The Reading Brain Part 1

This episode will explore how the brain builds its ability to read. Hosts are Developmental Therapist Kayla O'Neill and early literacy specialist Lynne Hall.

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Welcome to the Early Childhood On-The-Go podcast. I'm your host, Kayla O'Neill, and today we're exploring how the brain builds its ability to read, starting even before birth. With me is my colleague and friend, Lynn Hall. She's a research associate at the Early Childhood Center and former preschool teacher. Lynn, thank you so much for joining. Hi, Kayla. Thank you. I am so excited to be here talking about reading and the brain. Reading is one of the most amazing skills our brains develop. I'm so excited to talk about this. So let's just jump right in. Can babies really start developing reading skills in the womb? Believe it or not, they actually do. Around 18 weeks, a fetus starts hearing sounds. And by the third trimester, babies can recognize their mother's voice and even the rhythm of stories read aloud. That early exposure to sound lays the foundation for phonological awareness, which is the ability to notice and work with sounds in language. So if a parent reads or they just, if they sing to their baby bump, does it really matter? Absolutely. Those sounds are shaping the brain's pathways for language. The left side of the brain, which later specializes in language and reading, is already organizing itself. It's kind of like preparing the soil before planting the seeds. Okay, that's fascinating. So after birth, babies out and about, does the brain keep growing fast? Yeah, it does. As a matter of fact, in infancy, the brain is making about 1 million new connections every second. And by six months, babies start to babble. By around 18 months, they realize that words actually connect to objects, like knowing that a ball means that round toy over there. And this is tied to brain areas too. Yeah, exactly. So the temporal lobe, which helps with meaning, kind of kicks in here. Then pruning begins. And what that means is the brain keeps those strong connections and starts to kind of trim or get rid of the weaker ones. Reading aloud to infants strengthens the important pathways. Even simple board books, babies holding them, turning pages, pointing at pictures, activate the visual cortex and start linking sounds to symbols. So reading to babies, it's already wiring that brain for later reading. Does it matter what they read? Can it be a picture book? Could it be a magazine? You know, Kayla, it really doesn't matter as long as we're doing it in a playful way and we're kind of following the baby's lead and they're having fun looking at the pictures. Babies tend to like really bright illustrations and larger kind of font if they're looking at, you know, that black and white difference. But again, yes, it is never too early to start. Okay, great. So now that we've talked about babies a little bit, let's talk about toddlers again. We're thinking maybe ages one to four. What's happening at this stage? Oh my gosh, Kayla. Toddlers are just like little sponges. Their left hemisphere becomes more dominant for language. They start to connect sounds to meanings, and then they practice producing them. This is a huge step for later decoding skills. Everyday experiences like singing songs, hearing rhymes, pointing to words in books, all of these things help them notice sound patterns like cat and hat. So they're building these pre-reading skills without even realizing it. Exactly. They're kind of recycling brain circuits meant for speech and recognition, and now they're using them for print. If reading is part of daily life, those circuits grow stronger. And there's evidence that kids who enjoy reading early on show better cognitive skills and even stronger mental health in adolescence. So keeping that in mind, it's really important to make that reading experience fun and engaging. We want to follow our children's lead. We don't have to read every word on the page. We can just kind of talk about the pictures and the objects in those pictures that our toddlers are interested in. We want to make this a fun, exciting, a connection, a nurturing type of experience to increase toddlers' motivation to keep exploring books. I think, you know, I hear that all the time where parents get concerned about, you know, my toddler's not interested in books. And I think it's so important to remember that we do want to keep it a positive experience and reading can look so different. Like they can read standing up. You can find ways to, you know, get them to even move around during story time. Maybe we're going to act out the characters. I feel like reading can look so different at the stage. Those are great tips. Those are some great strategies that you mentioned. And along with that, reading to children when they're in the high chair, having a little snack is a great time. You've got a captive audience who's kind of busy doing something else, especially if you have a toddler who is on the go, go, go once they start walking. Right. And so another opportunity is in the