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Early Literacy

Early Literacy
Chelsea Garmon
University Nevada Las Vegas

Early Literacy

The essay question I chose to focus on was early literacy. I chose this question because
since I began teaching my reading instruction has always had a strong focus on early literacy and
its components. It did not matter what grade I was teaching I would always try my best to make
sure I provided my students with quality early literacy instruction. I found it to be very beneficial
for my second language learners in my second grade classroom and a key component in my
kindergarten classroom. Over the years it seems that the more I focus on the components of early
literacy the more my students begin to grow and learn. In 2000 the National Reading Panel
(NRP) published a report that determined four key components of early literacy. These
components have changed early literacy instruction in every classroom starting in early
childhood and preschool. The four components have given teachers a set of certain skills that are
needed in for students to learn to read and comprehend a story. In the past year the need to focus
on early literacy has become even more important with the new Read by Three law that is being
implemented across the state. Teachers from kindergarten to third grade are having to focus more
on their early literacy instruction in order to have students reading on grade level by third grade.
The idea of early literacy was introduced by Marie Clay (1966) in the 1960s. It
developed further in the 1980s to challenge the then current notion that children were not ready
to become literate until reaching a specific point in time, determined by the childs age an
maturity (Fosnot, 2013; Razfar & Gultierrez, 2003; Yaden, Rowe, & MacGillivray, 2000). Since
than early literacy has been determined to be a very important component in teaching students to
read. Early literacy is founded on the theory that literacy emerges from children before they are
formally taught to read (Rohde, 2015). The current model provided by the NRP suggest that
students need phonemic awareness, phonics instruction, fluency, and text comprehension in order

Early Literacy

to become successful readers. All of these components build on one another to give students the
skills to learn to read in order to eventually read to learn.
Phonics and Phonemic Awareness
As strange as it may seem, I actually love teaching phonics and phonemic awareness. I
have found it be a vital part of my reading instruction. Especially since I now teach kindergarten.
I love watching my students begin to sound out words and identify the sounds that they have
learned. I also noticed that when I take the time to slow down and teach this skill to my second
language learners they begin to learn English and understand what they are learning, especially if
they are already literate in their first language. Studies have shown that students who are already
literate in their first language tend to become literate in their second language.
I recently read a study where researchers took two groups of children in India and taught
them English. In India English is not taught until third grade. So from first grade to third grade
students are only taught in their home language of Kannada. The first group of third graders were
taught English using a phonics program that taught letter names and sounds as well as some
CVC words. The second group was taught using the same program but the students were not
taught the letter sounds. What the researchers found by the end of their study was that the
students in the first group benefited more from the phonemic awareness instruction and were
able to read CVC words and their spelling was enhanced. This just goes to show that second
language learners can really benefit from phonics and phonemic awareness instruction.
The NRP found during their research that all students from preschool to sixth grade
benefited from this type of instruction. Including at risk students, second language learners, and
students with disabilities. In fact, the NRP had firmly established phonemic awareness as one of

Early Literacy

the two best predictors of future reading achievement and an essential ingredient in evidencebased reading instruction (Reutzel, 2015). When I am working with a group of students who
need more in depth Tier II instruction, I tend to work on phonics and phonemic awareness
instruction. It almost always seems that when students need Tier II instruction they are missing
some sort of phonemic awareness skill. When students receive quality phonemic awareness
instruction, the students tend be begin to read and understand more of what they are reading.
Phonics and phonemic awareness instruction is truly beneficial for every student it does not
matter their background.
A current strategy that I use in my classroom is explicit phonics. I learned about this
strategy from a training at the school district. Explicit phonics focuses on phoneme segmentation
and blending. It can also be used help to older students with multi-syllabic words. After I teach
letter names and sounds to my students, I then begin to teach word families using explicit
phonics. I use this strategy in my whole group and small group teaching. When I am using
explicit phonics in my small group teaching, I try to always bring in a decodable reader. This
way my students can practice reading and hearing certain sounds. Focusing early phonemic
awareness instruction on blending, segmenting, and manipulating phonemes has been shown to
produce greater improvements in phonemic awareness and future reading achievement in young
children (Reutzel, 2015). When I taught second grade,I used explicit phonics with my Response
to Intervention (RTI) group. I found that my students really began to improve once I
implemented this strategy.
One very important part of phonics and phonemic awareness instruction that I do not
want to skip is how important it is for students to learn letter names and sounds. Every year in

