Reflection on Recent Reads on Early Literacy and Developmental Assets and Brain Development

Kristen DeAnne Anderson

May, 12, 2021

1. What is something that you read that you can relate to? Why?

One thing that I really related to during this week’s readings was information provided on the importance of programing for babies in the library. I began taking my youngest son to the library for baby story time last year, when he was about 4 months old, after a friend told me she was taking her son of the same age and invited me. I was surprised because they were so young, but we instantly loved it! Of course, then the pandemic happened, and sadly he hasn’t been in the library since he was 6 months old, and now he is 1.5 years old. It was fascinating to learn in the Jane Cobb article, “What Will I do with Baby-o?”, about why some of the things I just took for granted during the baby story time was done. Some examples would be the group size, teaching the parents the songs/rhymes, sending print outs home with us and encouraging us to learn them and use them at home, and even having no music on to show parents how important our voices are in baby’s learning. Finding out all the careful planning that went into it all makes me love and miss my local library even more!

2. What is something you read that you agree or disagree with? Why did you respond in that manner?

I agree wholeheartedly with the information we learned in multiple readings this week about how early reading affects language, literacy, and school outcomes. I think most people have some idea that it is important to read to babies, and that they are learning a lot during the first few years, but I have been wanting to learn more about the exact studies that explain this. I loved the journal article entitled, “How Reading Books Fosters Language Development around the World,” by David K. Dickinson et. al., and I ended up taking the most notes on that article, because I have been wanting to expand my knowledge on this matter. Even though I didn’t have prior evidence-based knowledge on this subject before, I agree with the fact that early reading and language skills help students later on in school because of the experience I have had with my own children. My older son does great in school, and perhaps I can attribute it to the fact that my entire family loves to read and provide my children with books and read alouds, but the best example would be my daughter. We also read and exposed her to a lot of language as a baby, and she developed a large vocabulary extremely early on. Once she started kindergarten and then first grade, it because apparent that she was dyslexic. Because of this she has trouble with reading fluency due to her issues with decoding. The part of the article that stuck out to me was when they discussed the fact that comprehension is greatly influenced by vocabulary. For example, if one is presented with a paragraph of words they don’t know, they have to decode them by sounding them out. They may be able to read them, but if they don’t know they words (haven’t heard them before) then the comprehension will be off. This decoding new words happens to my daughter every time she reads. She has to decode words that appear “new” to her. I believe that because she had a strong vocabulary from being read aloud to frequently from birth, once she is able to get through a passage she has to decode, her understanding is greatly helped, which improves her over all school performance.

3. What is a takeaway from this group of readings/viewings that you will use as a current or future librarian?

One takeaway I know I will be able to use in the future as a school librarian, would just be being able to explain to teachers and parents the importance and value of reading aloud to children. I will also use this knowledge to always place priority on reading aloud to my students, even though we may do other activities. The research done on babies’ brains that was referenced in the The Linguistic Genius of Babies – Video, and the studies referenced in the Dickinson article both really emphasized how important the environmental factor of the adults in children’s lives can have on them early on, when they provide them with larger vocabularies through reading and talking with them. I was fascinated with one study referenced by Dickinson that took place in the UK that followed children all the way through when they took their SAT scores, after their Mother’s had been given book packages during their pregnancies. The group of children who’s mother’s had been given the book packages preformed significantly better on their SATs and in school in general. What a great study that shows how important access to book are for children and learning!

Another takeaway I feel I would be remiss to mention because I feel like it is probably one of the most important missions of school librarians, is that students should be able to read what they want to! As the Neil Gaiman article, “Neil Gaiman: Why our Future Depends on Libraries, Reading and Daydreaming” explains, more children are checking out books than ever, let them enjoy fiction, let them continue to explore and read. The emphasis is on making sure kids discover that reading is fun. It’s like the point made in the Nicki Blair article, “Raising the Bar in Public Libraries: Literacy, Adolescent Development and Young Adult Services”; teens need to be able to goof off in the library. Make their feelings and experiences around the idea of going to the library a positive one, by appealing to what kids like. This is certainly the ultimate goal of mine: Get the kids to love the library and reading, so they can enjoy a lifetime of reading and learning.

Links/Info on Articles/Readings Referenced

Cobb, J. "What'll I do with baby-o?". Black Sheep Press.

Blair, N. (2020). Raising the bar in public libraries; Literacy, adolescent development, and young adult services. https://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgireferer=&httpsredir=1&article=1005&context=bsides

Dickinson, D.K., et al. How reading books fosters language development around the world. Retried May 11, 2021 from https://www.hindawi.com/journals/cdr/2012/602807/

Kuhl, P. (2011). The lingusitic genius of babies. [YouTube Video]. Retrieved May 11, 2021 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2XBIkHW954

Gaiman, N. (2013). Neil Gaiman: Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming. Retrieved May 12, 2021 from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming