Promoting literacy in the early years

1. Promoting literacy in the early years Argyll and Bute Council Community Services: Education February 2011

2. Definition of Literacy (CfE) ‘The set of skills which allows an individual to engage fully in society and in learning, through the difference forms of language, and the range of texts, which society values and finds useful.’ Curriculum for Excellence 2009

3. Underlying Capacities • Knowledge about books • The ability to recognise the constituent parts of words • Knowledge of letters and sounds snack

4. Research: phonological Skills • Research shows that the vast majority of learners struggling with reading and writing have weaknesses in their phonological skills • That is, they are less efficient and fluent in their use of sound-letter correspondences than their peers, possibly due to • Developmental factors • A mismatch between learning opportunities and learner needs • External circumstances

5. What can we do? • Make sure that the teaching methods used are informed by the best available research on effective teaching of reading • Be certain that each child’s progress is closely monitored to ensure that teaching approaches and the curriculum are planned to meet the child’s identified needs

6. Early Literacy 0 - 3 • Parents, community services early years and family support workers • Encouraging parents to read with their child, sing songs and learn nursery rhymes • Promote the play@home programme • Promote Bookstart Rhymetime • Provide support for groups making provision for very young children around literacy development

7. Reading Initiative Aims • To ensure that a greater number of pupils, particularly those with potential for underachievement, have opportunities to develop their phonological skills to a satisfactory level • Raise attainment in reading in all schools • Better equip educators with the skills to support pupils’ development of skills for reading

8. Baseline Assessment • Section 1: Concepts of print • Task 1 – knowledge of books, words and letters • Section 2: Phonological awareness • Task 1 – nursery rhymes • Task 2 – initial letter sounds • Task 3 – rhyme detection • Task 4 – rhyme production Preschool or early P1P1 summer term P2 summer term

9. Baseline Assessment • Section 3: Early reading skills • Task 1 – lower case letter sounds • Task 2 – the alphabet • Task 3 – letter names • Task 4 – non-word reading assessment • Task 5 – word reading skills P2 summer term

10. Supporting literacy • Reading together • Print in the environment • Understanding print • Recognising and identifying letters • Phonological awareness

11. Link to what coming next in the session....