California Preschool Learning Foundations - ECEZero2Three ...

types of cognitive processing and
problem solving that characterize
comprehension in the elementary
grades, with strategies such as
self-questioning and use of mental
imagery (Bauman and Bergeron 1993;
Fitzgerald and Spiegel 1983). Shared
reading activities also help children
become familiar with the nature of
written language and help preschool
children realize the developmental
progression from an “oral” to a
“written” type of language (Purcell-
Gates 1988; Sulzby 1985).
Children entering school from disadvantaged
environments often have
limited or minimal exposure to complex
narrative texts. Shared reading,
picture-book reading, and the instructional
conversations are of special
relevance for these children. The lack
of exposure puts them at a disadvantage
when they are placed in classrooms
with students who have been
repeatedly exposed to the language,
ideas, routines, and pleasures associated
with complex text (Baker, Serpell,
and Sonnenschein 1995; Dahl and
Freppon 1991; Marvin and Mirenda
1993; Preventing Reading Difficulties
in Young Children 1998; Purcell-Gates
and Dahl 1991). Fortunately, this
exposure gap can be closed through
instruction at home and in school
(Clay 1979; Leppäen and others 2004;
Purcell-Gates, McIntyre, and Freppon
1995). For example, adults can
explicitly engage children with thinking
about and responding to specific
elements of texts during storybook
reading interactions. They might,
for instance, focus a child’s attention
on following the cause-and-effect
sequence of a story or discussing
words that occur repeatedly in a text
to create coherence. It is most impor-
California Department of Education • Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1
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tant that adults who read with young
children provide this structure
consistently and systematically, so
that they support children’s engagement
with certain aspects of the text
(e.g., causal flow of events) that children
may not be drawn to incidentally
or of their own accord (Ezell and
Justice 2000).
Literacy Interest and Response.
The comprehension of text for young
children requires both skill and will,
will usually being a precursor to skill.
Showing an interest in books and
holding a positive regard for reading
are considered developmental
accomplishments of three- and fouryear-olds
by the National Research
Council (Preventing Reading Difficulties
in Young Children 1998). Children’s
willing participation in such literacy
activities as handling books and listening
to stories is an essential precursor
to their later cognitive engagement
with text, in the same way that early
joint attention between a caregiver and
a child is an essential precursor to
achievements in oral language production
and comprehension. Early interest
in literacy may also motivate children
to persist with future challenging reading
tasks (Preventing Reading Difficulties
in Young Children 1998). Cognitive
skills are necessary for children to
become able readers, but to become
lifelong literacy learners, children
must be motivated to engage in literacy
activities and persist in their engagement.
As such, interest in literacy is
closely linked to the issue of motivation.
Interest in and motivation toward
reading describe the child’s affect
toward, or feelings about, literacy
activities (Alexander and Filler 1976;
Mathewson 1994; McKenna, Kear,
LANGUAGE AND LITERACY