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Linking Literacy with Social-Emotional Development

Slide 1

Linking Literacy with Social-Emotional Development

Lori Connors-Tadros, Ph.D.
Technical Assistance Specialist for Literacy
National Child Care Information Center

Tweety Yates, Ph.D.
Co-Project Coordinator
Center on the Social Emotional Foundations for Early Learning

Southern Stories: Literacy Traditions for Young Children

May 7, 2003

Slide 2

Child Development Research Key Findings:

How young children feel is as important as how they think, particularly with regard to school readiness.
Emotional development occurs on a parallel path to early literacy development in the context of positive relationships.

Source: From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development

Slide 3

Language, Literacy, and Social- Emotional Development

Hearing words allows a baby to self regulate.

Saying words allows a toddler to self regulate.

Expressing ideas helps a preschooler to self regulate.

Slide 4

What is Emergent Literacy?

The Emergent Literacy perspective emphasizes the gradual acquisition of literacy via formal and informal mechanisms from infancy to school age.

Literacy develops along a continuum, ranging from pre-reading to reading skills.

Slide 5

What is Emergent Literacy?

Oral language
Phonological awareness
Print Knowledge

Slide 6

What is Social- Emotional Development?

The developmentally and culturally appropriate ability to:

Manage Emotions
Relate to Adults
Relate to Peers
Feel Good About Self

Slide 7

How are they interrelated?

".We have found that emotional and intellectual development cannot be separated; that these two functions come together as the child actively explores the emotional, social, and cognitive challenges at each of these stages." Stanley Greenspan, M.D.

Slide 8

Social-Emotional Development: A Pathway to Successful Reading

Children are more likely to learn important cognitive skills when they:

are confident;

can persist at tasks; and

can engage in interactions with other children and adults.

Slide 9

Oral Language

Children learn new words by hearing them read (receptive vocabulary).

When an adult explains the word to the child he/she begins to internalize the meaning and will use the word in his/her speech (expressive vocabulary).

Slide 10

Quality of Words

The kinds of words that children hear are important:

Rare words, sustained conversation
Complexity of sentence structure

The tone of the words that children hear is important.

Source: Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experiences of Young American Children

Slide 11

Second Language Learners

The quality of the interaction, not the language of the interaction, promotes very young children's interest and ability to communicate in meaningful ways.

A strong foundation in language and lots of exposure to literacy activities is the key to ensuring all children are ready for school.

Source: Handbook of Early Literacy Research

Slide 12

Phonological Awareness

Is the ability to distinguish between units of sound or to identify rhyming words.
Songs, rhyming games, and word play support children's phonological development.
These activities also support children's social-emotional development.

Source: Scientist in the Crib: What early learning tells us about the mind

Slide 12

Print Knowledge

Alphabetic principle

The alphabet
Relationship between letters and sounds

Concepts about print

Reading left to right
Print on a page corresponds to words in a sentence
Language related to books - title, author, illustrator

Slide 13

Indicators of School Success

Social Development

Emotional Development

Literacy Development

Ready for School

Slide 15

Reading Aloud

"The single most important activity for building [literacy] understandings and skills essential for reading success appears to be reading aloud to children."

Source: What Research Reveals

Slide 16

Reading aloud builds children's literacy skills when children are engaged in the activity.

Children who are more engaged during reading aloud are more motivated to read and have better literacy skills.

Slide 17

Children are also more engaged when they have a positive relationship with the adult who is reading to them.
Source: Handbook of Early Literacy Research

Slide 18

Storytelling

Storytelling offers an opportunity to support children's social-emotional development by building self-esteem and giving legitimacy to cultural practices and traditions.

Children's understanding of storytelling contributes to their vocabulary development and understanding of story forms (beginning, middle, end).

Slide 19

Recommendations

We should not debate the relative importance of language/literacy development and social-emotional development.
They are interdependent and interrelated such that it is not possible to focus on one without focusing on the other.
Our focus should be on learning opportunities that integrate social-emotional and language and literacy development.

Slide 20

Thank you!

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This material was developed by the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning with federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (Cooperative Agreement N. PHS 90YD0119). The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nor does mention of trade names, commercial projects, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. You may reproduce this material for training and information purposes.

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