laurie has published widely in the area of early literacy, and, in collaboration with colleagues, has
produced a number of literacy-related resources for early childhood staff and students. She has two young
grandchildren (one 5 years old, one 3 months old, at the time this book was written), so has been able to
undertake a refresher course in developing young children's literacy!
Marian Whitehead was formerly Senior Lecturer in Education at Goldsmiths College, University of London.
She is the author of several standard texts on the development of language and literacy in the early years.
Marian advises schools, care settings, training providers and various publications on ways of working with
families and communities to support young children's language and literacy learning. She has four grandchil-
dren, the youngest is 3 and the oldest is 16. All of them have taught her about literacy and featured in her
books and articles.
How This Book is Organised
There are seven chapters in this book. This introduction is the first. Chapters 2 to 5 review the literacy learning
of children from birth to school entry. We take a chronological approach to children's early literacy, starting
with babies, then toddlers, pre-schoolers and, finally, children in transition to school. In each of these chap-
ters, we look at ideas that will support children's literacy learning and their positive dispositions towards liter-
acy. We include ideas about setting up the environment, providing literacy resources and experiences, and
interacting to promote literacy. In Chapter 6 we think about some of the issues in early literacy that need to be
considered, whatever the age of the child. The issues we have chosen are:
• play and literacy;
• bilingualism and literacy;
• special needs and literacy;
• assessment of children's literacy in the years prior to school entry and in transition to school;
• official curriculum frameworks outlining expectations relating to literacy.
The final chapter contains information on some additional resources that may be useful. We also include a
list of references and an index to help you find information easily.
Throughout the book, we have tried to alternate gender pronouns (‘he’, ‘she’, and so on) when it seems nec-
essary to refer to individual children.
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Individual Differences in Literacy
Children are very different in their interests and levels of knowledge about literacy. They will have had many
different literacy experiences in their homes and communities before they come to the early childhood setting.
One 3-year-old may be reading already. One may be able to use a computer mouse and type her name. One
may be totally uninterested in books. Another may love drawing and scribbling and painting. Good educators
and carers recognise and respond positively to children's differences. Here are some examples that show the
wide range of differences in children's interests and experiences.
Example 1: Two-year-old Dylan developed a passion for sharks after finding pictures of dozens of them on
the inside covers (endpapers) of a storybook about a little boy who loved dinosaurs – until he saw a picture
of a shark! All Dylan's family and friends had to draw sharks for him and talk about them. He was taken to
several big aquariums to see real sharks and friends and family collected leaflets and books about the many
different kinds of sharks, which he could soon recognise and name. He also collected lots more storybooks
about sharks, some bought for him and some borrowed from libraries. His bath-time toys soon included lots
of plastic shark models and many a fearsome underwater struggle took place during his evening bath. Dylan
at 2 years of age was helped by his family to become an ‘expert’ on sharks, in the way that many very young
children become experts on trucks, dinosaurs, trains or chickens.
Example 2: Clair, between the ages of 4 and 5, became very interested in computers. Her parents both
worked from home and used the computer frequently, so, like most children, Clair wanted to copy her parents.
They encouraged a short time on the computer on most days, during which time they would show her some-
thing new and then let her explore freely, using her own CD-ROMS. By the time she was 5, Clair was quite
knowledgeable about many aspects of computer use.
One day, she was pretending to be a magician and showing her uncle some magic tricks. When he com-
plimented her on her ability, she replied, ‘If you want to know more, visit my website at [Link]
[Link].’ Clair didn't have her own website, but she knew what they were, how they were used and the
format in which they were presented.
1.1 Clair using the computer
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Example 3: When she entered preschool, Satoko was a fluent speaker of Japanese and very interested in
origami. She enjoyed making simple human and animal origami figures and making up stories about their ad-
ventures. When she started preschool, all of the other children spoke English and she was lost and unhappy
for the first week or two. Satoko's teacher talked with her parents, with the help of an interpreter, to find out
what Satoko liked and was interested in. Knowing this, the teacher was able to introduce origami to all of the
children and Satoko's skill became a way in, helping her develop friendships with children who didn't share
her language or cultural background.
Example 4: Ben was born with a severe hearing disability. Luckily, this was diagnosed early, and his parents,
who were not hearing-impaired, learned sign language as a way of communicating with Ben. When Ben was
3 years old, his mother had to return to work to supplement the family's income. Ben's parents worried a great
deal about how he would get on in the long day at the care centre. With the help of local agencies, they were
able to find a centre that had the assistance of a visiting teacher for the hearing-impaired. The educators at
the centre decided that they wanted to help all of the children become aware of, and appreciate, different
ways of communicating. One of the strategies they used was to make a class book of signs, which interested
all the children and led to a wider exploration of non-verbal communication, including facial expression and
body language.
