Investing time and space for independent exploration and creation of texts allows children to spend more time to experiment with reading and writing behaviours without adult support. One of the key skills for life that we want to empower our children with in the early years is literacy independence, both in relation to their actions and their thinking. To become independent, children have to be confident in their own abilities otherwise they will remain over-reliant on the support of other adults or their more confident peers.
Young children are on the whole very resourceful and very resilient, and when left to their own devices or given opportunities to be independent they can often surprise us. As parents and educators, we need to ensure that we are not only creating an environment and planning activities that are teaching children fundamental skills, but that we are giving them opportunities to put those skills into practice on their own, too. This might involve something as simple as putting on an apron for painting or as complicated as baking a cake. Both, and much more, are possible if children are given the correct input in the right environment and then given the chance to have a go for themselves.
Literacy development is the process of learning words, sounds, language and the ability to express it. Children develop literacy skills in order to learn to read and write confidently, and eventually improve their overall communication skills. The stages of literacy development that a child goes through can vary depending on the child’s comprehension levels but generally include the same key concepts along the way. As the pillars of language and reading skills, literacy development is a crucial time in a child’s life. Parents and educators need to understand why literacy independence is so important in order to effectively help children within each stage of their early childhood development. Here are just a few reasons why early literacy independence is important:
Children with confident reading and writing abilities typically struggle less with their studies and have a confident approach to their education.
Strong literacy skills translate well into independent learning and encourage consistent growth in and out of the classroom.
Literacy development affects the way students communicate and problem solve. Those with strong literacy skills usually have improved cognitive ability.
Independent reading and writing can help develop children’s sense of ownership over their skills and provide some quiet time where children can work and explore uninterrupted, at their own pace. In early childhood, where children are unlikely to be “reading” texts (correctly decoding many/most words) on their own, these independent literacy experiences are still important for allowing children to explore and enjoy mimicking the reading process at their own pace. Through independent writing, children can develop their skills in their own time, and driven by their own writing interests (for example: making meaning and expressing ideas through texts, phonological awareness, early phonics, exploring and developing creative writing skills).
It is helpful to provide books and other texts in which children have a showed interest. Children may also choose books that are unfamiliar or new, but it is also desirable to make available the material that has already been explored during modelled and shared/guided reading experiences. As with all learning experiences, it is important to choose a book that:
matches the age and language skills of the children
includes characters, events, and messages within the story that will appeal to children
is the right length for the learning experience
highlights aspects of oral language and emergent literacy that can be explored with children or they can practise independently (including making meaning, vocabulary, concepts, phonological awareness, fine motor, text structure and features).
Each stage of literacy development provides its own unique challenges and triumphs in learning to become confident in reading, writing and expression. EZY Phonics specializes in early literacy development that help further progress within the stages of early childhood development. We offer a broad range of educational resources and content, created through engaging lesson plans that will get children excited to learn more. With programmes to get children set up for school and learn early literacy concepts, we are committed to helping children become confident students. We facilitate highly interactive online group and home one-to-one classes for children from ages 3 to 8 to help them succeed during every stage of early literacy development and to learn without tears.
Get in touch with us or learn more of what our programmes offer at: www.ezyphonics.com/programmes
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