Lesson 3: The development of Language & Literacy

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Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able

  • Explain the stages of language and literacy development (using the Maine Infant and Toddler Guidelines and the Maine Early Learning Development Standards) and individual children’s patterns of development.

  • Discuss examples of appropriate environmental set up to promote language and literacy development.

  • Explain how language and literacy is part of a holistic approach to child development and create activity ideas to support language and literacy development through literature and other developmental domains

Teaching

Every child develops at their own pace. However, every baby (unless there are compications) is born ready to communicate. Their first sign of communication is crying to alert someone that they need food, comfort or companionship. The first three years of life are critical for language development as each individual child discovers ways to communicate. This includes receptive and expressive communication through a variety of verbal and non-verbal methods.

Guidelines & Patterns of Development

Provided there are not any complications, children will follow a natural progression of speech and language milestones. A more in depth list of milestones can be found in the article, (Speech and Language Developmental Milestones) This article only provides a basic understanding of speech and language development and note that there are a lot of other things to consider.

Literacy development is not as quick and specific as language development but it is CRITICAL for children to be exposed to literature, as it is a large part of their language growth. As noted in the video below, by 6 months, children should already be reaching out and trying to grab the pages of a book. However annoying to the adult trying to read it, this behavior is perfectly normal and welcomed! Watch the video Early Literacy Development for more details.

The most familiar resources that are used for language and literacy development are the Maine Infant Toddler Guidelines and Maine Early Learning Developmental Standards. The guidelines are not a milestone checklists but do serve as a guide for educator's to consider typical development for every child. With the combination of the guidelines, assessments and other resources, it is the educators job to provide appropriate, challenging activities for each child and encourage language and literacy growth.

Environmental Considerations & Holistic Practice
To encourage language development at such a young age, simply talking does not do the trick. An educator must understand the importance of environmental considerations and how to begin planning for children based upon the belief that development is a holistic process.

For example, an eight month old is in your classroom and is starting to make word-familiar sounds. You want to encourage the word "ball" that she is trying to say. My holistic and environmental support for her saying the word ball might look like this:

  • Social Emotional Development - SMILE and repeat the word ball when she tries to say it. CLAP when she makes an attempt
  • Motor AND Cognitive Development - hand her a small ball to hold on to while we are talking about it. Her fingers are working hard to hold the ball AND her brain is making a visual connection between the object and word
  • Literacy Development - Point out a picture in a book that has a ball in it. - Literacy development is CRUCIAL to language development. You can also put up lables in the classroom on the basket full of balls or a picture of a ball with the word ball under it.
  • Sensory Deelopment - Develop an activity where you paint with different textured balls
  • Parent Engagement - TALK to the parent about how interested the child is in saying the word ball. Ask what they are doing at home and how they are encouraging it as well.

Of course this list is not complete but encouraging langauge development can be so simple. Don't over think it. Just think environmental and holistic. What are all of the ways I can support this language growth?

An easy way to incorporate language and literacy in the classroom for children of all ages is by labeling everything in the environment and assure books are accessible in all areas including math, science, sensory, dramatic play and even the bathroom. You may have to sanitize the books every day but the long- lasting outcome is worth it.

It is also important to be intentional when placing books around the environment. For example, it doesn’t make sense to place a fourth grade book about dinosaur fossils in the drop-off area if fourth graders won’t be passing through that area. When selecting books and choosing where to place them, think to yourself: What is the purpose of this book in this particular area of the environment and how does this relate to the children? What else could I place in that area that will help to make a connection with the child and their real-life experiences?

A child’s physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development is far from separate and language and literacy should be able to be an objective in ALL activity planning.

Example
I have always enjoyed messy sensory activities for children. Children are naturally curious about how paint can be slippery and spread on paper by their fingers, a paintbrush or even by the tires on a small plastic car. Then they spread the paint on their bodies and experience how it is cold or hot and changes the color of their clothes or skin. Then they might move on to tasting it (if that isn’t the first thing they do). It is always funny to watch their reactions as they make a face in disgust but continue to try it again a few more times.

I always plan the activity as a “sensory” activity but of course it is more. The activity also engages their fine motor skills as they move their tiny fingers to paint or grip a utensil. It engages their gross motor skills as they move their arms around – or maybe even their legs if you let them paint with their feet! It can also be a cause and effect or hand-eye coordination activity as they figure out how they are in charge of moving the paint and where they want it. The possibilities are endless!

Most importantly though – the activity is a language and literacy opportunity! Maybe the babies aren’t saying anything but YOU should be. You should talk them through their interaction and narrating their every move. “I see you touched the paint. Now you are putting your finger on the paper. That feels slippery. Your face tells me that paint was yucky!” You could also be repeating what they say. “I heard you say yellow!” A way to build literacy is by modeling how to make intentional marks on the paper and describe what you are doing. “I am making a line” or, “I am going to make the letter J for Jessica” then as they try to make symbols or a picture or letters, you describe what they are doing.

For this quiz you will need to choose and age group and thoroughly read and understand all language and literacy domains in the appropriate guidelines.

Assessment

Lesson 3 Quiz

Choose an age group which you are working with or wish to be working with (0-3 or 3-5). Familiarize yourself with the domains indicators and domains related to language, literacy and answer the following:

  1. Explain the literacy and language development for the age group of your choice and provide examples how children’s individual differences may not fall within the pattern set by the guidelines.

  2. Explain how you will set up your environment to promote language and literacy in a minimum of 6 areas within the environment (other than labeling items around the classroom and putting books all over the place)

  3. Provide three activity ideas in other developmental domains that will incorporate language and literacy as an additional learning objective using the standard lesson plan template. Each language or literacy idea must be different than the other. For example, you cannot simply add a book or song to each activity.