So Much More than the ABCs: The Early Phases of Reading and Writing, Revised Edition
About the Book
A child’s literacy development begins long before their formal education does. The skills and knowledge that infants, toddlers, and preschoolers acquire through meaningful, playful language and literacy experiences are the building blocks of their later success in reading and writing.
How do early childhood educators foster young children’s understanding of reading and writing during this emergent literacy period? Moreover, how can they nurture a love of reading and writing? With these two questions at its core, the revised edition of this bestselling resource provides
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A comprehensive and updated overview of what literacy development looks like for children from birth through age 5
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Instructional approaches that support robust early language, literacy, and content knowledge learning
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Considerations for choosing and sharing materials and for designing the physical environment in ways that support language and literacy learning
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Recommendations for developmentally appropriate books that engage children’s minds and imaginations
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Authentic writing samples that showcase young children’s thinking around and explorations with mark making
Grounded in new research and drawn from the authors’ extensive experience, this book gives educators the tools they need to create and build on learning opportunities that will lead to thriving, motivated readers and writers.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- About the Authors
- About the Contributors
- Acknowledgments
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Introduction: A Time to Begin
- Topics and Their Organization
- Using This Book
- This Book’s Goals
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Part One: Building a Foundation for Reading
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Chapter 1: What’s Involved in Learning to Read?
- Reading Processes and Phases
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Understandings and Skills Needed When Learning to Read
- Print Conventions
- The Alphabet and Phonological Awareness
- Oral Language
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Understandings and Skills Needed When Reading to Learn
- Decoding Skill
- Oral Vocabulary and Other Oral Language Skills
- Background Knowledge
- Reasoning
- Different Learning from Different Experiences
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Adopting a Long View
- Looking Beyond Code-Related Skills
- Looking Beyond a Narrow Focus on Recognition-Level Oral Vocabulary
- Concluding Thoughts
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Chapter 2: The Beginning—Reading with Infants and Toddlers | Christina M. Cassano and Jessica L. Hoffman
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Engaging Infants and Toddlers with Reading
- From Birth to 3 Months
- From 4 to 6 Months
- From 7 to 9 Months
- From 10 to 12 Months
- From 13 to 18 Months
- From 19 to 30 Months
- Reading Daily to Older Toddlers in Groups
- Early Reading-Related Behaviors
- Concluding Thoughts
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Engaging Infants and Toddlers with Reading
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Chapter 3: Reading Storybooks with Preschoolers
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Selecting Storybooks
- Interest, Cognitive Engagement, and Story Complexity
- Vocabulary and Language Structures
- Values and Diversity of Characters, Cultures, and Family Structures
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Goals for Story Reading
- Build Community
- Support Understanding of Other People
- Build Knowledge About Emotions and Model Strategies for Regulating Them
- Support Language Development
- Build General Knowledge
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Whole Group Story Reading
- Seating for Whole Group Story Reading
- Appropriate Book Size and Format for a Whole Group
- Thinking of the Group, Not Just Individuals
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Comprehension: Supporting Meaning
- Story Introductions
- Voice, Gesture, Gaze, and Pacing
- Referring to Illustrations
- Comprehension Asides
- Responding to Children’s Comments and Questions During a Story
- Guiding Discussion
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Supporting Vocabulary
- Identify Key Words
- Using Illustrations, Explanations, Gestures, and Voice
- Other Opportunities to Expose Children to a Word
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Multiple Readings: Why Once Is Not Enough
- Introducing a Second or Third Reading
- Use of Digital Books
- Concluding Thoughts
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Selecting Storybooks
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Chapter 4: Sharing Informational Books with Preschoolers
- Informational Book Features and Text Formats
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Why Read Informational Books?
- Informational Books Are Interesting
- Informational Books Support Vocabulary Development
- Informational Books Help Children Acquire Content Knowledge
- Informational Books Expose Children to Dense and Abstract Language
- Informational Books Help Children Understand Narratives
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Contexts for Using Informational Books
- Use Informational Books in Conjunction with Storybooks
- Use Informational Books to Introduce a Small Group Experience
- Use Informational Books to Support Activities in Centers
- Include Informational Books in the Book Area
- Include Informational Books in a Lending Library
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Strategies for Using Informational Books
- Read Only Selected Parts
- Read an Informational Book in Its Entirety
- Model the Use of Informational Text Features
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Exposing Children to Printed Information in Nonbook Form
- Informational Print Artifacts
- Informational Magazines
- Informational Displays
- Calendars
- Concluding Thoughts
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Chapter 5: Young Children and Literacy Skills Development
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Alphabet Letter-Name Knowledge
- Using Children’s Names
- Additional Letter Materials
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Phonological Awareness
- Speech Units in Words
- The Course of Phonological Awareness Acquisition
- Where to Start with Phonological Awareness
- Next Steps in Phonological Awareness Instruction
- Constructive Teacher Feedback
- Print Conventions and Functions
- Concluding Thoughts
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Alphabet Letter-Name Knowledge
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Chapter 1: What’s Involved in Learning to Read?
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Part Two: Building a Foundation for Writing
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Chapter 6: What’s Involved in Writing?