All of these children are different from each other in their abilities, their interests and their experiences. The
important thing for each of them, whatever their age, cultural background, language, or home and community
experiences, is to be with early childhood educators who will find a match, or make links, between that child's
knowledge, skills, interests, abilities, and experiences, and the literacy learning environment of the education-
al setting.
We hope that this book will help you find such matches and links to facilitate children's early literacy and
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learning, and that you will not hold too rigidly to an age–stage approach to learning.
Early Literacy
Have you ever marvelled at how babies can make their wishes very clear, even without words?
In picture 1.2 Lilli (3 months) is screaming loudly. When her mother calls out, ‘It's OK, Lilli, I'm com-
ing’, her cry changes, even though she doesn't understand what her mother is saying.
1.2 Lilli hears mum's voice
Have you heard young children's creative use of language?
Clair (3 years 6 months) claims proudly, ‘Me gotted it!’
Have you seen the excitement when a child recognises the first letter of their name?
Whenever Morgan (2 years 5 months) sees the MacDonald's sign, she shouts gleefully, ‘Look, Mum,
that's my letter. We got to get a burger.’
(Makin and Whiteman, 2002)
Has a child ever shown you proudly a page on which they have scribbled, and said,
‘Look what I writed’?
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Have you seen a child show you they understand that there is a relationship between pictures on a page and
real-life objects?
When his father is reading to Kyle, they come to a picture of a ball. Kyle (14 months) jumps off his
father's lap, goes and finds his own ball and brings it back to Dad.
Have you been surprised and perhaps embarrassed to find that a young child knows more about technology
than you do?
Manny (3 years) picks out his favourite video and puts it in the machine. His older brother (8 years)
is the only one in the family who can programme the video!
If you are interested in these things and want to know how to support young children in their literacy learning,
this book is for you!
A Quiz to Try
Try this short quiz. Answer yes or no to each of the statements:
What I think about literacy
1 Literacy is reading and writing.
2 Literacy isn't like it used to be.
3 Literacy starts when children go to school.
4 Literacy starts when children are born.
5 Children's scribbles are important.
6 Children's life opportunities will be related to their literacy.
Let's look at each of these in turn
1 Literacy means reading and writing. The answer here is both yes and no. Yes, literacy is
reading and writing, but it is now considered to be more than this. Literacy now includes
nonverbal communication – gestures and sounds and body language. It includes listening
and talking as well as reading and writing. It also includes areas like visual literacy, tech-
noliteracy and critical literacy, all of which we will look at later in this book.
2 Literacy isn't like it used to be. The answer here is yes. Just a few years ago, hardly any-
one had a home computer, a laptop or a mobile phone or palm pilot. Email wasn't used.
The world wide web was just beginning to impinge on people's consciousness. Even
more recently, use of literacy tools is changing. For example, young people use SMS
(short messaging systems) on their mobile phones more than older people, who tend to
use their mobile phone simply as an additional phone.
3 Literacy starts when children go to school. The answer here is no, it starts long before
this. The literacy experiences children have before they go to school and what they know
about literacy are very important. A well-known Australian children's writer called Mem
Fox (2001) says, ‘The first day of school is almost too late to learn to read. It's as scary
as that!’ This book will show you how to make sure that children take part in literacy
events and practices in ways that are fun and enjoyable, and that are also building strong
literacy foundations.
4 Literacy starts when children are born. The answer here is yes. If you accept that literacy
includes listening and talking, then it starts at birth, if not before. There are reports that
babies in the womb who hear the same book over and over – perhaps the favourite of an
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older sibling – respond positively to that book after birth! It only takes a few days before
new babies respond to the voice and smell of the main person who feeds them, cuddles
them, changes them and plays with them. Reading to them, while they are cuddled in an
adult's lap, can start at any age. Many people think that about 3 months, when they can
hold their heads up, is a good time.
5 Children's scribbles are important. The answer here is yes. They are the child's first at-
tempts at using writing tools to make marks. When the people who are important to them
respond positively to what they do, children want to do more. They learn that writing is a
valued part of their world. We will look later at how scribble such as that shown in Picture
1.3 develops into ‘proper’ writing.
1.3 Early scribble
6 Children's life opportunities will be related to their literacy. The answer here is yes. Prob-
lems with literacy are associated with other problems like unemployment and delinquen-
cy. Of course, literacy is not a magic bullet and some people who are not literate are very
successful. However, on the whole, it makes sense to give children the best start we can.
Approaches to Early Literacy
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Theorists have different ideas about what literacy is, and about when and how it should be taught and learned.
