Did you know that our brains are not naturally wired to learn to read as they are to speak? Reading is a process that must be taught. Although most children learn to read once they begin formal schooling, early literacy instruction could begin at home.
Early literacy skills are the foundation for the ability to read and write. Prior to beginning school, we expose our children to all the ways that print is used in various forms. For example, we point out that the large arches for McDonald’s restaurant are in the form of an “M”. We also show them that the big red sign on the road says “STOP” and means that we must stop our car. Although we are not directly teaching our children to read, we are explaining what signs mean, pointing out letters and words, and showing them that print is everywhere around us. Essentially, we’re showing them that symbols (such as letters and images) have meaning!
In addition to working on print awareness, we can begin to expose our little ones to sound awareness, teaching them that words are composed of individual sounds. For example, you might look at a picture of a cat and say “cat starts with the sound /k/. Carrot and couch also start with the sound /k/!” Phonemic awareness will play a very important role in both reading and spelling. Rhyming songs and games are also excellent ways to build phonemic awareness.
When should we begin exposing our children to early literacy skills? Experts say: the earlier, the better! However, with our younger children (ages 0-3), the focus should be primarily on building vocabulary and auditory comprehension. Read books together, sing songs, look at pictures and expose your child to new words and concepts. Beginning formal reading can start once our littles begin understanding that words are composed of sounds and once they begin to recognize letters, such as the first letter in their name.
Now, how does all of this tie into speech therapy? Research shows that there is a significant relationship between children who have speech sound disorders and/or language disorders and future literacy abilities. That is, children who struggle with articulation and/or comprehension/expression of language are at a higher risk for struggling to read/comprehend written language and spell when they are older. Early detection and intervention is key!
In conclusion, start building your little one’s early literacy abilities as soon as you can but most importantly, don’t forget to have fun (and contact our literacy specialist if you have any questions!)
Thank you for reading our blog and please let us know if there’s a topic of particular interest you would like to hear from us about!
