Improving Literacy Environments and Experiences

for Children Birth to Five: Research and Resources

Nell K. Duke & Annie M. Moses,

Michigan State University & the Literacy Achievement Research Center

Plan for this Presentation

Results of survey and observation study

Professional resources for improving literacy for children birth to five

Excerpts of a videotape on promoting emergent literacy in child care settings

Strategies for improving literacy for children birth to five

Survey and Observation Study

Very little research has examined literacy environments and activities available in child care settings.

To our knowledge, no research has examined this in family and group home care settings.

Few needs assessments related to professional development around literacy birth to five are available.

Research QuestionsSurvey: What do center-based and home-based child care

providers report that they know about and do with respect to emergent literacy environments and activities?

Observation Study: What do center-based child care providers actually do

with respect to providing emergent literacy activities and environments?

Survey and Observation Study: To what extent do child care providers’ reports match

what is observed in centers with respect to emergent literacy environments and activities?

Participants

Survey: A stratified (by care setting type) random sample of

337 center, group and home providers from across Michigan

Observation: 15 centers within 45 minutes of MSU (randomly

selected but with some centers declining to participate) 6 observed rooms had mostly 2-year-olds 3 observed rooms had mostly 3-year-olds 6 observed rooms had mostly 4-year-olds

Measures

Survey: Questions related to:

Providers’ use of ELA with infants, toddlers and preschoolers

Demographic information Access to different media and preferences

for receiving professional development materials

Response rate of 57.1%

Measures, cont.Observation: PELLC survey PELLC observation form:

• identifying and background information • activities (whether activity was observed, how many

times, and for how many minutes) • characteristics of the print environment, and final

notes and comments ELLCO (Early Language and Literacy Classroom

Observation Record; Smith & Dickinson, with Sangeorge & Anastasopoulos, 2001):• literacy environment checklist • literacy activities rating scale

Measures Quality

Survey: Internal consistency, when measurable, high

(Cronbach’s alpha .917 - .920)

Observation: Correlated well with ELLCO on comparable

items Rankings of centers correlated .74

Survey and Observation: Generally corresponded well but with

discrepancies on some items

The Survey: Select Results

Reading storybooks for each age was the highest reported ELA happening at least once a day:

• For toddlers: 86.4%

• For preschoolers: 89.4% Other highly reported activities (between 80.5 –

87.5%) include:

• Singing songs, having children look at books of their choice, have children draw or write (preschoolers), and including reading and writing materials in play centers (preschoolers)

The Survey: Select Results

Some of the lower reported ELA happening at least once a day (for toddlers & preschoolers):• Act out stories or have children do so (toddlers:

15.1%, preschoolers: 19.0%)• Teach parents how to read and write with children

(toddlers: 7.7%, preschoolers: 8.6%)• Read information books or nonfiction (toddlers:

27.5%, preschoolers: 37.7%)• Show children how people use reading and writing

in everyday life (toddlers: 26.9%, preschoolers: 36.5%)

• Talk about or point to writing displayed in the room (toddlers: 44.7%, preschoolers: 54.9%)

The Survey: Select ResultsReporting 30 Minutes or More of Literacy Activities

Infants (%) Toddlers (%)

Preschoolers (%)

Kindergarteners (%)

NEVER 15.5 3.8 1.0 6.1

1-2 DAYS/ WEEK

28.0 14.0 6.2 9.8

3-4 DAYS/ WEEK

19.8 21.9 19.3 14.3

EVERY DAY

36.7 60.4 73.5 69.8

n 207 265 306 245

The Survey: Select ResultsReporting 30 Minutes or More of Literacy Activities

30 minutes or more least common with infants, then toddlers, then preschoolers

Even in preschool, more than 1 in 4 centers did not report providing 30 minutes or more

Center settings generally reported more time with literacy than family or group settings (statistically significant differences for all age groups)

The Survey: Select ResultsPrimary Caregiver Reported Understanding

"developmentally appropriate" (%)

"emergent literacy" (%)

NO UNDERSTANDING

.6 4.6

LITTLE UNDERSTANDING

.6 13.4

SOME UNDERSTANDING

19.3 34.5

STRONG UNDERSTANDING

79.5 47.6

n 331 328Note: Reported understanding generally lower in family and group care settings than in center settings.

