Books, Books, Books
Why do I even bother giving infants and toddlers books, all they do is chew on them and tear the pages out.. Has this thought ever crossed your mind? Understanding the importance of books and early literacy can support your decision to provide such experiences in even the youngest classrooms.
Research has shown that language, reading and writing skills develop at the same time and are directly linked. Research has also proven that literacy development is a continuous process that begins at birth. Early experiences with books support and build the foundation for later reading and writing. Children's first experiences with books should be exploring and handling the book by turning pages and chewing it. The children gradually learn how to pay attention and interact with the pictures and will begin to demonstrate behaviors that show understanding of events by imitating an action seen in the book or talking about the story. Eventually young children will begin to demonstrate their increasing understanding of print by babbling in imitation of reading or running fingers along printed words. The most important trait young children develop when provided literacy experiences are a love and curiosity for literature that will last a lifetime.
Teachers can support a child's literacy development by providing the following:
Read Aloud to Children: Read to children on a regular basis. Young children enjoy picture books because of the characters, plots and beautiful illustrations. There is no magic formula in when or how to read but it is suggested to show enthusiasm and involve the children in the story. Children can only sit for a few minutes so don't worry if you don't finish the story or if children are not interested in listening for very long.
Make Books Readily Available: Children should have numerous opportunities throughout the day to explore books. Although they cannot read the words, they can look at the pictures and learn how a book "works". Providing age appropriate books such as cloth and vinyl books for young infants and board books for older infants will support their exploration and reduce the amount of books needing to be replaced.
Ask Questions about the Story and Let the Children Ask Questions Too: Use the story to engage in conversation and to talk about familiar activities and objects, talk about personal families, pets, etc. Ensure that when a question is asked, an appropriate answer is given at that time. Remember that the goal of reading to children is not to get to the end of the book but rather to provide vocabulary, concepts and interactions.
Show the Children the Pictures and Words: Talk about the pictures and run your finger along the words as you read them. Remember you do not need to read every word to tell a story.
Make the Story Come Alive: Create voices for the story characters and use your body to tell the story.
Let the Children Turn the Pages: Babies need board books and help turning pages, but older children can do it alone, it's okay to skip pages!
Have Fun: Children will learn from just being a part in the experience, especially if they are having fun. Children who are provided with experiences that are fun will return to those same experiences over and over again.
Books provide so many rich, meaningful experiences for children. Teachers support literacy development by reading to the children on a routine basis and providing a multitude of books for self selection. Books are a vital part of the literary process so go ahead and have fun; you can never go wrong with books in an infant or toddler classroom!
Resources:
Much more than the ABC's: The early stages of reading and writing. Schickedanz
www.zerotothree.org/BrainWonders
www.acei.org/infec.htm
If you'd like additional information about literacy in young children or information on other infant toddler topics, please contact:
Special Projects Coordinator
Oklahoma Child Care Resource and Referral Assoc.
4200 Perimeter Center Dr. Suite 235
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
1-888-962-2772
birthtothree@oklahomachildcare.org