Preschool Children's Literacy Development

Abstract

This observation study examines what kind of literacy experiences middle-class American children have during preschool years. I observed three- to five-year-old classes at a middle-class American preschool once a week for three months. The purpose of the observation was to study the class materials, literacy events, and literacy environment. Children at this preschool are educated in a rich literate environment, and one could see a shift in literacy development from the three- to four-year-old class and a shift from the four-year to five-year old class. In addition to a weekly observation, I interviewed teachers to learn how they view their pupils' literacy development. It was interesting to find that the teachers I interviewed emphasized that children's emotional and social development is more important than their literacy development.