Element 1: The Developing Early Learner
Purpose: Understanding the early learner's overall development lays the foundation for effective early language and literacy development. As early learners develop their language and literacy skills, cognitive abilities, emotional and social maturity, and physical capabilities, it is important to be aware these domains are all interconnected. This interconnectedness is a critical piece in the support of literacy and language development. Possessing such awareness may be helpful to teachers of early learners to enhance their teaching methods. Element 1 provides resources about the development of early learners and the role of family, caregivers, and first teachers with language and literacy development from birth through age eight.
Activity 1: Understand the Continuum of Child Development of the Early Learner
Activity 2: Understand the Role of Literacy in the Family
Element 2: Developing an Early Language and Literacy Learning Profile
Purpose: Understanding the status of early language and literacy in the early childhood care and educational environment at the community level is necessary to improve language and literacy development among early learners. Gathering information about the community helps members, including families, schools, and early childhood educators and caregivers, to understand the local landscape of early language and literacy.
Gathering information about the community is an important part of understanding the early childhood educational environment.
Activity 1: Build a Community Literacy Profile
Activity 2: Build an Early Child Care and School Literacy Profile
Element 3: The Foundation for Learning to Read and Write
Purpose: The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) defines early literacy as "what children know about reading and writing before they actually learn to read and write." This Element explores the foundation for learning to read and write, focusing on language development and emergent literacy skills.
Activity 1: Understand Language Development
Activity 2: Understand Emergent Literacy Milestones, Terminology, and Stages
Activity 3: Intentional Instruction to Enhance Language and Emergent Literacy Development
Element 4: Becoming a Reader and Writer
Purpose: This Element explores learning to read and write, focusing on the transitions from pre-school to Kindergarten and Kindergarten to first grade and the importance of a child-centered curriculum. Additionally, the Element delineates the research-based components of learning to read and write.
Activity 1: Transitions
Activity 2: The Learning Environment
Activity 3: A Child-Centered Curriculum
Activity 4: Reading Instruction
Activity 5: Writing Instruction
Activity 6: Creative Expression
Activity 7: Technology, Reading, and Writing
Activity 8: Teaching All Children to Read and Write
Element 5: Standards for Early Childhood Teaching and Learning
Purpose: Standards for early learning include those for educators of early learners, state-level early learning guidelines or standards, and applicable national standards. Educators of early learners need to be aware of the standards impacting licensure and instruction. This Element provides information about applicable standards impacting educators of early learners and their students.
Activity 1: Be Aware of Standards for Early Childhood Educators
Activity 2: Be Aware of Early Childhood Learning Standards
Activity 3: Align Curriculum and Instruction to Standards
Task 1: Communicate with and Involve Parents and Caregivers
Guideline: Parents' and caregivers' involvement with their children's education has been demonstrated to be an important factor in improving student academic achievement. Improving early literacy requires educators to work with parents and caregivers. In doing so, parents and caregivers need to ask how they can help their children, while educators need to reach out to parents and caregivers offering ideas on how they can be involved.
Providing a Literacy-Rich Home Environment
This link to the Reading is Fundamental website provides a list of suggested ways to provided for a literacy-rich home environment. Parents and caregivers of early learners may the find the list helpful. Educators of early learners may find it a useful list to share with parents and family caregivers.
Literacy Development Begins at Home, With a Literate Home Environment
This article at the Reading is Fundamental website explains the importance of a literate home environment to literacy development. The article offers suggestions on ways to enhance a literate home environment. Parents of family caregivers of early learners may find its content helpful. Educators of early learners may find this article useful to share with parents and family caregivers.
Working with Latino Parents in Child Care and Other Settings
This North Carolina Cooperative Extensive Service brief provides insights on ways educators of early learners can work with parents of Latino students.
Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters
This link to the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Kids Count special report explores why achieving reading literacy by third grade is important. Educators of early learners may find it useful when discussing language and literacy development with parents, educators, policy makers, and community leaders.
Information for Early Childhood Educators
This link to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website provides early childhood educators information on the Center's "Learn the Signs Act Early" campaign. This website provides educators resources to help them inform parents about the full range of child development.
Now for Later
This link to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Now for Later website promoting the importance of early learning. As noted at the Now for Later website, the initiative's purpose "is to help raise awareness among parents, professionals and community leaders of the importance of school readiness, the need for quality early learning opportunities, and the role of family and early childhood programs." Though intended for the state of Missouri, educators of early learners may find the content useful in their states. It is offered as an example of a state-wide initiative to enhance school readiness of early learners.
Element 6: Building Support for Early Learning Programs
Purpose: Building support for language and literacy development of early learners involves the participation of parents and caregivers, the business community, local community groups, and educational and state governmental leaders. To promote and enhance early learner language and development, educators need to be aware of the role each group plays and how to communicate with them. This Element provides resources to help educators of early learners gain such awareness.
Activity 1: Develop Parent, Caregivers, and Community Support
Activity 2: Interact with Advocates and Policy Makers
Element 7: Using Data to Improve Early Learning Outcomes
Purpose: Formative and summative assessments and observations provide the basis for planning instruction, making adjustments, and refining future assessments. Assessment results show educators of early learners where changes need to be made in instructional approaches for groups of students or individual students. The assessment outcomes also show parents of early learners how their child is progressing. This Element explores how to use data to improve learning outcomes for early learners.
Activity 1: Use Multidimensional Learning Data
Activity 2: Use Data to Improve Instruction and Increase Learning
Activity 3: Inform and Collect Feedback from Constituencies
