What are we talking about?
Emergent literacy learners receive a NO to one or more of the following questions:
Does the learner know most of the letters, most of the time?
Does the learner engage actively during shared reading without extrinsic rewards?
Does the learner have a symbolic means of communication and interaction?
Does the learner understand that writing involves letters and words?
Learners that have a NO to one or more of these questions benefit from a focus on comprehensive EMERGENT literacy instruction. According to Dr. Erickson, the following should be incorporated into a routine-based approach to instruction. It is important to do all of the following activities equally (do all of the activities before doing any of them again).
- shared reading
- alphabet (letter name and sound)
- phonological awareness
- predictable chart writing (shared writing)
- independent reading and writing
Supports to help you get started:
Let’s look closer at each of those five activities!
Shared Reading
The goals of shared reading are:
- teaching communication
- maximizing interaction
- making connections
- commenting (results are better when we ask fewer questions and increase commenting and focus on interactions and making connections)
- following the learner’s lead
At ISAAC 2024, Dr. Erickson shared this guidance. Start with these three questions:
During shared reading, does the learner actively engage without extrinsic rewards?
During shared reading, does the learner interact with the book and reader?
During shared reading, does the learner initiate comments about the book?
If the answer is NO to one or more of these questions, then ‘Follow the CAR’
If the answer is YES to ALL of these questions, then ‘Put the CROWD in the CAR’
Read more about the Follow the CAR and CROWD in the CAR approaches in this blog post: Using Shared Reading to Support Literacy Right #3
Pro Tips:
- Find a good book! A “good” book is interesting to the learner and has fun language and/or language you are targeting for instruction.
- Aim to do shared reading at least twice a day (more is better): one time one-on-one, and one time in a group.
- All AAC users are different, but with early learners it can be really beneficial to model/demonstrate language on their AAC system. This shows them how they can participate.
- Once CAR is established, start including comments that reference the text. Increase the learner’s attention to and knowledge of the forms and features of text.
- Do NOT put the CROWD in the CAR until the learner is interacting and actively engaging during CAR. Because when we put the CROWD in the CAR, we are now asking for the learner to participate in a variety of ways.
Alphabet
Learners need to learn about:
- both the upper- and lowercase representations of letters
- letter names
- letter sounds
- writing (forming) and/or selecting letters
Based on the findings of Jones et al. (2013), the following is advised:
- focus on a different letter for 10-15 minutes each day
- teach upper- and lowercase letter names
- teach the sound represented by the letter
- teach letter formation for writing
- drop letters from the rotation as they are learned
- change the order of the cycle each time
Pro Tip:
- Do a focused study of one letter for 10-15 minutes, then spend the rest of the day focused on ALL letters. Choose a different letter for the focused study each day.
Phonological Awareness
phonological awareness: the ability to recognize and manipulate sounds or units of spoken language
Phonological awareness includes things like:
- alliteration
- rhyming
- syllable awareness
- onset-rime
Phonological awareness helps learners understand that words are made of sounds. This leads to understanding that letters represent sounds that can be combined to form words.
It is important to note that these skills are typically learned in early childhood. Diverse learners often miss out on this learning in the early years. Emergent literacy learners of all ages need this learning to prepare them for the transition to conventional literacy learning.
Pro Tip:
- Phonetic keyboards get in the way of learning as a learner transitions to conventional literacy learning!
Predictable Chart Writing
Predictable chart writing is a form of shared writing. It is structured and systematic. The instructional cycle includes five steps:
- write the chart
- reread and interact with the chart
- read, cut apart, and rebuild the sentences
- be the sentence
- make and read a book based on the chart
The steps are intended to be carried out daily throughout the week (one step per day). This process helps address the following skills:
- concepts of print
- front cover, back cover, pages
- titles, authors, illustrators
- left to right, top to bottom
- letters, words, sentences
- alphabet knowledge
- word identification
- syntax
- capitalization and ending punctuation
Pro Tips:
- do not read a book word by word using AAC
- the title and sentence stem are the important parts (not the blank fill-in words)
- focus on the text
- encourage learners to read along (nonspeaking/nonverbal learners using their ‘inner voice’)
- communicate about the chart
- give learners opportunities to cut the sentences first, then talk about and fix as needed
- give learners 2-3 chances to rebuild the sentences (giving them feedback)
- once the learner has Step 3 down, drop that step and don’t do anymore
- for Step 4: let learners try a couple of times, then the adult fixes
Supports to help you get started:
- Using Shared Writing to Support Literacy Development blog post (NWACS blog)
- Dynamic Learning Maps Predictable Chart Writing module
- Project Core Predictable Chart Writing module
- Writing With Adults: Predictable Chart Writing blog post (with videos) from Jane Farrall
Teach Emergent Writing
Provide scaffolding by using a writing routine. Such as:
- The adult provides a mini-lesson to demonstrate all the steps.
