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Teachers’ beliefs about preschoolers’ print literacy development

Lisa Rowell — Fri, 18 May 2012 00:12:11 +0000

As schools transition to summer, flowers and beach balls adorn the walls of many preschools, childcare centers, and elementary schools. The children who started last August grew in so many ways over the past year. Along with finger painting, block play, and circle time, preschool teachers engaged children in literacy activities they believed helped children learn the alphabet, pre-primer and primer sight words, or write their own names.

Print literacy beliefs of preschool teachers

Research has shown that teachers’ beliefs relate to classroom practice. Now new research published in the Early Years Journal, explores the print literacy beliefs of preschool teachers. Jacqueline Lynch, PhD conducted interviews with eight preschool teachers from various cultural backgrounds. Although the study was small, many preschool teachers can identify with the consistent themes Lynch identified.

Key Findings

Preschool teachers were unclear how children learn to read and to write. Teachers did not know if the literacy activities in their daily lessons were best practices for supporting children’s literacy.
Isolation from other preschools and preschool teachers provided limited access to professional literacy knowledge, networking, and collaboration.
Preschool teachers understand the importance of parent involvement in children’s literacy development, but many teachers were unsure how to advise parents.
Preschool teachers need and requested more developmentally appropriate literacy training, such as what motivates preschoolers to read, the stages of emerging literacy, and the best practices for teaching children how to read and write.
Preschool teachers engaged in various literacy activities that they believed supported children’s literacy learning.

Research in Action: ABC Music & Me

At ABC Music & Me, we know how busy preschool teachers are each day. So we keep on top of the latest early childhood development and literacy research and infuse the best practices into our language and literacy curriculum and teacher training. We use music and movement to boost early language and literacy, pre-math, and social and emotional skills of young children. Our professional development sessions give preschool teachers a clear understanding of the research behind the method and how it works on different skills and within different learning domains. Plus, we make it easy for early childhood teachers to involve parents. Each month families receive music from class and a Family Magazine that provides reading tips and literacy activities for the family to do together.

Kindergarteners’ motivation to read and write

Lisa Rowell — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:40:58 +0000

Children interact with written language at an early age. Young children begin to understand that marks in a book are actually letters. Those letters form words that convey meaning. As their understanding of the written language develops, their attitudes and feelings towards literacy activities grow in parallel. A recent study published in the Reading Psychology journal characterizes the reading and writing motivations of Kindergarten children.

Kindergarteners’ motivation for reading and writing

With parental permission, Lourdes Mata, PhD recruited 451 Kindergarteners for this study. Using a questionnaire, Mata measured the value, self-concept, and enjoyment of reading and writing. Half of the children were girls and half were boys.

Key Findings:

The value placed on reading and writing was what motivated the children in the study the most.
Enjoyment was a less important reason for reading and writing.
Children found reading to be more enjoyable than writing and rated reading to be of high importance.
Children thought that they would be equally successful at reading and writing in the upcoming academic years.

Research in Action: ABC Music & Me

ABC Music & Me uses music and movement in weekly lessons to teach early language and literacy development to preschoolers, kindergarteners, and emerging readers. Combining music with movement motivates boys and girls to participate in activities in class and at home that improve early language development, strengthens fine- and gross-motor skills, teaches sharing and self-regulation, and more. Plus, monthly take-home materials help create family routines that lead to increased literacy activities.

To learn more about using ABC Music & Me in your classroom, school, or district, email us at info@abcmusicme.com.

10 home literacy habits of successful early readers

Lisa Rowell — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:36:08 +0000

Some children begin PreK or Kindergarten with a solid literacy foundation, including letter knowledge, phonological awareness, and an already rich home literacy environment that actively supports reading. Researchers recently conducted a small study of 10 successful early readers in an attempt to identify common home literacy activities and habits.

As published in the Early Years Journal, the team explored children’s attitudes towards reading, responses to selected texts, and early phonological and letter knowledge to identify the literacy behaviors these early competent readers exhibited. Based on parent interviews, the team uncovered commonalities in home literacy environments.

10 home literacy activities and habits of successful early readers

Parents placed a high value on literacy.
Children participated in literacy activities, such as reading and storytelling, as part of their everyday routines and rituals.
Children’s home literacy environments included their personal story choices and those of their parents.
Children were accustomed to sharing and talking about books.
Adults regularly read to them.
Stories were integrated into play and acted out.
Parents could be seen reading for pleasure.
Children engaged in word games and songs and rhymes that encouraged developing early literacy.
Literacy was a social event and linked to talk and language development.
Parents bridged the gap between classroom learning and home learning through literacy activities.

