What does “teaching reading” look like in a developmentally appropriate early childhood classroom?
That’s a question that generates a lot of discussion. To take learning standards appropriate for 8-year-olds and push them down to kindergarteners at large would be inappropriate, not advanced. At the same time, the idea that literacy should simply wait until children are suited to conventional reading standards is equally flawed.
Not long ago, I was invited to join Rae Pica and Kathleen A. Roskos to discuss developmentally appropriate approaches to reading instruction in early childhood.
As soon as I heard the topic (not to mention the amazing panel) I had to say yes.
You can hear the quick panel discussion here.
On a similar note, after getting a great question from a reader recently, I decided to address this topic in more depth on Not Just Cute, The Podcast. The reader question came from a conscientious mother (and former teacher) who said she wanted to help her child build reading skills, but had heard that it might be damaging if she did so too early. On the flipside, I’ve also heard the question, “Why don’t you teach reading?”
To me, both questions stem from the same misunderstandings that have permeated our conversations about early literacy.
You can listen below:
Listen
Find show notes here, including a link to my series on emergent literacy.
Join the Discussion
What have you seen as contributing to the misconceptions about early literacy? What great examples of developmentally appropriate early literacy programs would you like to share? Join us in the comments!
Can you have both? Of course, why not? You don’t know what will be most effective unless you’re willing to experiment and try different approaches with these children. I leave it open to the kids. They’re so smart and they’ll tell you when something resonates with them. They get excited to learn so I say yes 🙂
I’ve seen preschools teaching the “Letters and Sounds” phonics program for 20 minutes every day to 3 and 4 year-olds. It really breaks my heart to see these kind of structured lessons happening when the children should be discussing what they want to do during the day or something interesting that is happening at home. The children can learn phonics much faster when they are 6 or 7.
Quality, intentional and deliberate interaction between the child and the adult determines the interest children will have with books.