That’s why toddlers start paying attention to rhymes in songs and identify sounds different animals make. Children between the ages of 18 and 24 months begin to recognize and react to the sounds of language.Such goals lead children to develop early literacy skills that will last a lifetime. When we understand that children learn at different ages and stages, we can set realistic goals for our youngest children. Literacy learning: What infants and toddlers know and can do Sam asks, “Would you like some crackers? Are these the crunchy crackers that Abby wants?”īy using a rich vocabulary to describe their everyday lives, Sam can say the words Abby will soon be ready to use herself. For example, he can repeat the words Abby uses or use words in place of her gestures:Ībby points to the cracker box and says “cra.” Throughout the day, he can describe a variety of emotions, like surprise, excitement, or sadness, as appropriate, and he can give Abby the context she needs to make sense of the new words she hears. He then extends his arms, flexes his biceps, and says, “It will help you grow big and STRONG!” Sam says, “Abby, I see you ate all your chicken. For example, Sam can talk about what Abby eats at dinner: Abby’s parents and teachers encourage early literacy when they pay attention to what she does and make comments that connect to her experience. Meaningful interactions that use complex language can be very simple. These daily interactions help her make the connection between words on a page and spoken language. And she works on them every day by telling stories, hearing her parents and teachers introduce new words and complex language, and listening to them read aloud from books and other materials. Abby needs to build these important skills before she is ready to recognize letters and words. Talking, listening to and telling stories, and hearing new vocabulary words are really the keys to early literacy. Don’t underestimate talking and listening Rote memorization may make sense for older children-for example, when learning math facts-but young children’s brains simply are not ready for it. But rote memorization is a lower level skill compared to skills developed through using complex language during meaningful conversations with young children about ideas and feelings. Memorizing is often mistaken for learning. Flash cards emphasize memorization rather than the communication and language skills that really foster early literacy. In fact, using flash cards is not an effective way to help toddlers build language and literacy skills. And because so many of these products emphasize memorization, it can sometimes cause families to think that a focus on memorization is what’s important. It’s easy for parents to get caught up in the hype that new, better products make smarter children. Parents see many advertisements promising that their child can become the next Einstein with the right combination of learning toys and DVDs. But are flash cards and other learning toys that emphasize memorization a good way to prepare a toddler for reading? Memorization is NOT the key to reading Sam recently bought alphabet flash cards because he wants his 18-month-old daughter Abby to learn to read.
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