Research in Action: ABC Music & Me

ABC Music & Me includes monthly take-home materials families can use together at home that support the 10 home literacy activities and habits identified in this research. Each month children receive a Family Magazine full of engaging literacy and musical activities that can easily be integrated into a family’s daily routines and rituals, including the story from class. Materials are available in English and Spanish.

For information about using ABC Music & Me in your classroom, school, or district, email us at info@abcmusicandme.com.

Storytelling helps preschoolers’ vocabulary development

Lisa Rowell — Fri, 11 May 2012 00:21:27 +0000

If given the opportunity, preschoolers create fantastical, elaborate stories during playtime. Whether pretending to be a pink unicorn with the power to fly or a giant superhero who captures the bad guys using a magic stick, children stretch the boundaries of imagination.

Storytelling and vocabulary development in preschoolers

Recent research published in the Early Childhood Research Quarterly journal provides insight into how to harness storytelling to reinforce preschoolers’ vocabulary development. Reading and Language Arts professor, Tanya Christ, PhD, and her team, investigated using storytelling to support preschoolers’ vocabulary development. This small study videotaped 13 preschoolers dictating 38 unique stories. The team analyzed the scribed stories and videos qualitatively and quantitatively.

Key Findings

The use of target vocabulary during story dictations and the complexity with which they were used increased as children participated in more story dictations.
The weighted number of unique target vocabulary was positively correlated with the number of times the teacher modeled the use of a target word, and the number of times the teacher prompted children to repeat the word, creating a phonological imprint.
The total depth of target words was negatively correlated with the number of teacher’s questions for identification and positively correlated with the number of teacher’s story rereading.

Research in Action: ABC Music & Me

ABC Music & Me boosts language and literacy skills, including vocabulary development. Picture vocabulary cards support unit-by-unit vocabulary, comprehension, memory, and pre-literacy skills. In addition to the classroom lessons, parent involvement is key. Each participating child receives a monthly Student Kit, including music from class and a Family Magazine with a story and age-appropriate literacy activities, including those that support vocabulary development. The magazine is available in English and Spanish.

For more information about using ABC Music & Me in your school, email us at info@abcmusicandme.com

At-risk preschoolers lack basic motor skills

Lisa Rowell — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:45:18 +0000

We already know that at-risk students begin PreK and Kindergarten academically behind those students from more advantaged backgrounds. Now, a research study indicates that not only do at-risk students struggle with pre-literacy and pre-math, they are also developmentally delayed in gross motor skills development.

Motor Skills Development in At-Risk Preschoolers

Under the leadership of Jacqueline D. Goodway, PhD, a research team examined the influence of gender on object control and gross motor skill development. As published in the Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport journal, the team evaluated 469 at-risk preschoolers using a standardized motor skills test. The children were tested on running, jumping, hopping, leaping, sliding, and galloping as well as on tests of throwing, catching, kicking, striking, dribbling, and rolling.

Key Findings

86 percent of disadvantaged preschoolers lacked basic motor skills, such as running, jumping, throwing, and catching.
In activities that used a ball or bat, both boys and girls scored below the 30^th percentile of children nationwide. However, girls performed significantly worse than boys in activities that used a ball or a bat.

“These fundamental motor skills–running and catching and throwing and kicking–are the movement ABCs,” Goodway said in a press release. “If children don’t learn the ABCs, they can’t read. And if they don’t learn basic motor skills they won’t participate in sports or exercise. That’s the problem we may be facing with the children in this study.”

Research in Action: ABC Music & Me

ABC Music & Me uses music and movement in weekly lessons to teach early language and literacy development to preschoolers, kindergarteners, and emerging readers. Combining music with movement, such as jumping, hopping, or swaying, engages children in learning and enhances motor skills and muscle development. Schools find our research-based curriculum particularly beneficial for at-risk students, such as those in the study above. In addition, students receive take home materials, including music from class that will get their whole family up and moving.

To learn more about using ABC Music & Me in your classroom, school, or district, email us at info@abcmusicme.com.

Family routines lead to increased literacy activities

Lisa Rowell — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:44:54 +0000

Daily and weekly routines and rituals help to create an environment conducive to learning, especially in early childhood classrooms. After all, routines and rituals help young children make sense of their surroundings and know what happens next. Children, who can adequately anticipate what comes next, grow more comfortable in their surroundings.

