Definition of Emergent Literacy Refers to the fact that young children learn about books, print, and writing long before they can read and write or before going to school. This term was first used in 1966 by Marie Clay, and developed further from the 80s. Emergent literacy also emphasizes the relationship between reading writing, listening and speaking.

Emergent literacy  From 0-4/5 years  Timing established by nurture, not nature (how is this different from language development?)  Current emphasis is 1) preparation for kindergarten 2) preventing academic & reading difficulty, ultimately academic failure.

Some indicators of emergent literacy development  Pretend writing.  Pretend reading from favorite books.  Listening to stories.  Producing fictional narratives.  Detecting rhymes.  Identifying major elements of a book.  Acting out stories.  Pointing out familiar words in the environment.  Producing nursery rhymes.

Components of emergent literacy  Oral language  Emergent writing (pretend writing).  Print knowledge  Alphabet knowledge  Phonological awareness.

What puts a child at-risk for emergent literacy challenges?  Intrinsic factors-  Extrinsic factors  Interaction between intrinsic & extrinsic factors.

Group activity (in pairs)  Think of one negative intrinsic and one negative extrinsic factor and try to figure out a possible way they may interact.  Think of one positive intrinsic and one positive extrinsic factor & try to figure out how they may interact.

Emergent literacy: disturbing facts  50% of American children enter school with a risk factor that will affect their performance (e.g., abuse, poverty, etc).  0nly 24% 4 th graders are proficient readers.  37% of 4 th graders read below grade level.  Proficient children by ethnicity: white: 41%, Hispanic: 15%; Black: 13%.  See: National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2004  A poor reader in 1 st grade will remain a poor reader in 4 th grade (probability of.88)

Some evidence-based approaches to helping children develop emergent literacy skills  Storybook reading intervention.  Print-rich environments  Literacy-rich play settings  Mediated writing  Formal curricular