"Literacy: The ability to read, writes, communicate and comprehend."
Literacy encompasses a broad spectrum of our lives from childhood to adulthood. The charge to promote literacy – in all forms – is an important one!
Reading is the first thing most of society thinks about when the word literacy is discussed. Reading is the important cornerstone of literacy, for if you do not read, your communication and comprehension will lag behind. In early childhood, slow comprehension of learning skills can mean an immediate educational division between the student and their peers, leaving them at the bottom of the trade-chain.
Students who do not –
- Learn their ABC’s
Cannot
- Read,
Then have problems
- Reading with comprehension,
And therefore
- Suffer lower test scores (due to both a lack of understanding and lack of reading comprehension of the test itself),
And also
- Fall behind in every subject, which depends upon reading, comprehending and communicating to learn and evaluate. (Through writing, speaking or testing)
Because of everything “literacy” encompasses, many school districts are going to an integrated curriculum – so in History, you may read, (including textbook and research), write (including essays and reports) and/or give speeches, and in doing so, your ability to comprehend what you have read and then communicate that information can be exercised and subsequently evaluated.
What then, can we do as parents to give our children sound basics to enjoy a life of complete literacy?
Starting at the very beginning, you can:
- Read out loud while expecting. Your child not only hears the mother’s voice, but also will become accustomed not only to the art of spoken communication, but the different cadence of written communication.
- As you are nursing or feeding, read small books to them. Start out with the plastic or cardboard books a child can handle – when they become the age where they are reaching for things, it will be fine to reach out for the already best-loved book!
- Encourage an infant’s imitation of sound at an early age. Babies do this naturally – shaping their mouth and cooing when they hear you speak to them. It is the very beginning of communication – your response to it will encourage that development!
- Place magnetized alphabet letters to the refrigerator for your young children to practice sounds (i.e.: the hard sound of ‘c’, the “sh” sound, etc.), with your help. In addition, your older children can practice combining known sounds: c + at, b+ at, f + at, h + at. Teaching them small combinations is easy! Line up the end sound you’d like for them to learn (at, et, it, ot, ut,) and then they can add the consonants to make new words – it is empowering!
- While you cook supper, complete your ironing set the table, etc., your children can practice their spelling words on the refrigerator, read to you, sit and read their homework in case they need help or encouragement with a word or answer.
“Oh My Gosh,” you may be thinking, I am parenting a 9-year-old and I didn’t do any of these things! Start today!
There is so much we can do - starting today!
Well, what are you waiting for? Go get a book and read!
Connie Newbauer - Connie Newbauer is a journalist with a background in education and psychology. For the past 30 years, she has been a freelance writer, ...
