Some Interesting Information

The Department of Education has been posting information on compentancies in reading, science, and math on their website. Below is some fo their findings on early literacy. For the rest of the story, just click on the link below!

PROVEN METHODS:
Early Reading First and Reading First

"A child who can read is a child who can learn. And a child who can learn is a child who can succeed in school and in life."---Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings

Early language development and foundational pre-reading skills are extremely important in learning how to read.

• Reading is a learned skill. Early childhood is a critical time for children to develop the language, cognitive and early reading skills they will need in order to enter kindergarten ready to learn to read.
• The skills include: oral language (expressive and receptive language, such as vocabulary development); phonological awareness (rhyming, blending, segmenting); print awareness; and alphabetic knowledge (letter-sound knowledge).
• Researchers estimate that with proper exposure and systematic opportunities to develop these foundational skills during early childhood, as few as five percent of children may suffer serious reading difficulties.

From U. S. Department of Education