Family routines and literacy activities

Recently, researchers conducted a small study to determine how (if at all) routines and rituals at home impact a preschooler’s participation in literacy activities and overall reading abilities. As published in the Journal of Early Childhood Research, Daniel J. Weigel, PhD and others assessed print knowledge, emergent writing, and parent-reported reading interest of 85 preschoolers. Researchers also collected data on family routines and the amount of parent-child time spent on literacy activities. The team collected data at the beginning of the study and 12 months later.

Key Findings:

The regularity of routines at home was most strongly associated with increased literacy activities.
Children who participated in more literacy activities with a parent at home experienced increased reading abilities compared to children with fewer literacy interactions at home.

Research in Action: ABC Music & Me

A parent is a child’s first and best teacher, which is why ABC Music & Me includes monthly take-home materials families can easily use together so the early language and literacy development extends from the classroom into the home. Each month children receive a Family Magazine full of literacy and musical activities that can easily be integrated into a family’s daily routines and rituals. Materials are available in English and Spanish.

For information about using ABC Music & Me in your classroom, school, or district, email us at info@abcmusicandme.com.

Preschoolers who love reading show better self-control

Lisa Rowell — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:22:20 +0000

Les Miserables may not be on the average preschool or Kindergarten teacher’s class reading list, but Victor Hugo certainly understood the value of learning how to read. He wrote, “To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.” As a child’s first teacher, parents can create the spark in even the youngest child. Now, new research shows that not only do parents influence a child’s interest in reading, but that love of reading (or lack of) relates to self-control in the classroom.

The link between literacy activities and self-control

Researchers from Purdue University studied the connections between child and parent characteristics, parental expectations of school achievement, and children’s classroom behavior in relation to children’s interest in literacy activities. As published in the Early Child Development and Care journal, the team compared how parents rated their children’s literacy interests to teachers’ reports of classroom behavior.

Key Findings:

Children who received high marks for social skills, including self-control, by their teachers were also rated by parents as being more interested in literacy activities compared to children with low social skills scores.
Child gender was marginally related to literacy interest, but parent education was not significantly correlated with literacy interest.
Parents’ expectations of their child’s school achievement related significantly with literacy interest.

“A child’s interest in literacy can tell us a lot about that child’s behavior,” said lead researcher Jennifer Dobbs-Oates, PhD, in a press release. “We found that the child who is interested in literacy-related activities is more likely to show positive, adaptive behavior than negative, disruptive kinds of behavior.”

Research in Action: ABC Music & Me

With more than 30 years of experience in early childhood education, ABC Music & Me uses music and movement to develop early literacy and language skills. Our programs also show proven results in helping young children increase self-control. The monthly themes engage girls and boys of all abilities and foster parent involvement through take home materials, including music from class and a Family Magazine with the story from class.

For more information about using ABC Music & Me in your classroom, school, or district email us at info@abcmusicandme.com

Teaching that leads to sustained reading growth for at-risk students

Lisa Rowell — Wed, 02 May 2012 01:08:26 +0000

Before Dr. Seuss, children never looked in their pocket for a wocket, played in grickle-grass, or asked to visit a zizzer-zazzer-zuzz at the zoo. Theodor Seuss Geisel could have easily earned a PhD in the Fine Arts of Made-Up Words. Somehow, through the course of the story, children understand the meaning of his pseudo-words.

Literacy Development for At-Risk Students

Recently, researchers looked at the impact of different teaching styles on learning pseudo-words or non-words that resemble real words but are not actual words. Although the study published in the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience journal focuses on adults, the research team thinks it can serve as a springboard to identifying the types of teaching that will lead to sustainable reading growth for children who are at-risk readers.

In the study, researchers compared the effects of implicit teaching (using words in a sentence) and explicit teaching (teaching words in isolation). Half of the participants learned the pronunciation and meaning of pseudo-words implicitly and half learned explicitly. Researchers monitored the differences in brain activity.

Key Findings:

The neurological response differed based on the level of the reader, even though they learned pseudo-words equally.
Readers identified as “excellent” did not demonstrate notable differences in brain function between the implicit and explicit approaches.
Readers considered “average” showed significantly less efficient neural networks when the pseudo-words were learned implicitly.

“Whether these differences in efficiency of brain networks have predictive value remains to be seen,” lead author Laurie Cutting, PhD, said in a press release. “However, such an approach may ultimately be useful for predicting which types of instruction will result in sustained reading growth.”

