Linking Literacy with SocialEmotional 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
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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
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Language, Literacy, and SocialEmotional 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.
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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.
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What is Emergent Literacy?
Oral language
Phonological awareness
Print Knowledge
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What is Social- Emotional
Development?
The developmentally and culturally
appropriate ability to:




Manage Emotions
Relate to Adults
Relate to Peers
Feel Good About Self
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Indicators of School Success
Social Development
Emotional Development
Literacy Development
Ready for School
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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
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Reading Aloud
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.
Source: Handbook of Early Literacy Research
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Reading Aloud
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
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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).
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Recommendations
We should not debate the relative importance of
language/literacy development and socialemotional 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.
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Thank you!
Comments & Questions
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