Research Related to Early Literacy

Early Readers Increase the Gap Over Other Students Over Time

Stainthorp, R., & Hughes, D., (2004). An illustrative case study of precocious reading ability. Gifted Child Quarterly, 48, 107-120

This comprehensive and longitudinal study explored the reading performance of a precocious reader, a group of early readers, and regular students. . . . The differences between their skills and those of the regular readers did not level out but continued to increase, comprehensions continued to improve, and an upward spiral in reading and LA and a secondary impact on other subjects (called the Matthews Effect). Some gifted students come to school as early or even precocious readers. Schools should identify this early reading and provide reading instruction and language arts opportunities that match the level of reading of each advanced child. The study shows that the early readers and especially the precocious reader not only continue to hold their advantage in reading skills, but improve at an increasingly fast rate when provided appropriate interventions.

The Neural Circuitry for Reading is Developed Early in Life
A study by Yale professors found that adults who could not read well in 2nd or 4th grade and in high school have "...neural circuitry for reading [that] was present but improperly connected." This study, by Yale pediatricians, points out to parents and teachers that activating children's neural circuitry for reading early on is key.

An author of the study, Lyon, says: "We have to have preschool and early education programs that know how to identify kids at risk and know how to provide them with substantial language and literacy interactions that are warm and nurturing--replicating what ideally they should find at home."

http://www.apa.org/monitor/nov03/study.html

Your Child's Brain Develops Differently Based on the Age that Language Skills are Learned

PET Scans

Image courtesy of the Public Library Association

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change or modify based on the environment. In other words, the brain actually develops in large part based on the child's environment.

This is showing the typical brain development of child's brain. It is important that the child have many different language experiences in order for these areas of the brain to be developed. My hypothesis is that learning to read as a baby leads to more efficient and more coordinated brain development for all of the language areas of the brain. I believe that it is similar to learning two languages as a baby where the child's brain has a smaller area of the brain that is active the later the child learns the language skills. Just like babies who learn a second language are able to speak without a foreign accent and they learn the patterns of the second language, babies who learn to read have often learned to read faster and with better comprehension -- probably because they learned during this period of rapid brain development and during the child's natural window of opportunity for learning language.

Dr. Titzer's research
Shows that two- and three-year-old children can learn to recognize four words within five minutes. Dr. Titzer used a double-blind procedure. The toddlers, who were tested at daycare facilities in a poor area of Louisiana, recognized the words taken from the Your Baby Can Read! videos statistically above chance.

Dr. Titzer also presented a longitudinal case study showing long-term benefits of early reading.

The Earlier the Child Learns to Read, the Better the Child Reads and the More Likely the Child Wants to Read
Children who were taught to read at age three or four read better than children who were taught at age five or six. Those taught at age seven or eight were farther behind. This was true even when comparing children of the same IQ and same socio-economic status. After eight years, the children taught earlier were ahead of children who were taught later. The children who were taught to read earlier were more likely to "devour books."



Durkin, D. (1966). Children who read early: Two longitudinal studies. New York: Teachers College Press.

Durkin, D. (1974-1975). A six year study of children who learned to read in school at the age of four. Reading Research Quarterly, 1, 9-61.

Daycare study by the National Institutes of Health:
In the most comprehensive study ever conducted on daycare centers, the National Institutes of Health concluded that children thrive in daycare centers where the environment is stimulating.

Children develop better learning skills if daycare workers also teach.
Children will learn 131 more words before they are 2 if they receive enough language stimulation.
Children can begin learning as early as 6 weeks.
Currently, there are low standards for training daycare workers.
Nearly 1/3 of U.S. children are in daycare -- about 10 million kids.
Scientists believe it is important that daycare workers teach and not just babysit.

For detailed information please see:
Results of NICHD Study of Early Child Care

A 1997 National Panel of Reading Specialists and Early Childhood Educators said that most of our nation's reading problems could be eliminated if we took two actions:

1. Taught reading earlier
2. Used a combination of phonics and whole language approaches