Observations: Select Results

Total number of minutes spent in ELA:• Most number of minutes observed:

210 minutes (43.75% of the 8 hours involved ELA)

• Least number of minutes observed: 27 minutes (5.63% of the 8 hours involved ELA)

Observations: Select Results

Storybook reading observed in all but one site (4.65 minutes - 60.71 minutes total) (information book reading observed in only three sites)

Other commonly observed activities include:• singing (13 centers)• asking children to explain something (9 centers)• allowing children to look at books of their choice

(9 centers)

Observations: Select Results

Rarely observed activities include:• writing in front of or with children (4 and 3 centers

respectively)• tell stories or have children act out or tell stories

(1, 2 and 1 centers respectively)• encourage or teach parents to read and write

with children at home (not observed at all)• show children how people use reading and

writing in everyday life (2 centers)• take children to library or visit mobile library (1

and 0 centers respectively)• help children learn to read and write their names

(6 centers) or other words (2 centers)

05

101520253035404550

1-10 11-24 25-49 50-99 More than100

Books available

Pe

rce

nt

Observations Results: Access to Books

05

1015202530354045

none 4-6 7-10 More than 10

Books displayed (covers showing)

Per

cent

Observations Results: Books Displayed

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

None present Some present A great dealpresent

Play areas with print

Pe

rce

nt

Observations Results: Play Areas with Print

05

1015202530354045

Nonepresent

1-5 6-10 11-20 Morethan 20

Number of Labels & Captions

Pe

rce

nt

Observations Results: Number of Labels & Captions

05

101520253035404550

1-5 pieces 6-10pieces

11-20pieces

More than20 pieces

Amount of Print on Walls

Pe

rce

nt

Observations Results: Amount of Print on Walls

Professional Resources for Improving Literacy Birth to Five

College and university courses District, regional, or state professional

development initiatives Professional conferences Early Literacy Curricula, for example:

• Breakthrough to Literacy• Literacy Express• High/Scope• And many others!

Professional Resources for Improving Literacy Birth to Five

Professional books, for example:• Starting Out Right (Burns, Snow, & Griffin, 1999)• Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally

Appropriate Practices for Young Children (Neuman, Copple, & Bredekamp, 2000)

• New IRA Preschool Literacy Series• Literacy and the Youngest Learner: Best

Practices for Educators of Children from Birth to Five (Bennett-Armistead, Duke, & Moses, 2005)

• And many more!

Videotapes and hypermedia materials

PELLC (Promoting Emergent Literacy In Licensed Care) Videotape

Focuses on research-based strategies for promoting emergent literacy in child care settings

Features photographs and videoclips from exemplary group and center settings (includes infants, toddlers and preschoolers)

Includes commentary from Governor Jennifer Granholm, two literacy professors, and child care providers

Video authors: Duke, Moses, Billman, Zhang & Bennett-Armistead; Video partners: MSU FACT Coalition, Michigan

FIA, Michigan Community Coordinated Child Care

PELLC (Promoting Emergent Literacy In Licensed Care) Videotape

Approximately 90 minutes, with six sections:1. Promoting emergent literacy (20m)2. Aspects of emergent literacy (12m)3. Creating a rich literacy environment

(18m)4. Read aloud (16m)5. Other literacy activities (14m)6. Literacy beyond the walls of the care

environment (16m)

Part 1: Introduction

Importance of literacy Fundamental concepts underlying

videotape:• developmentally appropriate practice• emergent literacy• responsive teaching

Importance of oral language Strategies for using the videotape

Part 2: Aspects of Literacy to Develop in Early Childhood

Concepts of print Phonological awareness Letter-sound knowledge Word recognition Genre knowledge Understanding of text Production of text Interest in and love of literacy and learning World knowledge

Part 4: Read Aloud

Why:• Build phonological awareness & letter-sound

knowledge• Build concepts of print • Build comprehension skills• Build knowledge about the world

How:• Lap reading with one or few children• Interactive reading• Expressive reading

Book Selection

Part 6: Literacy Beyond the Walls of the Care Environment

Literacy outdoors Literacy on field trips

• Environmental print walks• Field trips to literacy-focused destinations• Field trips to other destinations

Connecting with families

Connecting with Families

Incentive programs Take home bags and cubbies Literacy-related notices Modeling and documentation “Funds of knowledge” activities Surveys/focus groups/interviews/home

visits Workshops and family coaching

An Example of an Effective Parent Involvement Program for Language in K

Project EASE (Jordan, Snow, & Porche, 2000) Five parent coaching sessions, one per month, on

different themes related to language interactions around books

Followed a discussion outline; provided a take home guide; followed by parent-child practice activity

For three weeks following: scripted activities, involving books, sent home related to that month’s theme

The five themes were words, words, words; telling personal event narratives; discussing storybook narratives; discussing information-rich books; learning about letters and sounds.

Front

Strategies for Improving Literacy for Children Birth to Five

Implementing state-level initiatives (Michigan’s approach)

Making college and university courses accessible

Providing literacy-focused regional, local or care-setting-based professional development

Conducting family/parent education programs

Involving the K-12 community

Ways the K-12 Community Can Promote Emergent Literacy in Child Care Settings

Hold workshops for or with local child care providers• e.g., “Important knowledge skills for kindergarten”• e.g., “Working together: A summit of child care

providers and elementary educators” Distribute literacy-related materials to child care

providers• e.g., Books and videotapes

Host literacy-related celebrations for children in child care (and elementary school)• e.g., A read-in, plays, and sing-alongs

Service learning programs involving child care settings as service sites

On Your Way Out . . .

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