Measure 34 — LIT 1

Interest in Literacy

Child shows interest in books, songs, rhymes, stories, writing, and other literacy activities and seeks information in written text

From birth, children develop interest in literacy through rich conversations and experiences in the context of meaningful and responsive interactions with adults. Activities such as reading picture books, scribbling, listening to stories, and singing songs and rhymes help children develop an interest in literacy. Children are also encouraged toward literacy when they see adults reading and writing both for pleasure and for various practical purposes. Through these early experiences, children begin to learn about the activities of reading and writing.

Very young infants quiet to the sound of an adult voice reading or singing. Infants look at books held in their visual field, particularly books with large, bright pictures and photos of babies, familiar people, and familiar objects. Older infants play with and explore books, mostly by chewing, shaking, or banging them. Gradually they become able to attend briefly to an adult reading a book or singing a song or rhyme. At this young age, children participate in reading books by looking at the pictures and touching the book, patting the pages and sometimes trying to turn them. They participate in songs and music by moving and vocalizing.

Toddlers participate in book reading, simple songs, rhymes, and finger plays that are initiated by adults. They listen to short stories and can participate by pointing to pictures in the story. For example, a child might point to a favorite character or object when it is named or in response to an adult prompt, such as “Where’s the bunny?” Eventually toddlers actively initiate requests for literacy activities and will often ask adults to read the same story over and over again. Many toddlers can fill in words and short phrases in familiar stories. They may make comments and respond to simple questions about individual pictures.

Young preschoolers show interest in a range of reading and writing activities and materials (such as books, music, signs, lists, posters, billboards, magazines, junk mail, labels, drawings, maps, charts, and electronic screens). They have favorite literacy activities, stories, and characters, and they know whole rhymes and familiar songs. Preschoolers are interested in imaginative stories, such as folk tales. They also enjoy stories about familiar things or events, such as school and making friends, and books about things that especially interest them, like animals or trucks. They actively engage in reading activities by responding to or asking simple questions about a book’s story or illustrations and by pretending to read to a friend, for example, or to a stuffed toy.

Older preschoolers voluntarily engage in literacy activities on a regular basis and for a variety of reasons. They listen attentively while they are being read to. They pay attention to details in a story, make comments or ask questions about specific events and characters, and relate them to their personal experience. They use books and other written materials as sources of information, by seeking out books that relate to a favorite topic or a classroom activity, for example. Older preschoolers also initiate writing for a specific purpose, such as making a grocery list or writing their own name on a drawing. As their interest in reading and writing develops, they want to know what particular words say, and they may ask an adult to read a word to them or write out a particular word. Some children also begin to be interested in specific aspects of printed words. For example, a child may look for and point out words that begin with the first letter of her name.