Literacy Every Day
Ideas for Preschool Teachers and Families
TN State Improvement Grant Preschool Literacy Training Project
East Tennessee State University
Why is Preschool Literacy Important?
• “The child who has been exposed to many different
everyday activities, like pumping gas with her dad,
writing shopping lists, going grocery shopping, and
visiting the library, is likely to come to school with an
intuitive understanding of how numbers work, why it’s
important to write things down, how to recognize some
environmental print, and the joys of storybook reading.
These past experiences influence her abilities to
remember, reason, solve problems, and acquire new
knowledge” (Neuman & Roskos, 2007).
• Emphasizing literacy during the preschool years, in the
classroom and at home, provides a foundation for
more success during the school years.
What Is Preschool Literacy?
• The word “literacy” often brings to mind
“reading and writing”, but preschool
literacy includes so much more:
– Reading
– Having conversations
– Viewing items of interest
– Visually representing ideas
– Writing
Reading
• “If a child is old enough to talk to, she’s old
enough to read to. It’s the same language.”
Jim Trelease, The Read Aloud Handbook
• Research shows that reading aloud to young
children is the best predictor of future reading
success in school.
• Reading aloud should not be limited to books;
in a print-rich environment there are lots of
items that can and should be read to
preschoolers.
In the Classroom
• Include meaningful print around the room, but
make sure it has a purpose; call children’s
attention to the print.
• Do not write your Morning Message ahead of
time; instead, write it in front of the children and
read the letters, sounds, and words to them as
you write.
• Play Letter Detective by having the children
find words around the room starting with
certain letters.
At Home
• Reading aloud to your child can begin in the
womb and should be a daily occurrence
throughout the preschool years.
• But when you don’t have time to sit down and
read a book together, there are lots of other
ways to read with your child.
• Just think of all the things you read daily – the
newspaper, the grocery list, magazines in the
doctor’s waiting room, billboards as you drive
in the car, the cereal box at breakfast, etc.
• Read all these items out loud and let this
become part of your daily routine.
Having Conversations
• “Before children are readers and writers, they
are speakers and listeners” (Roskos, Tabors, &
Lenhart, 2004).
• Preschoolers need to learn and explore at least
2 new words per day in order to build a
sufficient vocabulary.
• Intentional conversations expose children to
new words and socialize them to understand
the give and take process of speaking and
listening.
In the Classroom
• Much of the talk in the preschool classroom involves
the teacher telling the children what to do or
disciplining/reprimanding them for poor behavior.
• Make sure to take time to talk with children instead of
just to them.
• Ask open-ended questions that require more than a 1word answer, and allow the child enough time to
answer you; then ask follow-up questions to keep the
conversation going longer.
• Use a “talking stick” at circle time so that children learn
to take turns speaking and listening in a group.
At Home
• Before children can read and write words, they need to build
up a large vocabulary in order to connect spoken words with
print.
• Reading aloud to your child is a great way to teach new
words, but simply having conversations also builds
vocabulary and teaches your child about taking turns
speaking and listening.
• Try to take time on a daily basis to talk to each other about
how your day went – conversations could happen during
meals, before bedtime, while at the Laundromat or grocery
store, or any other time that is convenient.
• If your child is hesitant to speak or gives brief answers, keep
asking more detailed questions to get more information.
• You could also make a game out of the conversation by
using walkie-talkies, toy phones, or puppets to talk to each
other.
Viewing Items of Interest
• “As [children] begin to experience
interesting visual images, their perception
of objects, movement, and print expands”
(Isbell & Exelby, 2001).
• Viewing items of interest to the child
allows opportunities for conversations
and the introduction of new descriptive
vocabulary words.
In the Classroom
• Post photos/documentation panels of past
activities in the classroom, and invite children
to look at them and talk about what they liked
about the activities.
• Bring unusual, beautiful items into the
classroom such as seashells, stones, and
flowers. Ask children to use their words to
describe the items, and write down what they
say.
• Take the children on nature walks and discuss
what you see along the way; you could also
explore the playground.
At Home
• Viewing photos, pictures, artwork, and other items is
considered literacy because the observation can spark
meaningful conversations and discussions between
you and your child.
• When you see something visually interesting or
unusual, point it out and start a discussion.
• Ask what your child thinks about the viewing and share
your own opinion.
• You don’t have to go to a museum to do this – you can
talk about the illustrations in books you read together,
family photos, your child’s own artwork, and even
billboards or signs you see while traveling in the car or
taking a walk.
Visually Representing Ideas
• “Scribbles, dabs, and blobs are the building
blocks of art and the building blocks of writing”
(Neuman & Roskos, 2007).
• Allowing preschoolers to express themselves
creatively is not only important for literacy
development; it also increases self-esteem and
problem-solving skills.
In the Classroom
• Keep the art center open for a good portion of
the day, and make sure that materials are
stocked and ready to use.
• After a read-aloud, encourage children to
create artwork based on the story in some way.
• Make sure to include clay in your art center in
addition to playdough; clay requires more effort
to mold and provides greater exercise for the
hands and fingers.
At Home
• In addition to seeing visually interesting items, your
child should be encouraged to create pictures and
other artwork to visually represent something.
• Keep simple art materials handy such as paper,
markers, paints, and clay so that your child can create
a visual representation anytime.
• If your child tells you about something interesting that
happened during preschool or at a relative’s house,
ask your child to make a picture of it or create a
sculpture.
