"What Are Preschoolers Thinking?" dispels common misconceptions about the cognitive abilities of preschoolers and demonstrates how effective early instruction can help eradicate achievement gaps. More Judith A. Schickedanz, Molly F. Collins, and Catherine Marchant, educators and researchers with combined decades of experience in early…

West Virginia's third grade literacy efforts serve as a catalyst for the development and subsequent growth of a comprehensive approach to early learning in West Virginia for children ages birth through third grade. The West Virginia Leaders of Literacy: Campaign for Grade Level Reading has been developed to assist all 55 West Virginia counties in…

Emergent literacy skills develop from a child's experiences with spoken language in social interactions, written words through storybook reading, and opportunities to interact with print in the environment. These emergent literacy experiences provide a foundation for conventional literacy skills. A congenital visual impairment (that is, blindness…

Today, in conjunction with the Alliance for Childhood, we are thrilled to release our new report "Reading Instruction in Kindergarten: Little to Gain and Much to Lose." In the report we concluded that Common Core reading requirements for kindergarten are inappropriate and not well-grounded in research. Under Common Core, students are…

The Individual Growth and Development Indicator (IGDI): Which One Doesn't Belong (WODB) task is an early comprehension screening assessment designed for use in pre-Kindergarten multi-tiered systems of support. This article summarizes the purpose, procedures, and evidence base currently available in the literature to support the WODB task. Example…

How young children's and older students' knowledge of words develops--their structure, their meanings, how they work in context--is reflected in the Common Core English Language Arts expectations. Meeting these expectations for each learner requires that we teach in a developmentally-responsive manner. This includes our being familiar with the…

Research indicates that motivation plays a central role in literacy development. Recent investigations have revealed that reading motivation begins to erode as early as second grade. Therefore, it can be suggested that motivation must be carefully considered during early literacy instruction. However, such motivating instruction can be effectively…

With our expertise and experiences in teaching language development and early literacy instruction courses at a teacher education college, we argue that it is imperative to find ways to integrate learning standards with developmentally appropriate play-based methods. We examined what literacy coach candidates found in their classroom observations…

In this article, we share real-world literacy activities that we designed and implemented in two early literacy classes for preschoolers from two inner-city neighbourhoods that were part of an intergenerational family literacy program, Literacy for Life (LFL). The program was informed by research that shows that young children in high literate…

For all students, a high-quality early education is critical to ensuring their long-term academic success. Early learners need to understand why people read and write in order to be motivated to excel in their own literacy development. Through active engagement in the reading process, children learn ways to use their growing knowledge and skills…

The high level of acceptance in US society of the preschool years as a critically important time for building early literacy skills has led to a flurry of activity in early childhood research and policy. The National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) report "Developing Early Literacy" (2008) is one example of this activity. The NELP report is…

Children's literature is a significant segment of the book market, and includes authors with household names like Dr. Seuss and Eric Carle. Even celebrities are in on the fun, with their own titles on the best seller lists. Along with the increased visibility of children's literature, parents have become better informed and more interested in the…

In his latest book, Daniel Meier highlights the critical importance of integrating content and mechanics for successful and engaged writing at the K-4 level. Featuring the teaching philosophies and strategies of seven exemplary teachers, and a discussion of relevant research and theory, Meier provides a fresh, practical, and much-needed…

This article will describe an approach to planning and assessment that is designed to support an emergent, play-based curriculum while helping teachers make informed instructional decisions. Using assessment that supports curriculum allows early childhood professionals to infuse early learning content standards into meaningful, relevant and…

The Early Years Evaluation (EYE) program is intended to help teachers to evaluate the skills of children from three to six years. This article discusses two new skills assessments of the EYE program: (1) the Early Years Evaluation-Direct Assessment (EYE-DA); and (2) the Early Years Evaluation-Teacher Assessment (EYE-TA). The EYE-DA evaluates…