Engaging in Early Language and Literacy Activities: Preschool Children

By Dr. Noëlla Piquette, noella.piquette@uleth.ca , noellapiquette.consulting@gmail.com

As previously stated in my earlier Blog posts (Nov 25, 2021, Dec. 10, 2021), literacy development is a process.  Your preschool child will need time to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to learn and apply literacy skills. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to read through the information for all of the stages of development in order to be aware of when and how the language and literacy processes will unfold; movement between the stages is not step by step, it is fluid.  It is important to understand that each child will journey through literacy development at an individual pace, moving to the next stage when ready. Recall,  the brain of the infant continues to grow after birth, with much of this growth happening from birth to five years of age.  Therefore, it is critical for the child to be immersed in ongoing language and literacy activities.

It is the role of the parents and caregivers to provide support and encouragement throughout each stage of development.

The preschool child will continue to listen to longer stories and will be able to follow storylines.  At this stage, the child will start to differentiate the purposes for reading; the telephone book has telephone numbers, menus provide food choices. The preschool child will develop more of an awareness of rhyme and may be start to create rhyme.   The child will also be able to differentiate between print and pictures. Generally, from three years to five years, the youngster will increase the number of words that are understood and used.  Meanings for the words will become more refined through concept development.  For example, when a child first encounters a dog the understanding of ‘dog’ is based on that first dog.  Through increased exposure to more dogs, the child’s concept of dog increases in sophistication to include a variety of colours, sizes, shapes, breeds, sounds, and temperaments.

While your preschool child is engaged in literacy activities, SEE: S – see what interests your child and build upon these interests. Listen carefully to your child before jumping into the conversation.  Observe your child’s accomplishments and celebrate them. Notice when your child is ready for a change of activity. E – engage in the conversations and play situations initiated by your preschooler.  Validate your child’s ideas and creativity. Include your child in every day routines, providing the preschooler with age appropriate materials to participate fully in the activities. E – extend your child’s understanding by building upon what your child already knows and by providing additional language and experiences so your child can make connections to new knowledge. 

Oral language with your preschooler

·       Use puppets, props, and costumes to encourage conversations, stories, plays and songs.  Join your child in the use of these materials.  Through this play you and your child will have memorable moments as well as opportunities to enrich your child’s vocabulary.

·       Play rhyming games. These can be played anywhere; in the car, on a walk, in the bathtub.  Have fun with silly words, too.

·       Play with alliteration.  Make up tongue twisters and silly sentences with words beginning with the same sound, “Sally sips soup.”

·       Encourage your child to describe the drawings or crafts the child has created.  Have your child tell you about what was made, how it was made, and to describe how it feels to achieve this accomplishment.  Place the pictures or crafts in a visible place in the home or care center and then use these items as conversation starters for your child and other family members or visitors.

·       Involve your child in daily routines and provide explanations as to why it is done, how it is done, and the names of the objects needed to complete the routine.  These routines may include setting the table and putting away the groceries. Use the proper labels for the objects and give directions for where the objects go including directional words. “Put the fork on the left side of the plate.”, “The cereal box goes on the bottom shelf.”

·       Encourage the child to use correct labels for emotions.  Using the correct labels provides your child with clarity of meaning, making it easier for the adult to validate the child’s emotions and to respond in the appropriate manner. 

Reading with your preschooler

·       Read everyday. Demonstrate how much you enjoy this time together.

·       Surround the child with books. Place a variety of books throughout the home and care environment, making sure the child has easy access.  Talk about the pictures, read the text and the captions, and discuss the information that is presented by the author.  Use terms such as ‘real’, ‘pretend’, and ‘make believe’. 

·       Expect your child to ask questions. When questions are asked, stop and answer even if it interrupts the flow of the story.  Ask your child to talk about the parts of the story that are of interest or may be confusing.

·       Introduce the story before reading it;  “This is a story about a little puppy that is hiding. Tell me about this picture. What do you think might happen in this story? What do you know about puppies? “  Listen to your child’s responses, and as you read, stop occasionally to encourage your child to make new predictions regarding story events, however, do not stop too often as the child’s interest may decrease.

Songs with your preschooler

·       Sing action songs.  Songs such as “Going on a bear hunt” provide the child with actions, singing, and recall of the places the hunter has been. Work together to make up new actions.

·       Look for songs that get faster and slower, or louder and softer, higher or lower.

·       Use funny songs and nonsense songs that encourage children to play with the sounds. Songs such as “Apples and bananas”, plays with sounds by changing the vowel sounds.  The words become nonsensical but it appeals to the young child’s sense of humour.

·       Provide your child with musical instruments such as shakers, rhythm sticks, small drums, and tambourines to use while singing or listening to music.  These instruments may also be used when matching the rhythm of words; pup-py, sil-ly. 

Pre-writing and your preschooler

·       Provide a variety of tools for writing; markers, crayons, pencils, bathtub crayons and paint.

·       Continue to strengthen fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination by using scissors to cut play dough, manila tag, paper, and other materials that are manageable for your child to cut.  Sewing cards are also effective for developing eye-hand coordination.

·       Provide writing tools and paper so your  child can write labels or signs for locations around the home.  Include labels for the child’s room, special drawers with the child’s craft materials, and labels for coat hooks. 

·       Encourage the child to make cards, draw, or paint a picture to go with a story that was read or with an experience the child had that day.  Label the picture with print supplied by the child or dictated by the youngster and written by the adult.

Culturally specific

·       Tell stories. Your child will learn about the culture and the language through these stories. Tell stories that include you and other family members as a way of passing on family history.

·       Encourage your preschool child to create illustrations for a story that has been shared. Then the child or adult can then produce written language to accompany the pictures.

·       Find opportunities for your child to listen to others speaking the language. Hearing the language lets the child “see” and hear the language at work.

The preschool child is on the edge of entering into the world of formal reading and writing instruction.  Your preschooler will continue to make great gains in all aspects of language development.  The language and literacy experiences you and your preschooler share will enrich and expand the child’s foundations of literacy.  Enjoy every moment of this unique developmental stage as their learning, their play activities, and their joy of interacting with you are all intertwined.

References:

Bennett, K., Weigel, D., & Martin, S. (2018). Children's acquisition of early literacy skills: Examing family contributions. Early Childhood Research Quarterly 17, 295-317.

National Early Literacy (2008) Developing early literacy. A scientific synthesis of early literacy development and implications for intervention: Report of the national early literacy panel.  Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction: Reports of the subgroups (Report of the National Reading Panel, NIH Publication No. 00-4754). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Pancsofar, N., & Vernon-Feagans, L. (2016). Mother and father language input to young children: Contributions to later language development. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 27, 571-587.