Early Literacy

my kindergarten class I receive students who know all of their letters, some of their letters, or
none of their letters. For my students who already come in knowing their letter names and
sounds, they are ready to start blending and segmenting words. However, for my students who
still need to learn the letter names and sounds, it is very important that I take the time to teach
them all of the letters and sounds. It is very difficult to start blending when you do not know all
of the sounds the letters make. Complete and total mastery of all alphabet letters is a universal
prerequisite in order for students to make progress in reading and writing (Reutzel, 2015). I
personally believe that phonics and phonemic awareness instruction is the most vital part of early
literacy.
Fluency
The NRP identified fluency as one of the four components of early literacy. Students with
reading difficulty typically struggle to read fluently despite the inclusion of fluency in their core
classroom instruction (OConnor, 2007). In my experience I find this statement to be true. The
majority of the time students who struggle with reading tend to have a very hard time with
reading fluency. I remember in second grade giving my students the AIMSWEB fluency test.
The majority of my students who were considered emergent really struggled with fluency.
However, I think this relates to the importance of phonics and phonemic awareness instruction.
When it comes to teaching fluency, the primary method used to improve reading fluency
is directed practice is repeated reading (Meyer & Felton). I am currently in my fifth year of
teaching and I have not been able to find a more successful strategy to teach fluency other than
repeated reading. When I taught second grade fluency, it was a very important skill for my
students to have. By the end of the year my students would be headed to third grade where they

Early Literacy

needed to be able to read much more complex books. I had to make sure that my students were
able to read with efficient speed and understanding. In kindergarten once the students know their
letter names and sounds, I start to focus on word families with my students. This is partially why
I include decodable readers in my small group instruction with the word families. This helps my
students begin to learn how to track the words and to not read like a robot. They always start out
sounding like robots. However, the more we read and practice the more they are able to read
fluently. I am also a firm believer in reading to your students. When a teacher reads stories to
their students, the students then get the chance to hear what it should sound like to be a fluent
reader. They also get the chance to hear what it is like to read with expression. There is nothing
more powerful than a teacher reading a story to their students. This is especially important for
students in the primary grades.
One program that I have found to be effective when teaching my second graders was
Accelerated Reader (AR). I found it to be a wonderful program and my students really enjoyed
doing it. We would often have class competitions to see who could receive the most points for
reading books. AR is a reading program that first assesses the students to determine their reading
level. The students then get to choose books based on their reading level to read. At the school I
worked at our Librarian had every library book in the library color coded and labeled by the
students reading levels. Every week when my students would go to the library we would pick up
a bucket full of books. There would always be a variety of books at all my students different
reading levels. When my students were done with the initial assessments, I would give the
librarian the results. This way she would know what level the students had scored. This would
help her know what reading levels to put in my AR bucket. Whenever my students were done
with their work or during center time, they would read a book. When they were done with the

