Early language use or spoken words are highly predictive of literacy skills. Speaking to a young child regularly may contribute to early literacy development. This includes adults, whether they are parents, family members, friends of the family or teachers, speaking regularly to the child in a typical "grown-up" vocabulary. Children should hear as many spoken words as possible, and adults should engage children in discussions. A high-language, or frequent spoken-word, environment can help the young child build a diverse vocabulary. This can in turn promote the development of early literacy skills and behaviors, such as reading comprehension.
Reading books to children is crucial to promoting early literacy development. Whether at home or in school, reading to children even as infants can help build a love of books and learning. To build this love, and early literacy abilities, it is essential to have a wide variety of books available for reading. This should include age-appropriate material such as picture books and simple non-fiction books. Reading books in a highly interactive way, involving discussion and questioning, can also help to promote early literacy development.
A positive home environment, filled with books and a sense of enjoyment in reading can easily help to promote early literacy. A home that has reading materials, whether they are books, newspapers, magazines or other periodicals can help the young child build a familiarity and interest in reading. Additionally, providing child-friendly books and reading materials to little ones can help in the process. According to the organization Reading is Fundamental, less than 50 percent of all families with children in kindergarten read together on a regular basis. Parents who are interested in fostering early literacy development in their children should share a special time together every day, away from the TV, cell phones or computer, simply reading books.
Providing young children with an array of different writing tools and implements can help to promote positive literacy development at an early age. Children should be given pens, markers, pencils, crayons and more, along with different types of papers (lined, graph, construction) to explore and experiment with. This can help children to develop pre-writing skills and engage them in early literacy behaviors. As children move toward school age, they can begin to trace and write letters and words, connecting what they are writing to print materials such as books.