• You can also help your child label the artwork.
Writing
• “Writing is an important part of a child’s literacy
development. Pretend writing should be as meaningful
to young children as pretend reading, so that there is
no fear of writing later on. Writing should be a natural,
enjoyable, successful part of play.” (Levine, 2007).
• In earlier years, it was believed that reading skills had
to be developed before writing could begin.
• We now know that reading and writing development go
hand-in-hand as part of overall literacy development,
and they are best learned together.
In the Classroom
• While writing your Morning Message with the
children, talk about the letters as you write
them: “I need to make a big H for Hello
because I am starting a sentence”.
• Include writing supplies in all learning centers
so that children will connect writing with all
content areas.
• Encourage children to write their names on all
artwork instead of just writing it for them.
• Include Journal Writing during the day separate
from Art; this will help children learn to
distinguish writing from drawing.
At Home
• Writing for preschoolers includes hands-on activities
and exploration of writing utensils in a variety of ways
to build fine motor skills in the hands and fingers.
• Writing activities should be meaningful and show your
child that writing is useful.
• Think about why you write – writing checks to pay bills,
making grocery lists, leaving notes on the fridge to
remind family members of chores, etc.
• Include your child in some of these activities, and make
sure to model writing everyday.
• Just as kneading dough and playing with clay
strengthen fine motor skills, so too does using a variety
of writing utensils with small hands and fingers.
Quick and Easy Literacy Activities
• “I Spy” – Reading
• You will need: to be riding with your child in the car or
on a bus.
• What to do: pick out signs and billboards you see on
the ride. Tell your child “I spy” and describe what you
see, choosing one large letter or a very short word.
Give clues until your child guesses what you see. For
example, if you use the McDonald’s sign, say “I spy
something yellow with a big letter M; we went there last
week for a birthday party”.
• Classroom adaptation: play “I Spy” on the playground
or on the bus ride to a fieldtrip.
Quick and Easy Literacy Activities
• “And Then What Happened?” – Conversations
• You will need: two puppets or socks to use as puppets.
• What to do: you and your child will each have a puppet to speak
to each other during this activity. For example, you could start out
with “once upon a time, a little boy (or girl) named (your child’s
name) woke up one morning and discovered many purple rabbits
hopping around the bedroom…and then what happened?” After
you child takes a turn, keep going back and forth until you bring
the story to a close, making it as long or short as you like.
• Classroom adaptation: do this activity during circle time, but
have children pass around a “talking stick” to add parts to the
story. Have a teacher’s assistant write down the story as it is told,
and post it in the classroom.
Quick and Easy Literacy Activities
• “Family Photo Fun” – Viewing
• You will need: several old family photos.
• What to do: sit down with your child and look at the
photos together. Tell stories about the people in the
pictures and what is happening. If your child
remembers something about the photos, encourage
sharing of the memories. Ask specific questions that
require more than yes or no answers. For example,
“you are smiling in this picture taken at the park. Do
you remember what made you happy that day?”
• Classroom adaptation: use photos from class
fieldtrips or from earlier learning activities; this activity
could be done as a circle time discussion.
Quick and Easy Literacy Activities
• “What Did I Do Today; What Will I Do Tomorrow?” – Visually
Representing
• You will need: art supplies such as construction paper, crayons,
colored pencils, and/or markers.
• What to do: draw a line down the middle of the paper. On the left
side, ask your child to draw something that happened today. On
the right side, ask your child to draw something that will happen
tomorrow. If your child isn’t sure, talk about some things that may
happen tomorrow and let your child choose one. After the drawing
is finished, ask for a description or explanation and write it down
as dictation.
• Classroom adaptation: use this activity after center time; let the
children draw what they did today, and plan where they would like
to play tomorrow.
Quick and Easy Literacy Activities
• “Make a List and Check It Twice” – Writing
• You will need: paper and something to write with.
• What to do: before going to the grocery store, sit down
with your child and write a list together. Talk to your
child as you add items to the list, and let your child
attempt to write some items. When you are at the
store, put your child in charge of marking items off the
list once you have found them.
• Classroom adaptation: during cleanup time, have the
children use a checklist for each center to make sure it
is cleaned up properly.
Sources Used
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Beyond Bedtime Stories: A Parent’s Guide to Promoting Reading, Writing, and
Other Literacy Skills from Birth to 5, V. Susan Bennett-Armistead, Nell K. Duke, &
Annie M. Moses (Scholastic)
Early Learning Environments That Work, Rebecca Isbell & Betty Exelby (Gryphon
House)
Get Ready to Read, www.getreadytoread.org
How to Get Your Child to Love Reading: For Ravenous and Reluctant Readers
Alike, Esme R. Codell (Algonquin)
International Reading Association (IRA), www.reading.org
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), www.naeyc.org
National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL), www.famlit.org
Nurturing Knowledge: Building a Foundation for School Success by Linking Early
Literacy to Math, Science, Art, and Social Studies, Susan B. Neuman & Kathleen
Roskos (Scholastic)
PBS, www.pbs.org/parents
The Read-Aloud Handbook: Sixth Edition, Jim Trelease (Penguin)
READ TO ME: Raising Kids who Love to Read, Bernice E. Cullinan (Cartwheel)
Reading is Fundamental, www.rif.org
Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives
Forever, Mem Fox (Harvest)
Reading Rockets, www.readingrockets.org
Tennessee State Improvement Grant, http://sig.cls.utk.edu