Early Literacy

book, they would log into AR and take an assessment on the book. For every assessment they
took and depending on the number of questions they got right, the students would receive a
certain amount of points. This program helped my student immensely when it came to improving
their reading fluency. I also think that it helped with comprehension because students would read
a book at their level and have answer questions about the specific book. The NRP has actually
discussed in their report AR as a program used to help teaching fluency.
Comprehension
The final component of early literacy that the NRP mentions is comprehension.
Comprehension is comprised of vocabulary and text comprehension. Vocabulary is a very
important part of comprehension. When a student is reading, they need to be able to understand
the words that they are reading in order to comprehend. If they cannot understand the
vocabulary, then they will struggle to comprehend the story.
In kindergarten one strategy that I have incorporated is multiple exposures. When
students first come to kindergarten they are not familiar with the majority of the concepts taught
in the classroom. Most of the material is new to the majority of the students. Therefore, I try to
make sure that my students see the vocabulary words more than once. I usually have the
vocabulary words on the board for my students to reference. Then I try to use it with a small
group in a decodable reader. I like to have the students highlight the vocabulary words as we
read. I also like to incorporate it in our interactive notebooks. In the interactive notebooks my
students have to color the word, write the word, and draw a picture to go with the word. I have
found this strategy to be very effective. As the year progresses, the students will use the word in
a sentence. The students can also use their notebooks as a reference as they are writing or reading

Early Literacy

other books. I also sometimes use the Kagan strategy Quiz Quiz Trade. In Quiz Quiz trade the
students are given an index card with the vocabulary word written on it. The students walk
around and find a partner. Once they find a partner, they show their partner their word. The
student must tell their partner what the word means. Then it is the other partners turn. When the
students are done, they switch cards and go find another partner. This strategy is very engaging
and gets the students up and moving. I have found that the more exposure to vocabulary words,
the more the students tend to retain the vocabulary. I also used very similar strategies with my
second language learners. Having the students work with each other and discuss the word is a
great way to incorporate discourse and get your second language learners talking.
Comprehension is understood as the essence of reading (Durkin, 1993). If a student
does not have good comprehension strategies,then they will struggle in more than one content
area. Over the years there has been a lot of research done on comprehension strategies. I have
been to so many different trainings on comprehension strategies. There is a lot of different
strategies to choose from, but you as a teacher need to find what works for you and your
students. The goal of comprehension strategies is to give students the tools they need to
understand different types of text. Some of the strategies that I use in my classroom are
cooperative learning, story structure, and graphic organizers.
Cooperative learning is a great way to get students to work together to discuss what they
are reading. Having peers instruct or interact over reading strategies leads to an increase in the
learning of the strategies, promotes intellectual discussion, and increases reading comprehension
(The National Reading Panel, 2000). No matter what grade I teach, I always try to incorporate
some sort of cooperative learning. It is beneficial to all students, second language learners and

Early Literacy

student with learning disabilities. Students can learn a lot from each other. I always love
watching them learn new strategies from each other. There is so much power in letting your
students discuss what they are learning and to talk through their thinking process.
Story structure is a big component of any primary grade. It is also a great way to help
students understand the story. It is mainly used with narrative text. In kindergarten my students
have never heard of story structure. Thats why we focus on one component at a time. By the end
of the year my students are able to tell me all of the components necessary to understand story
structure. I also like to incorporate it into my writing instruction. It is a great way to learn how to
write narrative pieces. This strategy also helps my students be able to retell what happened in the
story which also helps students improve their comprehension. Being able to retell a story is a
Common Core standard for kindergarten.
Graphic organizers are great for teaching comprehension. The main effect of graphic
organizers appears to be on the improvement of the readers memory for the content that has
been read (The National Reading Panel, 2003). I have also used graphic organizers in both
kindergarten and second grade. They are great for helping students understand several different
types of text. Last year when we were learning about polar animals in my kindergarten class we
would complete bubble maps on certain animals or double bubble maps comparing animals.
Graphic organizers can also be used in writing instruction. They are great for helping students
organize their thoughts.
Even though in the primary grades students are just beginning to read that does not mean
that they cannot comprehend stories that are read to them. I feel that it is possible for younger
students to read to learn as long as the stories are read out loud. Even in my own class my

