The Role of Literacy Experiences in Early Childhood Programs

This article describes the emergent literacy perspective and its implications for children's initial reading instruction. Research on emergent literacy shows that the preschool years are a remarkably active period for learning about written language. Most young children cannot read and write in the conventional sense, but their attempts at reading and writing show steady development toward these proficiencies. A review of research indicates that current beginning reading practices typically emphasize discrete skills such as letter naming and letter-sound correspondences. Such practices fail to build on or take advantage of young children's emergent literacy abilities. Recent efforts show that a better fit can be created between children's emergent literacy and beginning reading instruction. For the emergent literacy perspective to become commonplace in early childhood programs, changes in teachers' beliefs, commercial materials, and tests are required.