Language/Literacy

Toddlers

What We Saw: A small bookshelf with plastic and thick cardboard books is placed in a central area of the classroom. A teacher is sitting on the floor near the bookshelf and several children come over to the teacher. One 2-year-old child takes several books off the shelf. He hands the book "Babe" to the teacher. The teacher starts reading him the book. During the book he names a tree, duck, pig, cow and sheep. The child then gets up and finds another "Babe" book. He sits down with his book while the teacher is holding her book. She says to him, "There are two "Babe" books. We can read together. They are the same. It's the same as mine". The child looks at his book and then at the teacher and her book, then giggles and smiles.

What It Means: Providing and reading developmentally appropriate books to toddlers is an excellent way to encourage language development and a love of reading. Having the books displayed attractively on a shelf in an area, which is comfortable and cozy, is inviting to children and teachers alike. So often we remember to have two of the same toys in toddler rooms but having two of the same books can be just as important! The teacher was modeling reading and introducing the concept of same/different to a child.

Preschoolers

What We Saw: The teacher sat down to read a book and the children gathered around excitedly. She read the title and author of the book to the children. The book was Look, This is what I can do, by Dr. Seuss. As she read the book she encouraged the children to repeat words and participate in the reading. "The children in the group listened, and repeated phrases such as, "Look see, I can do three, and Hop on a tree, with four apples on me." After the story one child kept repeating "Hop on top". The teacher responded, "That is fun to say, isn't it."

What It Means: Phonemic awareness is the ability to recognize individual sounds in words when they are heard aloud. Research indicates that young children who have good phonemic awareness are more likely to become successful readers in the first and second grade of school. Rhyming words encourage children to focus on individual sounds in words, rather than the entire word. They often appear in finger plays, nursery rhymes, or in stories just like the Dr. Seuss book that was read in class during the observation. It is best when the words appear close together because it's easier for the children to hear the differences among them.

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