Background
What is the Early Literacy Project (ELP)?
The ELP program is an adult learning program:
- Developed to provide parents and caregivers opportunities to learn how children from birth to age six become skilled at listening, speaking, and developing the social and self-discipline skills related to success in reading and writing.
- Focused on research-based adult/child activities that match the developmental level of the child and the learning level and style of the adult.
- Including multimedia experiences embedded in pleasant, socially based activities that build on the observational and conversational strengths of the participants.
- Developed to increase community participation in helping our children be successful in school.
Why is this program important?
Leading literacy researchers have noted that communities will only be successful in promoting children's reading success if all stakeholders work together. In addition to making certain that children have access to high quality literacy instruction in our schools, we must reach out to children's homes and to adults who have close and prolonged contact with children, including child care providers. Adults who play the most significant roles in children's lives are in the best position to support literacy learning for and with our community's children.
What are the building principles of the ELP program?
Key principles that are highlighted throughout the program are:
Literate Environments: The value of introducing various forms of literacy into homes and childcare centers, from birth onward, and the many ways print is used in our environments. While some homes are more print-centered than others, the value of reading to children in all different ways and situations cannot be overestimated.
Brain Stimulation: The nature of brain development and how important early experiences are for shaping the brain's growth and organization.
Responsive Relationships: The importance of nurturing relationships and positive interactions for children's language and literacy learning. Research demonstrates that secure attachment relationships in early childhood are associated with children's long-term confidence, social skills, and self-regulation.
Language Comprehension: An emphasis on language comprehension (receptive language) as well as language production. Research has shown that early language comprehension abilities are a key predictor of success in reading and learning in school.
Phonemic Awareness: The connections between oral and written language and the understanding that these are not separate domains but are intimately related.
Acknowledgements
The educational program and accompanying instructional materials were produced through the collaborative efforts of Syracuse University and the Children’s Institute, Inc., with generous support from the United Way of Greater Rochester. We gratefully acknowledge the expertise of those contributing to these products, including:
- Project Coordination and Administration: Esther Karp, Children’s Institute, Inc.; Jane Greiner, Scott Shablak, and Sandy Trento, Office of Professional Development, School of Education, Syracuse University
- Early Literacy Project Advisory Board: Rusti Berent, Jacque Cady, Virginia Costenbader, Ruth Fleishman, Lucia French, Miriam Halpern, Jill Halterman, A. Dirk Hightower, Peter Hixson, Nancy Huffman, Helen Hyatt, Bob Johnson, Mary Kanerva, Esther Karp, Donald Kruggel, Linda Lovejoy, Susan Rogers, Laura Saxby-Lynch, Carolyn Schuler, Scott Shablak, Connie Valk, Lori Van Auken, Aida Veras, Nissa Youngren
- Rochester Roundtable: Amy Baker, Jacque Cady, Barbara Decker, Angela Einwachter, Tawn Feeny, Julie Guttman, Miriam Halpern, Deborah Johnson, Shirley Lawrence, Lorraine MacGowan, Ida Perez, Laura Riddle, Connie Rodriguez-Henderson, Mary Temple, Ed Yansen
- Literacy Consultants: Benita Blachman, Gail Ensher, Julie Hamilton, Larry Lewandowski, Linda Milosky
- Instructional Design: Philip Doughty, Renee Downey, Jane Greiner, Meghan Johnson, Gretchen Kinnell, Tracey Menapace, Laura Payne-Bourcy, Rob Pusch, Scott Shablak, Nan Songer
- Piloting and Community Facilitator Training: Sharon Del Vecchio, Gretchen Kinnell, Tracey Menapace, Nan Songer
- Graphic Design: Marty Blake
- Editing and Layout: Anne Lenox Barlow, Christa Foster, Radell Roberts
- Video Production: Neal Coffey, Yvonne Hsiao, and Mary Kasprzyk and staff of the Video Production Unit of the Center for the Support of Teaching and Learning
Special thanks to the parents, teachers, and children who shared their time and talents in the production of instructional videos, including:
- Syracuse University Early Childhood Development and Education Center
- Kids Unlimited
- AmeriCorps Family Core Program