- The learner then tries by:
- selecting a topic (for example, a shared experience)
- communicating about the topic with others
- using letter-by-letter spelling to writing about the topic
- sharing their writing with others
- adults ask the learner to “tell” about what they’ve written
- make connections between letters/approximations visible in their writing to what they tell you/their topic
Supports to help you get started:
- Dynamic Learning Maps Writing with Alternative Pencils module
- Project Core Emergent Literacy modules
- Jane Farrall reminds us to spend the time to discover the best-fit writing tool for each learner in her blog post Writing Tools: Download or Customise!
- Fun tool for emergent writers: Flip Keyboard by Jane Farrall Consulting (use as a webpage in a browser or in app mode on an iPad)
- Accessible Letters Tool (ALT) by AAC Voices, LLC
Independent Reading and Writing
In addition to shared reading and shared writing, we must provide opportunities for diverse learners to engage in independent reading and independent writing! For many learners with significant disabilities, we need to problem-solve accommodations for access.
Independent reading ideas to explore:
- wordless picture books
- books available in an online format (avoid versions that use music and/or animations, as these take the learners attention away from the print)
- following along as a partner reads aloud
- following along as text is read aloud by a computer program (i.e., text-to-speech)
- captioned movies or video clips
- create interest-focused books with accessible programs such as powerpoint or in programs like Monarch Reader
Ideas to support independent writing:
- explore various writing tools and surfaces
- then make sure the learners have daily, unrestricted access to accessible and preferred methods
- create a welcoming environment
- celebrate all learner writing
- publish learner writing
- provide daily writing demonstrations
- provide daily writing opportunities
- sign in, up, or out
- make lists
- add labels or signs
- notes about a shared experience
Related Resources
- AAC & Literacy NWACS resource page
- Access to Phonics: Practical Access Strategies to Teach Children with Complex Needs of All Ages by Ann Sullivan (2023)
- Building Bridges from Emergent to Conventional Literacy
- Dynamic Learning Maps
- Literacy Instruction for All NWACS resource
- Project Core
- Project VC
- Tar Heel Shared Reader
- Using Shared Reading to Support Literacy Right #3 (NWACS blog)
- Using Shared Writing to Support Literacy Development (NWACS blog)
- Writing With Adults: Predictable Chart Writing blog post (with videos) from Jane Farrall
Selected References
- Caron, J., Light, J., & McNaughton, D. (2022, early online). Effects of adapted letter-sound correspondence instruction with older learners with complex communication needs and autism spectrum disorders. Augmentative and Alternative Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/07434618.2022.2121226
- Culatta, B., Happ-Kenyon, K.M., & Black, S. (2013). Systemic and Engaging Early Literacy: Instruction and Intervention. Plural Publishing, Inc.
- Erickson, K. A., & Koppenhaver, D. A. (2020). Comprehensive Literacy for All: Teaching Students with Significant Disabilities to Read and Write. Paul H. Brookes Publishing.
- Geist, L., & Erickson, K. (2022). Robust Receptive Vocabulary Instruction for Students With Significant Cognitive Disabilities Who Use AAC. Teaching Exceptional Children, 54, 296–304. https://doi.org/10.1177/00400599211018836
- Jones, C. D., Clark, S. K., & Reutzel, D. R. (2013). Enhancing alphabet knowledge instruction: Research implications and practical strategies for early childhood educators. Early Childhood Education Journal, 41(2), 81–89. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-012-0534-9
- Light, J., Barwise, A., Gardner, A.M., & Flynn, M. (2021). Personalized early AAC intervention for young children with complex communication needs to build language and literacy skills: A case study. Topics in Language Disorders, 41, 209-231. https://doi.org/10.1097/TLD.0000000000000254
- Light, J. & McNaughton, D. (2020). Literacy intervention for individuals with complex communication needs. In D. Beukelman & J. Light (Eds.) Augmentative and alternative communication: Supporting children and adults with complex communication needs. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
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