The Reading Brain Part 4

Research Associates and Developmental Therapist Kayla O'Neill talks to Research Associate, Developmental Therapist, and former preschool teacher Lynne Hall about different was to enhance reading and language development in children age 5-6.

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Welcome to the Early Childhood on the Go podcast. I'm your host, Kayla O'Neill, and today we're diving into the early reading and writing stages for children ages five to six. This is when kids start unlocking the code of print. It's a really exciting leap into their literacy journey. So joining me again is my colleague and friend, Lynn Hall. She's a research associate at the Early Childhood Center and an early literacy expert. Lynn, I'm so glad that you're here. Thanks, Kayla. The early reading and writing stage is so exciting. Children are actually moving from pretend reading into actually decoding. It's so full of breakthroughs and so exciting for families. I'm really excited to talk about this one because I have a seven-year-old, so we kind of just went through this stage. So let's just start with the basics. What are the big milestones at this stage. Yeah, so at five to six, kids enter what we kind of call the novice reader stage. They realize that print carries meaning and that letters connect to sounds. So the brain's making a big shift. Exactly. Areas like the visual word form area begin recognizing letters while the left hemisphere that links sounds to symbols. It's the brain wiring itself for reading. So how do kids show this in everyday life? Well, children start memorizing sight words. I don't know. I know my kindergartners all came home with sight words and they might use picture cues to read familiar books. So that contextual awareness and their phonological awareness kicks in. They start to notice rhymes, and they can break words into sounds. What about writing? So at this stage, writing gets a lot more intentionals. Those scribbles actually turn into recognizable letters, and many children use invented spelling like KT for cat. That's clever, and I'm sure they're really proud of it. They are so proud, and they should be. Many children this age can also write their names, which strongly protects future literacy they may mix drawing and labeling blending pictures with text to share ideas have you um did your kids do this I know all of mine did where they did they kind of had these little writing workshops where they would write about a story that they had just heard and then they would um draw a little picture and then maybe put some labels in that picture did your kids do that yeah well and I was making me to think of one of the things that my kids still like to do is like make a comic book where they'll draw pictures and put words and they just have so much fun doing that. Absolutely. Yes. So what you're saying really is both that reading and writing are emerging side by side. Exactly. And the children are making so many connections when they're doing these two tasks simultaneously. So print rich environments with labels, signs, writing centers, just accelerate that progress. And by age six, many children can read simple pattern sentences, though they still lean on pictures quite a bit. And all kids kind of progress at different rates, right? Absolutely. So we have to be patient. Some just zoom ahead, especially if they've had lots of exposure at home and others move more slowly and need extra support. And that's totally normal. So how can parents and teachers really help kids to fall in love with reading at this stage? Focus on the joy, not the drills. And this can be hard, especially for our classroom practitioners, which sometimes feel like they have a lot of pressure on teaching all of those skills, right? But the most important thing is to keep it joyful. So daily read alouds, expand vocabulary, and just light up the Children's Brain Reward Center. You want to make it interactive. So just because our children are getting a little bit older, they still want to have that engagement by talking about what's happening in the story, asking them, what do you think is going to happen next? And then kind of finding out together. So really keep it conversational. Exactly. Be enthusiastic. Share your own excitement. talk about the books that you love modeling is really important create again those cozy reading spaces regular family reading times even using silly voices all of that makes reading fun and remember as children start to read on their own many of them having some kind of assignments around reading keep reading to them yes it's important that they're learning to read themselves but those read alouds keep that excitement alive yeah that's so interesting that a couple of things that really kind of I was thinking about as you said them was um you know that modeling modeling for reading I feel like that's something I try to really do be intentional with like instead of picking up my phone and you know scrolling or something like pick up a book so that they learn that habit too of like when I need something to do I can sit and read um I just think that's so simple, but yet, you know, when I look around the world, you know, a lot of people aren't just bringing their books