Isn’t it amazing to see the way our little learners soak up everything around them? They’re like tiny sponges, eager to explore and learn new things. When it comes to early literacy, our little sponges need the right opportunities to help them learn foundational literacy skills. We can provide those opportunities to teach emergent literacy skills in ways that young children learn best!
Let’s face it, traditional flashcards and worksheets can feel a bit…well, dry… and honestly… those methods aren’t meaningful ways to learn letters. Plus, laying the literacy foundation is about SO much more than letter learning.
So how do we make learning these emergent literacy skills exciting and engaging for our preschool crew?
Keep reading for some vehicles of instruction to teach emergent literacy skills that are pretty powerful:
1. Interactive Read-Alouds: Going beyond Story Time
Story time doesn’t have to be a passive experience. Make it interactive!
- Activate prior knowledge by asking questions about the cover image or title.
- During the read-aloud, pause strategically to point out author’s craft and illustrators craft.
- Help children learn about the author and make a connection to them as a real person (helping children see that they can be writers too).
- Focus on new vocabulary found in the book.
- Teach about story elements like characters, setting and plot while reading the story.
- After reading ask questions to help children react to the book and it’s story line.
2. Shared Reading: A Way to Model ‘How we Read’ & Teach Literacy Skills
Shared reading is a way to help children learn important concepts of print by watching the teacher interact with a set of enlarged text.
Point to each word as you read slowly and expressively. Encourage children to join in on repetitive phrases or choruses. This collaborative approach builds confidence and fosters a sense of ownership over the reading process.
- Use poems, rhymes, simple sentences and big books for Shared Reading.
- Make sure the text is large enough for the class to see. Use a pointer to point to each word as you read it.
- Have one or two clear goals in mind for the reading (example: focus on rhyming words and left to right, top to bottom progression).
- ‘Notice aloud’ and ‘self-talk’ during the Shared Reading to help model and teach (example: “Oh, I got to the end of the sentence, now I’m going to go down here”)
- After reading, use the same text to hunt for letters, learn about spaces or just re-read.
- Leave the chart up, if possible. Provide pointers and encourage children to interact with the text during free play.
3. Modeled Writing: Teacher does the Writing, Student Watches and Contributes Ideas
Preschoolers may not be ready to write independently yet, but they can learn a lot from observing how writing works.
- Model how to make a list, write a label or create a story.
- Think aloud as you write and take ideas from students to help children learn about how to write before they actually start writing.
- While writing, talk a lot about what you are doing and why you are doing it (example: “I’m going to make a list of things we need for our party day. When I make a list I just use these dots called bullet points to help me write everything quickly. I’ll put each thing we need on a different line. We need cups. Let’s listen to the first sound /c/. That’s a C, I’m going to write C……”
- We can model how to use purposeful writing like lists, maps, recipes, instructions, letters.
- We can also model how to use narrative writing (story and book-making) and informational writing (like non-fiction texts).
4. Interactive Writing: Co-Creating with Students
Take modeled writing a step further with interactive writing! Not only will you be taking in ideas from students about the writing, you will share the pen and encourage their participation.
- Use the same types of writing as Modeled Writing, but this time look for ways for children to participate.
- Encourage children to… write beginning letters of certain words, add pictures to match the text or use their fingers to hold spaces between words.
- While children will not be creating the whole writing piece, they will be adding pieces to make the learning experience even more meaningful.
5. Free Play
Play is a powerful tool for emergent literacy development. We can provide materials and activities for children to explore to help them learn more foundational literacy skills.
- Have picture and non-fiction books that are age-appropriate available at all times.
- Provide manipulatives that help children explore letters and their form (Letter Robots, Magnet Letters, Letter Puzzles or Letter Locks).
- Incorporate tray activities into a literacy center to encourage literacy skill practice, like simple rhyming picture cards, matching letters or letter formation in a salt tray.
- Find ways to incorporate literacy skills into other centers. For example, add a writing element to the drama center, add writing invitations to the writing center or hide letters in the sensory bin.
By incorporating these engaging strategies, we can help our preschoolers lay the literacy foundation they will need later to read and write! Remember, the key is to make learning fun, interactive, and relevant to their interests. By using the instructional vehicles above to teach emergent literacy skills, you’ll be on your way to feeling confident that you are helping lay the literacy foundation for your preschoolers!
