What is Reading? Watch the video clip and think! Is she reading? Why or why not? What literacy skills does she have? How is her home environment supporting her literacy development?

Elizabeth Sulzby Emergent Literacy

Sulzby challenged the Reading Readiness perspective Reading Readiness Written literacy begins in grades K and 1 Learn to read before learn to write Skill and drill to get ready to read Separate subject areaPassive learner receiving Emergent Literacy Literacy begins at home Reading and writing are learned simultaneously Holistically developed in real life context Natural part of immersion in literate classroom and society Active learner constructing

Emergent Reading Classification Scheme Sulzby, 1985,1991

Artist Representation Emergent Literacy Comic mix_id= C566024

Emergent Literacy is a framework for the EMERGENT LITERACY The process of literacy begins much earlier than was previously believed, with early contact with print (for example, soft alphabet blocks, books, legos, etc.) serving as a basis for a lifelong learning process. Also, literacy is now regarded as a social and a linguistic process, rather than merely a cognitive skill to be learned. The importance of Emergent Literacy is indicated by the following research: IQ, mental age, race, parents' or guardian's levels of education, left or right handedness, and perceptual styles are weak predictors of children's reading success. Rather, these factors of Emergent Literacy are heavily correlated with later reading success: Print awareness (knowledge of print), Alphabetic knowledge ( graphophonic symbols/sounds), Phonemic awareness (linguistic awareness of words, syllables, phonemes) (Diamond and Mandel, 1996). Both direct instruction and extended exploration of these concepts in real reading and writing are necessary for developing emergent literacy. However, different children will require different levels of direct instruction, with some children needing more explicit instruction and more repeated experiences. Children who are not already reading and who cannot successfully decode need phonemic awareness, explicit instruction in the fundamental sound-letter associations, and opportunity to practice in text that they can decode and that is at an individually appropriate level of difficulty. Meanwhile, read-alouds and guided reading sessions should be maintained to ensure ample experience with meaningful, rich literacy and language. Retrieved from:

New Research Directions Qualitative, context rich research instead of experimental/quasi-experimental research Study the effects of new and multimodal literacies on young children’s literacy development at home and school Investigation of diverse learners and contexts Connections between reading and writing Exploration of school transitions and their impacts on emergent literacy Expansion for English Language Learners Development of assessments that are more authentic