everywhere. And I try to like bring my book with me when I'm, you know, I just, I think that's really important. Yeah. It makes a difference. You know, even when I was teaching my preschoolers, we had a time of day, it was school-wide. It was called deer drop everything and read. Oh my gosh. I love that. Yeah. So even in preschool, We had our drop everything and read deer time where children would look at books independently that they had chosen from the library. And I would have a book and I would literally be sitting up front looking at my book while they were enjoying theirs to get some of that modeling and during the school day as well. And that other thing you touched on too, was just that continue to read aloud. Like my kids are seven and nine and they still at night, I read to them aloud. Like we have a big chapter book and we're going through it. and they still like it even at this older stage when they can both read independently they still like those read alouds yeah it's such a special bonding time that has all kinds of research support for the positive impact that it has on their literacy scales as well so you're getting a lot of bang for your buck with that with that shared reading time that's great to know I'll keep doing it because I enjoy it too yes so what about play does that still matter at this stage Oh, definitely. Using rhymes, songs, or including books in pretend play. These are all going to build phonemic awareness while keeping things lighthearted. What about choosing topics? Follow your children's interests. I have to tell you, I have one daughter and three sons. Okay. All three of my sons were dinosaur fanatics. And by the third one, if I had to read one more dinosaur book but we did it because you have to follow their interests dinosaurs fairies superheroes whatever sparks their joy my oldest son was a um uh open water animal fanatic we were sure to be a marine biologist but if they didn't have a shark a whale some kind of exotic fish in it he didn't want to look at it but again anything that sparks their joy kids stay engaged when books connect to their passions. And we as teachers and family members support those passions and interests. I think that's great information. How about any tips for keeping kids confident? I would say remembering to teach them simple strategies, like summarizing what they've just read, asking questions, celebrating their small wins, and remembering to prioritize books over screens because that's how important practice is. The more we do something, the better we get at it. And when we're looking at screens, we're having less time to really look at our books and our print and build that confidence. Reading buddies can also be super helpful. So it sounds like it's about connection, not pressure. Exactly, Kayla. Snuggle up, make it relational, make it comforting, and connect stories to their lives. That's what's really going to build lifelong readers. So let's talk about practical. How do parents pick the right books for a five to six-year-old? Generally speaking, we want to look for predictable texts with rhymes and repetition. Strong picture support helps children at this stage to decode what those words might be. And again, stories with engaging narratives that are going to spark some conversation and discussion. Should the books reflect on the kids' lives? i say yes but not always we you know reading books about um fantasies and you know unreal worlds can be super exciting too but keeping some books around that have stories about school and friends and family are not only meaningful but they support children to develop social emotional skills that are still budding at this stage um using the five finger rule open a page, and if there are more than five unknown words, it may be too hard of a book. Okay, well, you taught me something new today because I had never heard of the five-finger rule, but that is super helpful and such a guideline to follow. Another thing to keep in mind is having diverse books. Those are also going to build empathy and curiosity. So start with picture books and then move on to early readers like Magic Treehouse. School and library lists are great resources for getting the right books. We loved Magic Tree House at my house. Such a good series to work through. So the goal is not to really challenge them, or it is to challenge them, but not frustrate them. Yeah, Kayla, so you've got to find that sweet spot, right? We want to, they call that the zone of proximal development, where they need just a little bit of a challenge, but not so much that they're frustrated. Books should stretch skills while building confidence. So before we wrap up, Lynn, what are your top takeaways for parents at this stage? Remember to read interactively every day. Even though our children are starting to read some independently, keeping that interactive component going. Celebrate progress, no matter how small. Model reading for them. And then pick engaging, level-appropriate books and be patient. Every child learns at their own pace. That's wonderful. Thank you so much for walking us through this stage. Yes, of course, Kayla. Thank you. And that's our episode of Early Childhood on the Go. Thank you for listening. Don't forget to subscribe and share.