Did you know your little learner might start developing pre-reading skills at just six months old? The journey of learning to read can vary from child to child, but all children must first interpret and understand oral vocabulary (or spoken words) before they learn to read in the traditional sense.
Think about it: one has to understand that things have names before being able to conceptualize letter names, sound recognition, and phonemic awareness (rhyming, alliteration, sentence segmenting, syllable blending, and segmenting). Developing a vocabulary starts as young as six months simply by talking to your baby and exposing them to spoken language. They are learning that “dog” means that hairy little creature that lives in the house with us. They eventually learn that not every hairy little creature is called a dog – by visiting the zoo they may hear and learn names like elephant, gorilla, giraffe, etc. The more exposure to the world, the more their little brains can comprehend.
There has been a tremendous amount of research conducted regarding reading development among children. The most popular and reliable sources often include five very distinct stages. In 1983, Jeanne Chall developed her “Stages of Reading Development,” which is still widely recognized and referred to today. Chall’s framework outlines the typical child’s reading development process from stages 0-5.
Stage 0: Pre-Reading
This stage is sometimes referred to as “pseudo-reading.” It includes children who are about 6 months to 6 years old. In this stage, children often “pretend” to read. This means they can recognize signs and stories previously read to them and can therefore point them out and demonstrate an understanding of the content. Children master this stage by being read to by an adult. It is incredibly valuable to engage in interactive, dialogic reading at this stage (really emphasize and exaggerate). *This is where L is right now- the very beginning! :-)
Stage 1: Initial Reading and Decoding
This stage typically includes children around ages six and seven (so around the end of kindergarten/ 1st grade/ beginning of 2nd grade). This is when children develop the skills necessary to interpret the relationships between written words and spoken words. Children in this stage begin to learn letter-sound relationships (phonics) and how to read simple text containing phonetically regular words. Generally, this happens through direct instruction. This is also the time when sight words (words that don’t necessarily follow regular phonetics but frequently show up in text - words like “the,” “of,” and “because”) are introduced. At the end of this stage, children can on average read around 600 different words. *This is where I spent most of my teaching days! :-)
Stage 2: Confirmation and Fluency
This stage occurs around 7-8 years old (so around 2nd grade). This is when children can read easy, familiar texts by using basic decoding, sight vocabulary, and recognize context clues. Children can develop and acquire new reading skills through advanced instruction and by listening to others read at higher levels.
Stage 3: Reading for Learning the New
Stage 3 is made up of Phase A and Phase B (and typically describe children ages 9-13).
Phase A includes intermediate children in grades 4-6. At this stage, individuals are typically still more capable of learning through listening comprehension versus reading comprehension
Phase B includes middle school and high school students in grades 7-9. By this point, individuals are able to learn equally and proficiently through both listening and reading comprehension.
In this stage (both phases), children read in order to gain ideas and knowledge, as well as to experience new feelings and attitudes.
Stage 4: Multiple Viewpoints
Stage 4 typically occurs around ages 15-17. So this stage is the “Upperclassman” in high school (grades 10-12th). These individuals demonstrate reading skills in a broad range of subjects (including physical science, biological science, social science, humanities, popular literature, etc.). These subjects may be studied by reading and understanding several different types of materials (newspapers, magazines, articles, etc.). The comprehension of reading includes the ability to understand a variety of different viewpoints.
Stage 5: Construction and Reconstruction
The final stage, according to Chall, includes adults (age 18 and up) who read for their own purpose, gain knowledge and integrate new knowledge with prior experiences. They can read quickly and efficiently. Reading usually results in better comprehension than just listening.
(To read more about Chall’s 5 stages of reading development, check this out!)
Now that L is 17 months old, she is able to understand more words every day. She’s starting to say lots of different words very clearly (mama, dada, ball, more, up, down, wow, ut-oh) and mimic sounds and noises she hears in an attempt to say new words (o-PEEN for “open”).
Okay - so how do you support a little learner trying to talk and make sense of the world around them? It’s really simple - just talk to them! Go for a walk and talk to them like they understand - explain what you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel. Offering them a wide range of vocabulary to hear will eventually lead to oral communication and understanding.
Other than talking to your little learner… PLAY! Kids learn so much just by playing! Independent play and structured play are both important!
L loves reading books, which has been instrumental in increasing her vocabulary. She loves it when I ask her “Can you find the __________?” while reading. It shows that she is aware that things have names and she is starting to associate spoken words with those things. When you read, offer some exaggeration and expression. If it feels silly, they’re probably loving it (and also probably learning)! Have fun with it!
In addition to books, we’ve also been playing with these picture cards to learn the names of different objects. The picture cards we use are from a Lovevery kit (but these are another great option). *Don’t feel pressured to purchase either of these options: I made these for you and your little learner to get started now! :-)
Five things I love about these cards:
They are thick and sturdy (toddlers are still learning what it means to be gentle).
They are double-sided (I know you can’t see that from the pictures so I wanted to point it out!).
They are textured (touch-and-feel).
They have realistic pictures (not just illustrations).
They have the text underneath the photographs (even though L obviously can’t read these words yet, it’s already exposing her to the idea that those little symbols mean something- it won’t be foreign to her when it is time to start to expose letter recognition).
Five things to do with these cards:
Similar to finding the objects in the book, lay them out like shown here, and simply play the “Can you find the _____?” game. As your little learner masters the ability to say more words independently, they’ll love asking YOU to find different cards!
See if you can find real-life objects to match each picture. Go into the kitchen and get a real banana and place it next to the “Banana” card. Show the real thing - let them taste or play with it. If you have more than one banana, you can also show the picture next to many bananas and practice the concept of one versus many. Go on a nature walk and see how many different kinds/ colors of leaves you can find to place with the “Leaf” card. See how many different size balls you can find around the house to place with the “Ball” card.
Organize the cards into categories. Place all the animal cards together and then place all the vehicles together. Say each word clearly for your little learner to hear. They’ll begin to associate words together in groups. You could eventually challenge your little learner by saying “Can you find an animal?” instead of just “Can you find the dog?”
Buy or make a second set of cards and play a matching game together. This could even turn into a “memory” game for older learners. Repeated exposure to new objects is crucial for memory development.
Once your little learner understands more and more spoken words and has a larger vocabulary, you can describe the card and see if they can guess which card you’re describing (think: “I spy with my little eye… something red and white that is worn with socks on your feet...”).
Your little learner is encountering new objects and experiences every day; realizing that everything has its own name, understanding its function, and seeing it in different contexts are the first steps towards learning to read. It’s hard to believe that even at 17 months L is already learning foundational reading skills just by listening to others speak and observing the world around her. Every day her little brain is learning so much! It’s fun to think about how every experience we share impacts her and her future.
What are some of your favorite ways to encourage oral vocabulary and spoken word development?
Thanks for reading! I hope you continue to follow along to find (and share!) inspiration, information, and innovation! :-)
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