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Improving the development of childrens early communication & language skills will narrow the gap for vulnerable children accessing literacy at school Presented by: Jan Stevens Early Language Consultant/Speech & Language Therapist Slide 2 JOE!! What did you like about this? Michael Rosen DVD Slide 3 AGENDA Parents & Reading School Readiness Early Home Learning Environment (EHLE) 4 Key Strands of Early Literacy Planning vocabulary learning: SPIDERGRAM Phonological awareness skills ORIM Framework to work with parents Early Years Talk Homework (TCT) Slide 4 National Literacy Trust research with parents (2009) found that MOST parents are happy to support early reading/spelling skills when child starts school Far fewer parents recognised that they had a role in supporting the development of their childs early communication skills at home, from birth!!! We are told that many parents in Southampton dont appear to know Nursery Rhymes BUT Nursery Rhymes remain probably the BEST way for children to develop adequate early communication & language skills ECaT Aims: to improve childrens communication skills by developing knowledge & skills of EY practitioners AND parents Early Literacy Skills Slide 5 TABLE ACTIVITY o . parents & grandparents believe that modern technology in the home distracts them from storytelling o . parents are too tired to read stories o . parents get home from work too late to read o . parents are too busy with other activities at home o . parents read to their children daily o . parents say story time allows them to spend quality time together o . parents know their children enjoy having books read to them Slide 6 DISNEY survey 1,000 parents & grandparents of children under 6: 48% mothers read to their children 21% fathers read to their children 17% grandparents read to their grandchildren 53% women were read to when they were children compared with 44% of men Slide 7 Reading needs talking Talking needs reading What does this tell us?? Slide 8 THE EARLY HOME LEARNING ENVIRONMENT EHLE EPPE study (2004 ): What parents do is more important than who parents are Social class, income, living conditions, parents own education levels are all factors that are directly related to child development outcomes High quality EHLE can mitigate much of the impact of these factors: parents can enhance their childs progress if they engage regularly in activities that encourage positive social development & thinking Children with strong EHLE are ahead in both social & cognitive development at 3: they show advanced language ability, higher levels of confidence, co-operation & sociability This advantage continues as these children progress through school: at 7 they achieve higher on standardised reading & maths tests; the benefits for literacy & numeracy continue through to at least 11 years old Slide 9 The language children hear matters Number of words spoken to children Hart and Risley, Meaningful Differences, 1995 millions of words Slide 10 Childrens vocabulary size Hart and Risley, Meaningful Differences, 1995 The language children hear matters Slide 11 Quantity AND Quality of Adult Language Slide 12 Positive Factors in EHLE Play activities seen to have most impact: Reading & sharing books Going to the library Going on visits Playing with letters & numbers Singing songs & rhymes Drawing & painting Playing with friends ( Millenium Cohort Study Bristol) Slide 13 Bucking the Trend ( Blanden 2006): Children from disadvantaged backgrounds who had been read to on a daily basis at age 5, & whose parents had been very interested in their childs education at age 10, were less likely to be living in poverty at age 30. The effect of parent interest was independent of the effect of parents being more educated. For boys, having a father with little or no interest in their education reduced their chances of moving out of poverty as adults by 25% For girls, the impact of having a mother with little or no interest in their education reduced their chances by a similar amount. Slide 14 Transition to School School Readiness Well developed attention & listening skills will support learning in school Well developed auditory discrimination skills will support phonological development therefore literacy development Well developed social skills will support development of relationships & friendships, which will support development of the language of compromise/negotiation ECaT Communication Tree == ECaT Early Literacy Tree Slide 15 Universal Strategies in Southampton settings Every Child a Talker promotes: Dialogic book sharing: good evidential support as helpful strategy (Early Intervention Foundation The Best Start at Home p11) Narrative groups or using Narrative approach Nursery Rhymes & Songs (supported by signing) Signing by all adults as part of a language rich learning environment Positive Adult Interaction style Adult Strategies/Top Tips for Talking Slide 16 Making it REAL Raising Early Achievement in Literacy : www.real-online.group.shef.ac.ukwww.real-online.group.shef.ac.uk Cathy Nutbrown & Peter Hannon University of Sheffield: Project to improve parents knowledge & confidence in developing & supporting early literacy NCB adapted model of intervention & developed training package 4 Key Strands of Early Literacy: Environmental Print Books Oral Language Early Writing Slide 17 ENVIRONMENTAL PRINT IN EARLY LITERACY Research shows that children notice & draw meaning from familiar environmental symbols & signs & from print in context. For many children print awareness develops before they go to school. ENVIRONMENTAL PRINT can be found: At Home: words, letters, logos on clothes, labels on household appliances, packets of food, TV, digital technology, newspapers In the Community: street signs, bus stops, trains, adverts, shop signs, car registration plates, signs on the road, caf menus, carrier bags Slide 18 Value of Environmental Print