- Creating Messages
- Representing Messages
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Phases of Writing Development
- Emergent Writing
- Beginning Conventional Writing
- More Mature Conventional Writing
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Effective Early Childhood Practices
- Read to Young Children
- Expose Children to a Range of Purposes for Writing
- Provide Mark-Making Experiences Early
- Talk with Children About Their Writing and Drawing
- Keep the Focus on Meaning
- Understanding the Young Child’s Approach to Representing Meaning
- Concluding Thoughts
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Chapter 7: Infants and Toddlers Leave Their Mark
- A Rationale for Early Mark-Making Experiences
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Infants’ Actions on Objects and the Use of Mark-Making Tools
- What the Infant and Toddler Bring to These Experiences
- Mark Making Provides a New Context for Learning
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Early Mark-Making Phases
- Phase 1: Whatever Happens, Happens
- Phase 2: Controlling and Contrasting Marks
- Phase 3: Attributing Meaning to Marks
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Creating Accessible Mark-Making Experiences for Infants and Toddlers
- Opportunities in High Chairs
- Opportunities at Easels
- Opportunities at Water Tables and Other Places to Finger Paint
- Opportunities at Activity Tables
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Message Content in the Making: A Look Inside the Minds of Infants and Toddlers
- Knowledge About the Behavior of Physical Objects
- Categories of Things
- Building Blocks of Communication: Emotional Expression and Identification, Emotional Understanding, and Empathy
- Concluding Thoughts
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Chapter 8: Writing During the Preschool Years
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Phase 1: Writing Begins to Look Like Writing and “Says” Something
- Getting into the Role of Writer
- Separating Writing and Drawing and Organizing Writing into Lines
- Attributing Meaning to Pictures
- Summing Up Phase 1
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Phase 2: Names, Mock Words, and Detailed Pictures
- Children Write Their Names
- Interest in Words
- Pictures Become More Detailed
- Summing Up Phase 2
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Phase 3: Writing and Drawing Come into Full Bloom
- Using Writing for a Variety of Purposes
- Making Words
- Alphabet Letter Formation
- More Complex Pictures
- Summing Up Phase 3
- Phase 4: More and More of Everything
- Concluding Thoughts
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Phase 1: Writing Begins to Look Like Writing and “Says” Something
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Chapter 6: What’s Involved in Writing?
- List of Children’s Literature Cited
- References
- Index
Book Details
Book Details
Product Code: 1172
ISBN: 978-1-952331-32-9
Publish Date: 2024
ISBN: 978-1-952331-32-9
Publish Date: 2024
Citation (in Chicago 17th ed. style):
Collins, M.F., & J.A. Schickedanz. 2024. So Much More than the ABCs: The Early Phases of Reading and Writing. Rev. ed. Washington, DC: NAEYC.
Related Resources
Related Resources
Articles
“Baby Steps: Using Service Learning to Integrate Art, Literacy, and Reflection with Infants and Families” - Exploring the connection between coursework and practice, Kathy Danko-McGhee and Pamela Chibucos write about how prospective educators engaged in service learning to foster art and literacy experiences in their community. (Young Children, Spring 2022)
“Design Elements in Picture Books: What They Are and Why They Are Important” - Recognizing the importance of the text itself, Jonda C. McNair and Hayley J. Hoover provide a detailed look at dust jackets, endpapers, font, and other design elements. Using multiple examples of racially and culturally diverse picture books in different genres, they showcase how children and teachers can draw meaning from design elements. (Young Children, Fall 2021)
“Talking, Reading, Singing, and Rhyming: Tips for Fostering Literacy in Infancy” - Rebecca Dowling, Lisa Shanty, Susan Sonnenschein, and Brenda Hussey-Gardner provide several tips that can be used by infant educators and shared with family members or other caregivers to help foster sensitive and responsive language and literacy interactions. (Young Children, July 2020)
Reviews
This book is a masterpiece in early literacy. It eloquently captures the essence of a crucial resource for early childhood educators and families, highlighting its comprehensive approach to fostering both the foundational skills and the intrinsic motivation necessary for lifelong literacy learning. This book plays a pivotal role in guiding educators to support young children’s language and literacy with a holistic approach.
—Myae Han, Professor, University of Delaware
The revised edition of So Much More than the ABCs is a must-read for practicing and prospective teachers, literacy coaches, higher education faculty, and parents who strive to support early literacy development long before formal school instruction begins. Not only does it provide a comprehensive review of what to do and how but also why it should be done. In an accessible and thoughtful fashion, the authors use the research and updated evidence underlying effective strategies and practices to lay the foundation for learning to read and write. Truly this indispensable reference should be on every early childhood practitioner’s bookshelf!
—Catherine Marchant, Early Childhood Instructional Coach and Former Faculty Member, Wheelock College
This well-informed author team has orchestrated a stunning and useful wedding of deep knowledge about early language and literacy development with a rich vision of the sciences of reading and learning. Perfect pairing! Enjoy! Learn!
—P. David Pearson, Evelyn Lois Corey Emeritus Professor of Instructional Science, Berkeley School of Education, University of California, Berkeley
There are very few books that can draw from solid research, link it to understandable child development theory, and then clearly explain early language and literacy strategies for teachers to bring to their daily classroom practice. This book does all of that. It is essential for anyone in early childhood education.
—Sue Reed, Retired Early Childhood Specialist, Maine Department of Education, and Former Director of Early Reading First, University of Southern Maine