Current theoretical perspectives on literacy tend to reflect either a developmental framework coming out of
psychology and psycholinguistics (see, for example, Sulzby, 1985/1994) or a sociocultural framework coming
out of sociology and sociolinguistics (see, for example, Hill et al, 1998, Makin and Jones Diaz, 2002). There
are two approaches to early literacy that underpin the content of this book. One is based on the concept of
emergent literacy. The other is based on the concept of literacy as social practice.
Both of these approaches are different from earlier ideas about literacy, which were often based on a concept
of reading ‘readiness’. A readiness approach reflects a traditional view of literacy as book-based reading and
writing, rather then the wider view put forward earlier in this introduction. The role played by children's home
and community experiences is largely overlooked in this approach and the emphasis is upon skills develop-
ment.
If we believe that children's literacy learning begins at birth, and includes talking and listening, a readiness
approach is rather narrow, so we will focus on approaches that reflect this wider view and that emphasise
the importance of children's home and community experiences as well as their experiences in early childhood
settings. We believe that a combination of the approaches to literacy that we have selected has positive po-
tential to provide supportive literacy learning conditions.
Emergent Literacy
‘Emergent’ literacy refers to the literacy knowledge and abilities that children demonstrate before they become
conventional readers and writers. In this approach, children are seen as competent and capable from birth.
Their early language, their scribbles, their exploration of books, their interest in environmental print, their in-
teractions with technology, are all seen as important demonstrations of their literacy learning.
When we look at literacy from an emergent perspective, we are taking a developmental approach. The lim-
itation of this approach is that the emphasis is on individual children's development. While this is obviously
important, we also need to look at why it is that certain groups of children are at particular risk of low literacy.
Early childhood settings may support some groups better than others. They may need to change their prac-
tices in certain ways to make sure that all children find matches between their home and community experi-
ences and their experiences in early childhood settings.
Literacy as Social Practice
Think about the young children you know. Where do they see print?
Western societies are full of print – on clothes, cereal packages, posters seen through the window of the car,
bus or train, in shops, graffiti, junk mail, TV ads, birthday cards, on signs, on trucks and cars, in shops, even
in the sky, as well as in magazines, comics, books, newspapers, computer games, telephone books and so
on.
Literacy is how we get things done. It is a very important part of our social practices. Children are active, in-
volved learners from birth. When we look at literacy from the perspective of literacy as social practice, we are
taking a social constructivist approach. This means that children build, or construct, knowledge through the
social interactions they have within their homes, communities and early childhood settings.
We have said that literacy starts at birth. It is rooted in the ability to communicate. The first places children
begin to learn literacy are their homes and communities. A child's first literacy teachers are his family and
carers. Children need literacy interactions and experiences from their first days of life.
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1.4 Road signs are an example of literacy as social practice
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The Role of Adults in Children's Early Literacy
Literacy starts when adults:
• coo to a baby, sing, say nursery rhymes, play peek-a-boo;
• talk to a baby as if he understands;
• talk about what is happening, what's nearby, feelings as well as actions;
• respond to a baby's attempts (often non-verbal) to communicate with her carers;
• engage a baby in action rhymes;
• read aloud or tell stories.
As children grow older, adults draw their attention to everyday uses of literacy, involve them in everyday expe-
riences such as writing birthday cards, searching the internet, visiting the library, reading books, looking at toy
catalogues and so on. Literacy for very young children is not formal teaching, with flash cards or worksheets,
or rote learning of the alphabet, or correcting every mistake. It is not hot-housing.
Most experts agree that young children's early literacy is best supported when they:
• have opportunities to learn about the many ways in which literacy is a part of their society;
• are read to frequently;
• have many opportunities to develop their oral language;
• know and enjoy songs and rhymes;
• learn to recognise environmental print such as logos and shop signs;
• develop knowledge of the mechanics of print, for example, that you read from left to right and top to
bottom in English;
• have opportunities to play with letters and the sounds they make;
• visit the library often.
1.5 Clair and her Dad sharing the newspaper
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In this book, we will look at many ways in which early childhood educators can support early literacy in ways
that are appropriate for young children.
A Literacy Snapshot
This book will take you through from when a baby is born until he starts school. You may like to fill this record
out every year for a child who is special to you or for each child in a group of children for whom you care. You
may wish to complete it for just one year or for several years.
For the youngest children, you will be deciding on all the information that is recorded. By the time children are
3 or 4, you can discuss it with them and write down what they want you to say. Once they can write their own
name and some numbers, they can fill in some of the information themselves.
The literacy snapshot can be completed at any time, but if it is done every year around each child's birthday,
you can gradually build up a record to share with the child – immediately and in reflection when she is older,
as well as with other people close to the child, such as parents or grandparents, or new carers or teachers.
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• literacy
• children
• literacy and reading
• community homes
• early childhood
• emergent literacy
• literacy support
[Link]
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