Emergent Literacy

Figure 2: The cycle of emergent literacy instruction

students that is embedded within the instructional routines of comprehensive emergent literacy instruction. Attending to this flow of interaction helps us focus on the ‘for- est’ of building a foundation of language and literacy. The cycle helps us extend our literacy instruction across the school day, and distribute that instruction even into non instructional time. Attending to the cycle maximizes our opportunities to develop language. Reading, writing and communication are not just for the literacy block! See Figure 2. TEACH Emergent literacy understandings are fostered during inter- actions about interesting topics. The literacy block is a natural opportunity to teach a range of topics, from curricular content to the things and activities our students most enjoy. Literacy is how we talk and share about what we are interested in. ‘Teach’ might sound self-evident, but it is a reminder not to provide our literacy instruction in isolation from all the things our students care about and are learning about. Literacy experiences are an important part of how we acquire the language that supports our thinking. When we read, write and talk about a topic, we form stronger mental representations of the topic or concept itself. Many of our students need explicit, intense support to build strong mental representations of ab- stract concepts. Literacy instruction is the vehicle to support our students’ conceptual understanding of any given topic. Our in- structional routines stay predictable and routine, but our differ-

ent topics provide constant variety and interest.

EXPERIENCE Our students need multi-sensory experiences to support their learning about any given topic. ‘Experience’ ensures that we are combining language with something tangible. Consider how to incorporate movement or sensation, including something to see, touch, hear or taste. The goal is that all students have oppor- tunities to perceive and experience what we are teaching. Literacy embeds language in experience. It transforms activ- ities into knowledge, by providing language that deepens and broadens how we think and remember. Experiences give us something worth the effort of talking, writing and reading. I visited a classroom last December that was deep into experiencing all the best of what the holidays had to offer. The students were cooking holiday feasts, taste-testing treats, attending special performances, listening to music, crafting gifts and watching holiday movies. The teacher apologized that they had put their literacy instruction on hold during that final busy week before winter break. This is a symptom of what I call the ‘kale theory’ of literacy. It’s when we know literacy is important, but we haven’t integrated it into our regular or special activities. This classroom reflected how easy it is to isolate literacy from experience. All those fabulous holiday activities were the perfect topics to read, write and talk about! The foods we like and do not like, the

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