Annie Phillips-Emergent Literacy
"Literacy is a process that begins in infancy and continues into adulthood" This statement was made at the beginning of chapter 4 in Literacy for the 21st Century. As I continued to read, I gained a new perspective on how children learn how to read, and what contributes to emergent literacy. Tompkins mentioned in the chapter that an older outlook on literacy is that children "become ready" to learn to read when they reach a certain age. Contrarily, children begin the literacy process as infants, when they are exposed to print in several forms. For example, they learn to recognize logos in restaurants, department stores, grocery stores, and items throughout the house.
Another interesting point that I read was that before children learn to read, they learn basic principles such as how to hold a book and turn pages, which direction to read the print, and how punctuation marks are used. Children also read predictable books before they become independent, fluent readers. When I think back on my experience learning to read, I realize that this is very accurate. In kindergarten, I loved being able to hold a book and read on my own, even though the books I read were usually books that I had memorized. It is so important to recognize that children go through several steps as they become fluent readers, and that as a teacher, I must learn to recognize how I can help my students become independent readers who have a love for reading.
Question: What is one of the best ways to help emergent readers to not become frustrated as they learn to read?
I completely agree with that statement and find it so interesting and amazing that children learn literacy at such a young age.
ReplyDeleteI think by slowly introducing reading into a child's life and giving them small books with big words to begin with will help them not get frustrated as easily. It is important to read with the child and when they struggle with a word help sound it out with them.