Research in Action: ABC Music & Me

ABC Music & Me uses music and movement to teach early literacy and language development to preschoolers, kindergarteners, and emerging readers. Teachers and school administrators find our research-based curriculum particularly beneficial for at-risk students, English Language Learners, and children with special needs. Our lessons use both implicit and explicit teaching methods. We look forward to seeing the next phase of this research and learning how to apply it in early childhood classrooms.

To learn more about using ABC Music & Me in your classroom, school, or district, email us at info@abcmusicandme.com.

Increase preschoolers’ reading abilities with minor changes to reading aloud

Lisa Rowell — Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:30 +0000

Preschoolers love playing “I Spy.” The game encourages children to notice little details about the world around them: the small yellow flower, the color of a friend’s eyes, or even the black spots on a ladybug. Noticing the little things pays off when a child discovers the correct answer and gets a turn to “spy.” Now new research published in the Child Development journal shows that noticing and pointing out the little details when reading a book to preschoolers can pay off, too.

Preschool Literacy Development

Researchers from Ohio State University followed 300 at-risk preschoolers in 85 classrooms who participated in a 30-week reading program. The children were divided into three groups. Teachers in two of the groups received training to make print references when reading out loud, such as pointing out letters and words on the pages, showing capital letters, and indicating left to right and top to bottom reading. One group participated in four reading sessions each week and the other received two weekly reading sessions. The teachers in the third group did not receive special training and the students participated in four weekly sessions. All classes read the same 30 books.

Key findings:

Preschoolers whose teachers received training and read to the class four times each week showed higher word reading, spelling, and reading comprehension skills compared to the other groups.
Preschoolers whose teachers received training and participated in reading two times each week only experienced slightly better skills than those in the third group.

“If you’re getting kids to pay attention to letters and words, it makes sense that they will do better at word recognition and spelling,” said Shayne Piasta, PhD co-author of the study, in a press release. “But the fact that they also did better at understanding the passages they read is really exciting. That suggests this intervention may help them become better readers.”

Research in Action: ABC Music & Me

As creators of an early literacy and language curriculum, we understand the importance of implementing the latest research into how children learn best. Teachers who use ABC Music & Me can easily incorporate this latest literacy research in their classroom starting today. During the next story time, point out letters and words on the pages, show capital letters, and show children that you are reading left to right and top to bottom. Encourage parents to do this at home using the story found in the Student Take-Home Kit.

For more information about using our research-based curriculum in your classroom, school, or district, email us at info@abcmusicandme.com.

5 early literacy and language iPad apps

Lisa Rowell — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:15:53 +0000

Early research indicates that iPads may increase literacy rates among Kindergarten students. In Auburn, Maine, eight of sixteen Kindergarten classes received iPads for all of the students. The initial results comparing the two sets of students showed that students with access to iPads scored higher on literacy measures than those without, especially in the area of phonemic awareness.

The use of the iPad in the early childhood classroom is new, but there are already hundreds of apps supporting literacy activities. We wanted to feature a few of our current favorites.

PuppetPals [Free]

Children love making up stories. PuppetPals gives children access to create their own animated puppet shows with audio. Children can record the show and play it back later. The free version comes with seven fairytale characters and three scenes. Additional characters and scenes can be purchased, including a Directors Cut that allows for the upload of photos to create personalized puppets.

Storia [Free]

Created by Scholastic, this e-reading app helps children as young as 3 learn to read. Storia comes with five free eBooks and access to Scholastic’s online store for additional books. The built-in dictionary defines and pronounces words children highlight. Some books also include literacy activities to strengthen critical thinking skills. Plus, if your school participates in Scholastic Book Clubs, Storia eBook purchases earn rewards.

MeeGenius [Free]

MeeGenius is another e-reading app that provides audio tracks and highlights the words to help children focus on vocabulary. MeeGenius comes with six free e-books, including fiction and non-fiction titles. Additional eBooks are available starting at $.99.

Toy Story [Free]

Children familiar with the original Toy Story movie will appreciate this interactive read-along version. The Toy Story e-book provides three reading options: Read to Me, Auto-Turn Pages, and Young Reader Mode. Plus, to aid comprehension, this e-book includes bonus features such as games, painting, and sing-alongs with lyrics.

Kindermusik Lite Radio [Free]

The Kindermusik Radio app includes classic children’s songs, nursery rhymes, and stories. Most songs include lyrics and an activity idea based on principles defined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The full Kindermusik Radio app includes an instrument library where children can tap along to the music. Give it a try today!