bathtub. Yes. That's what I remember doing with my kids. Yes, absolutely. So it's good for all toddlers, but especially those toddlers that are really hard to pin down. That's a great time to start looking at some picture books. Those are great. Another, I love thinking outside the box when it comes to reading with toddlers. What are some other things that parents can really do to make the most of this stage? So kind of, we've spoke about a little bit, but making that reading interactive. So it's a two-way street. We want to ask our toddlers some pictures to really get, or some questions, excuse me, to get them engaged with that story. Pointing and saying, what's that? letting your child turn the pages, no matter how quickly they're going to want to do that is totally fine. These little things activate the brain's reward centers and make reading feel joyful and a whole lot less like work and like something that the grownup is wanting them to do. I love that. Keeping reading fun. It's not homework. I agree so much that that is so important. So as we move forward, I've got a seven-year-old. How about ages five to seven? And that's when, you know, most kids are starting that formal reading instruction. I would love to know what's happening in my daughter's brain right now as she's kind of in this stage. Yeah, so this is a really pivotal time, Kayla. This is where the real transformation happens. Around ages five to six, called the novice stage, kids realize that letters stand for sounds. And the brain starts linking that visual recognition of letters with sound analysis. So this is where phonics comes in, right? Yes, exactly. So by ages six to seven, again, these are just very general ages, kind of the typical things that we see, but remembering that children develop at their own pace, kids are going to move into that decoding stage. They are starting to sound out words using phonics. The visual word form area of the brain starts to specializing in print. And with practice, the brain becomes more efficient. White matter connections strengthen, gray matter thins in some areas, showing that the brain is streamlining its processes. And so by the end of the stage, some kids are reading fluently. Exactly. That is the goal. And that's what typically happens. Around age seven and beyond, reading starts to feel pretty automatic. The brain shifts from heavy effort in speech areas to quicker processing and language areas for comprehension. Practice literally rewires the brain, making reading faster and smoother. It is so fun to hear little ones read at this age. Like I said, my daughter's seven and she's starting to read. And it's just, it's so amazing how it's like, I feel like it went so fast where it's like she was just starting to kind of read and now she can just read. I know. Sometimes it seems like it happens so quickly, but it really is a process. Yeah. Oh, for sure. Well, that's just amazing. But we know that some kids, this may not go quite as smooth. What about things like dyslexia? How does this impact? Yes, you're right. Sometimes it doesn't go exactly like this and it can be concerning for families, right? But in dyslexia, the brain literally processes sounds differently. The left brain reading circuits may be less active and kids might rely more on the right side or the frontal areas. It's usually a delay rather than a total difference. And with early support, especially things like phonics-based teaching, the brain can build new pathways and catch up. Okay, so spotting challenges early really makes a difference. But can you tell me too, what is phonics-based teaching? So, well, absolutely. So delayed babbling or a family history can be early signs. The earlier we support kids, the better their outcome. So when we think about phonics-based teaching, we're putting a lot of emphasis on the sounds that letters make and really supporting children to make that connection between the letter and its sound. Okay, gotcha. So, you know, that's a great way, you know, kind of gives us hope that we have things that we can do. There's tools out there, you know, if kiddos need support with reading. um as we're wrapping up here we've learned so much today but what are your top takeaways for parents so i'm i'm probably going to just sound like a broken record because you know you always ask me this question i feel like i have the same answer but start reading early even before birth make reading part of your daily routines i can't say enough positive things about that nurturing, comforting bedtime story, right? You want to keep it interactive and fun most of all and limit screens so that books are really in the spotlight. For school-age kids, combining phonics with comprehension and above all, be patient. Every child learns at their own pace and are on their own trajectory. That's such great advice. Thank you so much for helping us to understand how the brain and reading grow together. I love talking about this topic, Kayla. So really the pleasure is all mine. That's our episode for today. Thanks for listening to Early Childhood on the Go. Don't forget to subscribe and share. Stay curious.