Fostering Literacy Development in Children

When you hear the word “literacy,” what comes to mind? Many people associate literacy with only reading and writing. While those skills are a major component of literacy, it also involves learning sounds, words, and language. Children start to learn language from the day they are born. According to the American Speech and Hearing Association, as children grow and develop, their speech and language skills become increasingly more complex. They learn to understand and use language to express their ideas, thoughts, and feelings, and to communicate with others. During early speech and language development, children learn skills that are important to the development of literacy.

Literacy development refers to the whole process of learning language and the words and sounds that go with it and is a vital component in a child’s overall development. Educators do teach literacy skills, but in reality, literacy development begins long before children become school aged and then continues to develop in and out of the classroom. There are many ways to foster early literacy development at home and have fun while doing it!

Talk to Your Child

Talking with your child throughout the day is one of the simplest ways to foster early literacy development. Communicating with your child, narrating what you’re doing, asking them questions, listening to them, and explaining things can make all the difference! While talking, emphasize sounds, words and facial expressions, especially when your child is very young. You might find that your child will respond by trying to imitate you. These give-and-take interactions encourage conversation. Don’t stress about coming up with ideas to talk about (you don’t need to be a one-man pony show!); try listening to your child and following their lead. Talk about their interests and actions. If your child asks a question, give them the chance to come up with answers before you step in. For example, if your child says, ‘What’s that box there?’, you could say, ‘What do you think it is?’.

Read Books together

Reading books with your child is a big part of helping them learn to read and maybe even love it, too! Making reading a part of your daily routine helps children learn the sounds of letters in spoken language and helps them learn new words and develop a larger vocabulary.

Early book options, such as lift-the flap books, touch-and-feel books or books with repeating or rhyming words, are great choices for younger children. Pointing out and talking about the pictures your child points to will help to build vocabulary and also offers the opportunity to explain the meaning of new words. When reading with older children,asking open-ended questions about the story, like “What do you think is going to happen next?” can help to promote predicting and inferencing skills.

If your child isn’t initially interested in reading books the traditional way, that’s ok! You can start by working together to tell stories based on the pictures. Try using vocal inflection and non-word sounds (e.g., beep beep!) to help make the story more engaging and interesting, which may lead to more questions and participation from your child!

Rhyme And Sing With Your Child

Rhyming is a great way to help your child hear and identify different sounds in words. This helps your child learn that words are made up of smaller speech sounds. When children begin learning to read, rhyming helps them learn the connection between the sound of a word and how it’s written. While rhyming might not seem like a big thing, it can help your child hear that there are common endings in words, which, in turn, helps them develop the ability to break words down into smaller parts.

Visit your local library

It is free to join your local library and this gives you access to a huge variety of books and other programs! Libraries help you offer a variety of books to your child, including books that are tailored to their interest at that time (we know books can get expensive!), and your child may find something new that interests them while searching through the library’s shelves.

Your library experience doesn’t stop at just checking out books too. There are often many free story time sessions for children and their parents or caregivers, and activities that help get your child motivated to read more.

Bellflower Speech and Language Therapy is here to help encourage and foster your child’s literacy development. Do you have questions about your child’s language and literacy? We are happy to answer any questions you may have and to assist with your child’s literacy success and a lifetime of learning! Contact us today!