PART 1: Identifying Emergent Literacy in Young Children

Characteristics to Look For

Describe Specific Example(s)

Suggestions for Teachers

Attitudes Toward Books

*Claire always asks to read the Dr.

Seuss books over and over because
she likes the rhymes and she has
memorized the words to Green
Eggs and Ham.
*Caroline makes up words to the
story based on the picture of an owl
and a bat in a tree. She turns the
pages nicely, creating her own
words to the story.

*Choose books to read aloud that

cover a variety of the childrens
interests. Read fun books that have
colorful pictures.

*Luke sees that hop and pop

both end in an op and points this
out as a way to rhyme. He also
hears this sound and knows that the
reason they sound similar is
because the endings are the same.

*Help the children to listen for

which words rhyme. Have them
shout out the blanks when they
begin to memorize certain stories.
i.e.: I do not like green eggs and
ham, I do not like them Sam I
______! (Children answer
AM!!!) Explain that Sam and
Am both end in AM which is
why they sound similar.
*Label EVERYTHING. This is a
tool we learned while studying
foreign language. Put labels on
everything children will use, at eye
level, so they can begin to
understand spelling and memorize
the way certain words look.

emotions (facial expressions)

convey attentiveness, interest,
curiosity, etc.

Behaviors with Books

inspects books,
handles books correctly,
pretend reading,
uses visual stimuli to construct
a logical sequence of events
when reading
Asks, What does this say?
Word Decoding

makes associations between

letters & sounds
notice word similarities
identifies letter clusters such as
prefixes & suffixes
uses semantic & syntactic
contextual information to
decode unknown words
Word Recognition

evidence of sight vocabulary

transitions from decoding skills
to increasingly sophisticated
recognition skills (i.e.,
analogies, common spelling
patterns, context
Writing Behaviors

produces letter-like shapes

writes left to right
writes some letters correctly
writes own name

Knowledge About the Nature and

Purposes of Written Language

awareness of word spelling

constancy
identifies various types of
printed material (i.e., calendars,
newspapers, dictionary, etc.)
purposeful pretend writing
(i.e., thank-you card, Dear
Santa I want, restaurant menu,
.etc.)

*James begins to learn the alphabet

and recognizes his name on his
desk. He begins to say the letters in
his name and understand the
correlation between the alphabet
and the sounds that each letter
makes.

*Read one on one with students and

remind them that it is important to
take care of the books.

*Judy begins to write her name on

her paper. She writes in all capital
letters and sometimes makes the
D and Y backwards.

*Practice writing names over and

over until it is perfected. Use a
variety of materials to practice
making letters, such as spelling out
with M&Ms or help them write
with glue and cover with glitter.

*Lila writes a Mothers Day card,

using lots of pretend words but a
very prominent MOM. She
draws a picture of her and her
mother beneath the words.

*Have the students write something

every day. Make sure they are
engaging in fun activities so that
they learn to enjoy writing. Let
them choose the topics sometimes
so they are excited about what they
are writing.

PART 2: Promoting Effective Reading Comprehension Strategies

Ways of Promoting Effective Reading
Comprehension Strategies
Teach reading comprehension skills in all areas of the
academic curriculum.

Classroom Examples
*Ask the students What is the question really asking?
How can you ask it in another way? In Science,
have the students first read the headings and predict
what they think the sections main focus will be.

Model effective reading strategies.

*Tell the students that you sometimes take notes on

characters in order to more closely follow the plot.
*Ask follow up questions after reading a story to
determine its main points or how they can relate that
story to todays world.

Encourage students to relate what they are reading to

things they already know about the topic.

*In a history class, after learning about WW2, have

them read Anne Frank. Have them make a presentation
about someone they know that experienced Nazi
Germany or research they do on the topic.

Ask students to identify key elements of the stories

they read.

*Ask elementary children about the schema, what was

the plot, climax, resolution, etc.
*Ask them to draw the main character
*Ask them to rewrite the story using the same
characters but a different plot

Suggest that students create mental images that capture

what they are reading.

*Ask students to describe how the characters look

*Ask them to do a presentation of one of the
characters, including writing a small character
summary which they will read, while dressed as the
character.
*Ask students to paint a picture of scenery in which the
story takes place.

Scaffold students early efforts to use complex

strategies.

*Ask younger students to rewrite the story as if the

characters are on planet Mars, living in the ocean, etc.
*Ask them to think about what a sequel to the story
would be 10, 20, 100 years after it was set.