In the previous two stories in our series on early literacy, we shared tips on how families and early educators can build children’s vocabulary and interest in reading. District administrators and child care program directors can take an active role in promoting early literacy within classrooms and alongside families, too.
We consulted five early learning experts—Emly Daberkow, Carol Burk, and Kelly Jones, early childhood education specialists at the Nebraska Department of Education, and Cris Lopez Anderson and Kathy Hubbard from the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska. They shared examples of reading strategies that administrators can look for and promote.
What do you see in the classroom?
Are there literacy opportunities available throughout the classroom? Each learning center should have opportunities for children to see written words through labels, menus, books, or even pictures.
Hubbard, a former child care director, modeled smooth transitions for educators by promoting verbal language skills. For infants this could be back-and-forth exchanges, or “serve and return." For toddlers or preschoolers, transitions could be eased by using songs, chants, or nursery rhymes.
Host a family literacy night and share ideas so families can look for literacy in their environment. Two ideas: at the grocery store, look for items that begin with the first letter of your child’s name, or on your way home from school, look for and point out different signs.
Administrators can support literacy by ensuring all families have access to books and opportunities to read with their children.
Fundraising programs and securing donations or grants are great ways to raise money and collect new books for families. Promoting engagement with a local library or participating in statewide initiatives such as Nebraska Growing Readers are also ways to encourage reading.
Are there opportunities for children to write?
What opportunities exist to model writing for children within each classroom learning center? Look for writing utensils that are easily available to children in centers. Encourage teachers to model writing not only during group times, but also while engaging in play with the children.
Infusing writing within stations around the classroom can give children an opportunity to mimic meaningful experiences, such as a doctor’s check-up list or creating or ordering from a menu in the dramatic play area. Children can create a blueprint when engaging with blocks or make a graph through math or science.
During a group meeting or circle time, teachers can write letters on a board or easel, making a game of whose name starts with the letter. This is a fun way to engage children in recognizing the letters and applying them to someone they know.
Encourage families to find ways to model writing. At home, use water and a finger to “paint” and write letters on the sidewalk or a dark piece of paper, or use shaving cream on a tray. Look for letters and words on junk mail or scraps of paper and use them as scratch paper for writing.
What do read-alouds sound like?
Encourage teachers to engage children by asking them open-ended questions, use props and puppets that go with the story, or even use interactive books that have repetitive phrases. Take the time to point out new vocabulary words that help children make connections to what is in the story.
As an administrator, Hubbard used professional learning and staff meetings for educators to practice reading aloud in front of a group so they could solicit feedback and learn new ways to engage listeners.
Try hosting an interactive read-aloud night for families. Model what a read-aloud looks like so that families feel comfortable doing this with their child at home. Use a mixture of wordless and word books so that families can also see that they can use the pictures to tell the story, too.
Encourage family volunteers to select a special book that’s meaningful to their family, something that represents their culture, language, or even a bedtime routine.
As a former principal, Lopez Anderson and her staff partnered with families to make literacy a shared experience. Central to this work was honoring families’ cultural and linguistic diversity.
“By valuing the languages spoken in our students’ homes and embracing their cultural traditions, we strengthened connections between school and family,” Lopez Anderson said. “We provided bilingual resources, celebrated diverse authors and stories, and encouraged families to share their own cultural narratives as part of their children’s literacy experiences.”
Lopez Anderson also provided staff with high-quality professional learning opportunities that focused on effective literacy practices. These opportunities emphasized the use of research-based, developmentally appropriate reading strategies, embedding them into interactive read-alouds, shared reading, and the creation of print-rich environments.
“This approach ensured that every child developed a love for reading and the foundational skills needed to succeed,” she said.