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students are making inferences and comparing characters. Students can do almost anything as
long you as the teacher have high expectations.
Comprehensive Emergent Literacy Model
In conducting my research I came across the comprehensive emergent literacy model
(CELM). This model is based off James Cunninghams (1993) work on Whole-to-Part Literacy
Assessment. This assessment focused on three components that were necessary to reading. The
components were word identification, listening comprehension, and silent reading. The four
components of the CELM model are print awareness leads to word identification, phonological
awareness includes alphabet, oral language leads to silent reading comprehension, and writing.
(Rohde, 2015). I found this model to be very interesting. This model seems to have taken what
the National Reading Panel suggested and dove a little deeper. When you are teaching early
literacy, you start to notice that each component builds on one another and with the CELM
model all of the components work together as one. It would be very interesting to see how this
model would be implemented in a classroom. I really liked how the CELM model includes
writing. As I was researching, I was wondering why writing was not included in the NRP report.
The majority of the time students demonstrate their knowledge of literacy through writing.
Read by Three
The importance of early literacy has come back into the spotlight here in Nevada due to
the Read by Three law. According to the law students need to be reading on grade level by the
time they are in third grade. It is our job now as kindergarten, first, and second grade teachers to
make sure we provide our students with the skills needed to be reading on grade level. Therefore

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it is important to make sure that our teachers are receive the proper training and preparation in
order to provide quality instruction.
Early literacy instruction sets the stage for all later literacy progress. If the
foundations of literacy are secured early on, then students are placed on the
trajectory leading to probably academic success in later schooling (Reutzel,
2015)
The NRP also discusses the importance of teacher preparation. In order for students to
learn all of these components, they need to be able to have a teacher who is knowledgeable about
the material and knows how to implement it properly. Thats why it is important for teachers to
attend professional developments in order to expand upon their own knowledge. Teaching is a
profession where the teachers are always learners. Things are constantly changing and new
strategies are always being researched. Teachers need to be up to date and ready to try new
things in their classroom in order to meet the needs of their students. Early literacy learning
opportunities are more likely to happen when teachers have a solid knowledge base of early
literacy and child development (Rohde 2015). This is why it is crucial that teachers understand
how to properly teach early literacy skills.
Technology
The final component that the NRP report mentions is using technology to promote
reading instruction. This report was done in the year 2000 and the researchers knew then the
impact technology will have on instruction. These days teachers use technology in everything.
The majority of classrooms have IPADs, computers, and SMART boards. My classroom even
has Apple TV. I use technology in a lot of my teaching. On the days it fails to work it is a lot

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harder to teach. My students use the computer and IPADs to play reading and math games. The
SMART board has given me a chance to make learning more engaging and interactive. I honestly
think there is no negative impact to using technology in the classroom. However that does not
mean that there are not any problems. With budget cuts the majority of technology in classrooms
is outdated or does not work all together. This is a complication that teachers have to deal with
frequently. One program that I have had my students in both second grade and kindergarten is
Lexia. Lexia is a computer program that assesses the students phonics skills. It then has the
students play phonics and phonemic awareness games to help them improve in areas of need.
The games are very engaging and the students love to play them. Technology is becoming a very
important component of teaching.
Early literacy is important for all students in the primary grades. I personally have never
taught reading any other way. Since the NRPs report came out in 2000 there has been an
abundance of research done on the components discussed in the report. I remember discussing
the components in my undergraduate classes and not in my graduate school classes. Phonics,
phonemic awareness, fluency, and comprehension have also been discussed as strategies to help
second language learners learn English. These components are here to stay and researchers are
discovering ways to improve teaching them. The key as a researcher is to determine which
strategies are valuable and which ones are not.
Common Core state standards have also started to push the components that the NPR
report discusses. There are standards for fluency, phonics, and comprehension. Whether teachers
agree with the report findings or not, they are required to teach them according to the Common
Core standards. This just proves how impactful the strategies are to reading. It also goes to show

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that early literacy instruction needs to start in preschool. If preschool teachers focused on early
literacy skills, then students would come to kindergarten ready to read.
Teachers have a huge impact on students lives. It is important that students receive
quality instruction that will help them succeed. It does not matter what strategies a teacher uses
in their classroom. What matters is that they focus on their students needs and how to get them
to read. I absolutely love teaching students to read and finding new ways to improve as a teacher.
I always have my students best interest in mind and providing them with quality early literacy
instruction.

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