Children use context of colour, shape, size & pictures to support their recognition Children are prompted by adults to talk about literacy e.g. What does that say? this helps them become aware that print & words carry meaning Children gradually focus more on the letters & words that interest them e.g. That letters in my name They begin to recognise & read whole words e.g. STOP on street signs or NO in No Parking Noticing print encourages & stimulates early writing attempts: children like to imitate what they see Adults help children by making their use of environmental print explicit e.g. Im looking here to read when the next bus is coming Slide 19 Books in Early Literacy Children who have been read to daily tend to achieve more in the first year of primary school not only in language & literacy, but across all other areas of learning & development (Hansen K. et al 2010) Babies & Books: Books as a focus for talk, play & interaction especially if used repetitively Babies & toddlers enjoy pictures, rhythm & repetition Sharing & Reading books helps children to: Become familiar with book & story language Know how books & story structure work Anticipate rhyme Memorise & predict text; join in & read Notice & develop interest in features of print Recognise familiar whole words & letters Slide 20 3 rd Key Strand of Early Literacy Key Aspects identified by Professor Cathy Nutbrown as part of Oral Language Strand: Phonological Awareness Storytelling Talk about Literacy Slide 21 Phonological Awareness When children are exposed to spoken language in their everyday environment & through their experiences, they develop some knowledge of the sound structure of oral language They progress through identifying streams of linked sounds (sentence/phrase/word/syllables/phonemes) in what they hear around them For young children the most useful knowledge of sound structure is ONSET & RIME (Goswami & Bryant 1990) ONSET: STRing same onset in STRetch, STReam, STRong RIME: strING same rime in rING, thING, wING, beginnING Slide 22 Links to Early Reading Awareness of ONSET & RIME supports early reading One way to develop this awareness is through nursery rhymes Research has indicated that children who know at least 5 nursery rhymes by heart are more likely to achieve success in reading at school Slide 23 In small groups, come up with a new version of the song/rhyme: ROW ROW ROW THE BOAT Replace the original rhymes with the following: Stream Sea Lake Pond Car Bus Bike Nursery Rhyme Activity Slide 24 Storytelling An important factor associated with future reading attainment is childrens experience of listening to stories read aloud or told How does this help early literacy? Familiarity with story & book language & structure It increases conversations with adults It extends childrens thinking (SST) & vocabulary Stories broaden childrens experience & knowledge Stories help to develop childrens imagination, encouraging them to invent & tell their own stories Slide 25 Talk about literacy Children will be introduced to language related to books/stories etc such as print, writing, word, by adults consciously using these words in a meaningful, contextualised & positive way Children learn through imitation of models in their environment Talk about literacy can occur in everyday activities: shopping, baking, gardening etc Slide 26 A resource to plan the words you identify for children to learn related to a specific topic 1. CORE words = essential for understanding topic 2. KEY words = desirable words to develop learning of topic 3. EXTENSION words = increasing number of words available relating to specific topic SPIDERGRAM MODEL Slide 27 Each table has a specific topic Plan for a particular activity on this topic Identify 10 words you want the children to know & learn for this topic Vocabulary Activity Slide 28 The ORIM Framework Devised by Cathy Nutbrown et al: There are 4 ways in which parents help their childrens literacy development: OPPORTUNITIES RECOGNITION INTERACTION MODEL Practitioners can support parents by building on what they already do ORIM network: contact ORIM@sheffield.ac.uk Slide 29 These all look & sound familiar O Language learning opportunities should be provided by parents or other adults R Language learning occurs within the context of warm, loving, attached relationships with adults who recognise & praise childs attempts & facilitate progress for that child I Language learning occurs within the context of relationships & episodes of social interaction involving adults & other children M Language learning depends on adult modelling of words & socially appropriate behaviour which children then imitate Slide 30 HELLO advice sheets: Poor Communication Impacts on Language a Foundation Life Skill Reading gap graph ECaT audit results 2014-15 Southampton EYFSP results 2013-15 ECaT stakeholders: we need to find ways to work with parents to enable them to feel confident about supporting their childs early literacy skills at home There are many reasons why we are doing this Slide 31 The Effects of Weaknesses in Oral Language on Reading Comprehension Growth (Hirsch, 1996) 5678910111213141516 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 Reading Age Level Chronological Age Low Oral Language in Kindergarten High Oral Language in Kindergarten 5.2 years difference Slide 32 Narrowing the Gap: Strand specific % AT RISK OF DELAY from total cohort tracked 2014-2015 November 2014June 15 Listening & Attention 23%18% Social Communication Skills 29%24% Understanding23 %21% Talking31%28% Slide 33 Good Level of Development Results: 2013: National = 52% Southampton = 50.8% 2014: National = 60.4 % Southampton = 61.7 % 2015: National = 66.2% Southampton = 66.0% WEST CLUSTER 2013: 55.4% 2014: 65.1 % 2015: 65.5% NORTH CLUSTER 2013: 53.4% 2014: 63.7% 2015: 69.6% SOUTH CLUSTER 2013: 47.5% 2014: 60.4 % 2015: 62.7% EAST CLUSTER 2013: 47.5 % 2014: 57.7 % 2015: 66.0% Narrowing the Gap: EYFSP Results