Early Literacy Instruction:
The Importance of Teacher
Knowledge
===========
Dr. Geri Mohler
Assistant Professor Reading/Literacy
CSU Bakersfield
gmohler@csub.edu 1
Is it ever too early?
2
Beliefs About
Early Literacy
=======================
• Begins at home
• Includes reading, writing, speaking, and
listening skills
• Is interrelated and integrated
• Is a gradual process
• Is developed through relevant experiences
and within appropriate environments
• Needs to be modeled at home and school
3
Building Blocks of High-Quality
Early Literacy Education
• Strong standards
• Appropriate and fair assessments
• Well-built curricula
• Research-based instruction
4
Preschool Teacher Expectations
(according to the National Research Council)
• Promote high levels of achievement among
all children
• Respond sensitively and appropriately to a
wide array of diverse student needs
• Implement complex pedagogy
• Have a deep understanding of subject-matter
disciplines
• Engage in serious reflection about their
practices
• Work collaboratively with colleagues
and families 5
Preschool Teacher Expectations
(cont’d.)
• All pre-k teachers need a foundational
knowledge of early literacy development.
• Preschool literacy needs to be intentional
with appropriate activities for this age-- a
balance between explicit, thematic,
spontaneous, and playful instruction.
6
It’s the teacher that
counts:
• Research has shown that it is teacher
knowledge, not the program materials
or the classroom environment, that
makes a difference in student
achievement
7
It’s the teacher that
counts:
• What you know about child
development is important
• What you know about classroom
management is important
• What you know about literacy
instruction is important
8
Major Components
of Early Literacy Instruction
from the
National Reading Panel
Children Should be Developing:
• Oral language
• Concepts of Print
• Phonemic Awareness
• Alphabet Recognition/Sounds
9
A Skilled Reader
• Identifies Words quickly and accurately
DECODES
• Understands the Meaning of the Text
COMPREHENDS
10
COMPREHENSION IN
PRESCHOOL
• Vocabulary and oral language concepts
• Problem-Solving and Reasoning Skills
• Read-Alouds (large & small groups and
alone)
• Long Periods of Play (choice, dramatic play,
construction)
• Conversations (past, future, explanations)
11
DECODING IN
PRESCHOOL
• Concepts of Print
• Phonological Awareness
• Alphabetic Knowledge
12
Large Problem Spaces vs.
Small Problem Spaces
• Large Problem Spaces
• Small Problem Spaces
13
Literacy Terms
• Phoneme--smallest unit of sound
• Grapheme--letter(s) that represent sounds
• Vowel--air passage, little obstruction
• Consonant--partly or totally blocking air
• Morpheme--smallest unit of meaning
• Syllable --sound pulse, contains one vowel
sound
• Onset/rime--hat h = onset at = rime
• Phonics--learning the letter-sound
correspondences
Structure of Language
-Phonetics-
The study and systematic classification of
speech sounds
•Phonemic awareness
•Accurate phoneme production
15
Structure of Language
-Phonology-
The study of speech sounds and their functions
in a language
•Phonics and the rules that govern it
•Recognize and describe phonological errors in
speaking, reading, and writing
•Plan and teach activities to enhance phoneme and
syllable awareness
•Know developmental continuum of phonological skills
and link to reading, writing and use of language
•Develop organized word study based on sound
structure (as opposed to meaning)
16
Structure of Language
-Morphology-
The study of structure and forms of words
including derivation (language of origin),
inflection (how words change in form), and
compounding (making a new word from 2
words)
• -ing, -ed, -s, re-, un-, etc.
• Be a model of correct inflections, don’t call
attention to errors, just repeat correctly
17
Structure of Language
-Orthography-
The representation of the sounds of a language by
written or printed symbols (graphemes or letters)
• Know spelling patterns, stages, and rules
(predictable and unpredictable)
• Understand children’s use of letter sounds to spell
• Understand children’s errors based on point of
articulation
• Develop systematic plan for teaching decoding
(reading) and encoding (spelling)
18
Structure of Language
-Semantics-
The study of meaning in language--vocabulary
• Depth and breadth of word meanings
• Know and be able to teach antonyms,
synonyms, analogies
• Know how to provide repeated exposure in
context
19
Structure of Language
-Syntax-
The study of how sentences are formed and the
grammatical rules that govern their formation
• Know and be able to model good grammar
(underlying structure that can be manipulated)
• Understand language differences that may cause
generalizations (double negatives, no plurals)
• Don’t call attention to errors, model correct use
20
Interactive Dialog ue
Storybook What Happens During
Reading Storybook Reading
Research on Storybook
Reading
Areas of
Literacy
Experiences Community and
Home Literacy Experiences
Communication Patterns
and Practices in Culture
and Society
Emergent
Literacy
Letter Knowledge
Phonological Awareness
Literacy
Knowledge Comprehension of Text Structures
Relation of Print to Speech
Developmental Patterns
Awareness of Print
Purpose and Functions of Print
Conventions of Print
IT’S NOT WHAT YOU TEACH
BUT HOW!
NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO--
MAKE IT FUN!
22
Oral Language
Development
• Labeling
• Classifying
• Vocabulary Expansion
• Understanding/being understood
• Concept of word
23
Concepts About Print
• Front and back of book
• Print carries the message
• Reading begins at the top left and
proceeds from left to right
• Print matches the spoken word
• Punctuation marks and capital letters
• Identify letters vs. words
24
Phonemic Awareness
• Sound listening
• Word counting
• Syllable segmenting/counting
• Rhyming
• Alliteration
• Segmenting and Blending
• Deletion, Addition, Substitution
25
Phonemic Awareness
• INVOLVES SOUNDS, NOT LETTERS
26
Alphabet Recognition
and Sounds
• 26 letters--upper case and lower case
• 44 sounds
• 70+ graphemes
• Correct production of explicit phonemes
• Knowledge of confusing phonemes
27
Emergent Reader (Ages 2-4)
Child Knows Needs to Learn Strategies
Concepts of Print Letter-sound connections Keyword association;
feeling the sound; sorting
words by sound; building
words with letter cards
A few icons or signs; can 30-50 known words in print Tracing and saying whole
read own name words; Matching words to
pictures, people, or objects
How a story goes Retelli ng, describing, Wordless books, created
connecting to own books, shared reading
experience
A few alphabet letters All alphabet letters Alphabet matching, naming,
ordering
Rhyming, clapping Phoneme segmentation and Elkonin boxes; Say It and
syllables blending Move It
Writing letters in own name Writing all letters Multisensory practice, with
arrows (using sounds of
letters) 28