The following information is based on the second edition of American Library Association’s Every Child Ready to Read®. Special thanks to Saroj Ghoting, early childhood literacy consultant.

What is Early Literacy?

Early literacy (sometimes referred to as emergent literacy) is what children know about communication, language, reading, and writing before they can actually read and write. It encompasses all of a child’s experiences with conversation, stories (oral and written), books, and print.

From: 2011 policy Brief from Zero to Three. A Window to the World: Early Language and Literacy Development.
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Why is Early Literacy Important?

Many of Alaska’s young children enter kindergarten without adequate early literacy skills. These fundamental literacy skills allow children to become better readers. Better readers lead to greater school and work success, higher self-esteem, and wider choices and options in life. There is a strong need to promote early literacy throughout Alaska, especially during the first three years of life, when the brain is developing at its fastest rate and is most receptive to acquiring language and literacy skills.
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Six Components of Early Literacy

The aspects of early literacy can be described in different ways, using different terms. The basic information is the same. Here we have divided early literacy into six skills. Children need ALL of these early literacy components to be good readers.

  1. Oral Language: listening, speaking, communication skills
  2. Phonological Awareness: ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words
  3. Print Awareness: knowledge that print has meaning, how to handle a book
  4. Letter Knowledge: knowing that letters have different shapes and represent sounds
  5. Vocabulary: knowing the meanings of words
  6. Background Knowledge: prior knowledge before child enters school

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Five Practices of Early Literacy

Parents and caregivers are a child’s first teachers. You may not think of yourself as a teacher, but children learn about new words and concepts by interacting with caring adults. To encourage early literacy development in the infants and toddlers in your life, caregivers are encouraged to use five practices:

TALK
  • One of the best ways to teach new words and concepts
  • Talk with children as you go through daily routines (explain things and ask questions)
  • Name objects around the house

SING
  • Slows down language so children can hear sounds and syllables
  • Enjoyable and easiest way to learn language
  • Sing songs from your childhood and/or make up songs together

READ
  • The single most important way to help children get ready to read
  • Listening to books read aloud passes along numerous skills
  • Choose books that you both enjoy and read together for 15-20 minutes every day

WRITE
  • Helps children learn that written words stand for spoken language
  • Scribbling is the start of the skills needed to make shapes and letters
  • Encourage drawing and coloring

PLAY
  • Helps children put thoughts into words and think symbolically
  • Safe way to experiment with new concepts
  • Have fun/ be silly playing imaginative and interactive games

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Early Literacy Organizations

The organizations listed below are dedicated to early literacy and/or early childhood education. The list is divided into two sections: Alaska statewide organizations and national organizations.

Alaska Organizations

  • Alaska Head Start Association
    Dedicated to strengthening early learning programs through advocacy, education, and leadership. AHSA represents all 16 Head Start programs in Alaska.
  • Alaska Infant Learning Program
    Program run by the Dept of Health and Social Services that promotes access to a flexible array of quality services to all Alaskan infants and toddlers with special developmental needs and to their families.
  • Anchorage Association for the Education of Young Children
    The Anchorage chapter of the AEYC is working to bring high-quality early learning opportunities to all children from birth through age eight and serves the needs of early childhood education professionals in the Anchorage area.
  • Best Beginnings
    A public-private partnership that mobilizes people and resources to ensure all Alaska children begin school ready to succeed through support from businesses, foundations, nonprofits, government, and individuals.

    • Best Beginnings Newsletter
      Six newsletters annually in addition to timely e-mail alerts, which communicate events or important issues that affect early learning efforts in Alaska.
  • Imagination Library in Alaska
    Imagination Library mails a FREE, high-quality, brand-new book each month to children from birth to age 5 who live in communities that support the program. Serves 110 communities.
  • Juneau Families
    Website created by Partnerships for Families & Children (PFC) — a Best Beginnings Partnership. PFC is a group of 20 non-profit and state agencies working together to promote a web of community support for young children and their families.
  • Northern Interior Alaska Association for the Education of Young Children
    The Northern Interior chapter of the AEYC serves early childhood education professionals in the Interior and other parts of Alaska.
  • Parents As Teachers
    A support network that empowers parents to give their children a great start in life, includes one-on-one home visits and group events. Administered by RurAL CAP. Serves 19 communities in AK.
  • Reach Out and Read
    Nonprofit organization of medical providers who promote early literacy and school readiness in pediatric exam rooms nationwide by giving new books to children and advice to parents about the importance of reading aloud. There are 65 locations in AK. Click on “Find a Program” to find the closest location.
  • Southeast Alaska Association for the Education of Young Children
    The Southeast chapter of the AEYC serves early childhood education professionals in southeast Alaska.
  • thread
    Helps parents make informed choices about child care and education. thread also holds family events and parent workshops. Offices in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Kenai, and Wasilla.

National Organizations

  • 1000 Books Before Kindergarten
    Non-profit dedicated to promoting reading to young children and encouraging parents to bond with their children through reading. Website has booklists, reviews, articles and an iPhone app to help record reading progress.
  • Association for Library Service to Children – Born to Read
    Aimed at providing early literacy resources to library staff as they help new parents to become aware that reading to a baby from birth is critical to every baby’s growth and well being.
  • Every Child Ready to Read
    ECRR is a parent education initiative created by the Public Library Association. It stresses that early literacy begins with the primary adults in a child’s life. The ECRR toolkit is available for purchase.
  • Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy – Book Awards
    Annual recognition given to picture books that provide excellent support of early literacy development in young children, will serve as a collection development, program planning, and early literacy information resource for librarians, educators, and caregivers.
  • Mother Goose Club
    Site has tons of nursery rhymes, videos, songs, and coloring pages to keep young children engaged.
  • National Institute for Early Education Research
    NIEER conducts and communicates research to support high-quality, effective early childhood education for all young children. The Institute offers independent, research-based advice and technical assistance to policymakers, journalists, researchers, and educators.
  • Family Place Libraries
    Network of children’s librarians nationwide who believe that literacy begins at birth, and that libraries can help build healthy communities by nourishing healthy families. The program focuses on the parent-child relationship and aims to expand the role of  public libraries as key players in family and early childhood development, parent and community involvement, and lifelong learning beginning at birth.
  • Little eLit
    Professional learning network that works to develop promising practices for the incorporation of new media into library collections, services and programs for families with young children.
  • Mother Goose on the Loose
    An award-winning early-literacy program for children from birth to age 3 with their parents or caregivers that uses a variety of activities, such as rhymes, songs, puppets and instruments to foster speech development, motor coordination, self-confidence, and sensitivity to others. Program materials are available for purchase.
  • Read Aloud 15 MINUTES
    Non-profit organization that is working to make reading aloud every day for at least 15 minutes the new standard in child care.
  • Saroj Ghoting (Early Childhood Literacy Consultant)
    Ghoting is an expert on early literacy who offers trainings and workshops for library staff and at national, state, and local conferences. Her website has a wealth of early literacy resources for librarians.
  • Zero to Three
    National non-profit organization that provides parents, professionals and policymakers the knowledge and the know-how to nurture early development.

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