HEAR ME NOW! The Key to Successful Readers is EARLY Oral Language Literacy!

Did you know?

As 63%-69% of fourth and eighth-grade students currently read below a proficient level

(NAEP, 2022).

As a seasoned educator, I find it heartbreaking to work with below-grade-level students who must learn to be literate many years later than they should have, but it does not have to be! We are in an amazing time of education! We have abundant research and evidence backing up decades of early intervention best practices, so why are illiteracy rates even a thing?

Simple to Do!

That's why focusing time and energy on students engaging in oral language activities and entrenching your students in word recognition and language comprehension through active reading will influence lifelong literacy.

Be Influential!

• Be intentional. Focus on oral language with young students as early as preschool! Do not wait!

The Key to Successful Readers is EARLY Literacy Efforts!

Oral language is a key variable in the simple view of reading, where word recognition multiplied by language comprehension equals reading comprehension. When assessing oral language in young students, educators must wait until a student can decode written language before they obtain information on comprehension, and the expectation to decode academic language begins around the third grade. Therefore, in third or fourth grade, educators understand which students need help understanding complex academic language. Waiting until third or fourth grade is unnecessary because oral language can be measured beginning in preschool.

ACTIVE READING allows for a temperature check of oral language at an early age, thereby facilitating the early identification and prevention of future reading comprehension difficulties!

The HOW!

Model active reading when you read with your child.

• Discuss what's happening as you read, and stop to talk about any interesting or tricky vocabulary words.

• Encourage your child to visualize the story and ask questions like, "What happened here? How do you think that character feels? Have you ever felt like that? What do you think will happen next?"

You, too, can help a child's comprehension and develop their critical thinking skills!