G2K Kindergarten Readiness Series: Emergent Literacy

How do we know that a child is ready for kindergarten? As early care and education providers, we support the physical, social, emotional and cognitive skill development that sets the stage for children to thrive in kindergarten, elementary school and beyond. In this article, we take a look at emergent literacy, with a focus on the early experiences with reading and writing that are foundational to a child’s later academic success. This is the fourth article in G2K’s Kindergarten Readiness Series, which explores the learning domains of early childhood. 

What are Emergent Literacy Skills?

The term emergent literacy refers to foundational skills that are developed in early childhood, starting at birth, when children begin to make sense of sounds and words. Later, young children understand that words, letters, and printed text have meaning, and they begin to enjoy playing with books, looking at illustrations, and listening to stories. 

An article from Reading Rockets adds, “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).” 

The Benefits of Emergent Literacy

Early literacy skills pave the way for a smooth kindergarten transition and for ongoing academic success, by supporting the following key areas of early development: 

• Social and Emotional Skills. Reading stories about different people and places contributes to the development of empathy and helps children learn about the world. Children’s books can also support self-discovery as little ones hear stories about characters, experiences, and cultures that they can relate to. 
• Cognitive Development. When young children read, explore, and look at books with the adult caregivers in their lives, they make connections that boost healthy brain development. An article from Head Start explains, “When you read with children, they are connecting the words you say to the pictures on the page and to the things in their world. All of those connections are brain connections!”
• Academic Building Blocks. Early literacy skills help children prepare for kindergarten and beyond. A strong foundation in these skills will ensure that children are able to be successful in more formal academic settings, where they will learn to read and comprehend increasingly complex written texts and material. 

The Power of a Shared Story

Early childhood nonprofit, Reach Out and Read summarizes the key benefits of reading to young children during their first few years of life: “Starting at birth, reading with children puts them on a path to success. What happens during the first few years sets the stage for the rest of a child’s life. Spending time together while reading aloud…promotes healthy brain development. Children who are read to more often have improved language and listening skills, experience stronger emotional connections to their loved ones, and gain a lifelong love of reading.”

Incorporating Literacy into your Classroom & Curriculum

Educators can support foundational literacy skill development by talking, singing, playing, and reading books together. We can also create classroom environments and routines that encourage little ones to develop a familiarity with books and an interest in learning from books and stories.  Below are a few specific tips to help you get started. 

Encourage Drawing & Writing

Create time in your classroom’s schedule for children to explore and practice writing. For younger children, that might mean introducing paper by letting them explore by scrunching, tearing, and feeling it before they begin to make marks and lines on the paper with crayons and other writing materials. Older children can practice drawing pictures and writing basic letters and simple words.  You might offer journals to children who are more proficient at writing, so they can add to what they’ve written and see the progression of their writing skills! 

Create Literacy Rich Environments

Classrooms that have a variety of signs and labels with  written words and text allow children to become comfortable and familiar with literacy from a young age. You might incorporate signs for children to use in your dramatic play center, place books in play areas throughout the classroom, or offer different alphabet materials such as stamps and magnetic letters. 

For more information about how to incorporate literacy into your early learning environment, you might enjoy this G2K article from the archives.

Offer A Variety of Books

To encourage lots of time spent reading, you’ll want to offer a selection of different books in your classroom. Try to include a variety of characters, story lengths, writing styles, images, and topics, so that children will enjoy re-visiting your classroom’s books to discover something that interests them. 

How do Literacy Skills Develop during the First 5 Years? 

Young children develop foundational literacy skills through everyday experiences and interactions with their caregivers. Below, you’ll find developmental literacy milestones, as organized by Reach Out and Read, along with information and ideas educators can use to support awareness of foundational literacy concepts among young children at each developmental stage. 

• 6-12 months: Infants explore books by grasping them,  putting them in their mouths, and dropping/throwing them. You might also notice that they like pictures of faces, particularly of other babies, in the stories you read together. Educators can support infants at this age in their development by offering board and cloth books, so that they can freely explore and manipulate them. 
• 1-2 years: Toddlers are beginning to turn the pages in board books. They might bring you books to share, and point to specific pictures as you read together. We can encourage and support learning by naming the items that little ones point to, and by talking about the different pictures in the book. 
• 2-3 years: Toddlers and young preschoolers are beginning to learn how to hold writing utensils and try scribbling on paper.  They like to choose a story for you to read to them, and will often enjoy reading the same book again and again! As educators, we can support children’s learning by asking questions such as “Where’s the dog?” or “What is that?” as you look at the book’s pictures together. 
• 3–4 years: Preschoolers are able to sit still for longer stories and can turn the pages of a book one at a time and understand that the words on a page go from left to right. They are developing a more controlled grip of writing utensils and can start drawing basic pictures. Educators can support children’s literacy development at this age during storytime by pointing out words and pictures that begin with the same sound. We can also incorporate questions and conversations to engage children in the story, such as “What do you think she’ll find?” or “What do you think will happen next?” 
• 4-5 years: As children approach kindergarten, they begin to recognize and copy letters and numbers. At this age, we can begin to introduce more formal writing and literacy instruction by encouraging little ones to practice writing basic letters, words, and names. 

Additional Resources

If you’d like to find more resources and information about how to support children as they build foundational literacy skills, you might enjoy these G2K articles from the archives: 

• Fun Preschool Activities that Build Foundational Writing Skills
• Language & Literacy Skill-Building in Early Childhood
• The Many Benefits of Reading with Infants
• Preparing for Kindergarten: Supporting Emergent Writing Skills