Baby’s brain development and literacy

What Every Caregiver Needs to Know

Peggy Sissel-Phelan, Ed.D., M.A.Founder and President

Baby’s Brain, Language Development and

Literacy:

Introduction

• Brain development from birth to age three

• Language development

• Emergent literacy skills and school readiness;

• How does language and literacy impact children’s dddd health and well-being

• Practice issues

• THE solution to educational disparity

Overview of the Brain • Part of the central nervous system • Controls many bodily functions

Voluntary Involuntary

• 2 hemispheres 4 lobes Many folds

• Different parts, different purposes

Why folds?

Overview of the Brain • 100 Billion brain cells at birth

• Brain cells are “raw” materials —a - a framework

• Parts of the brain at different times

• Predictable sequence, - “developmental

materials

mature

milestones”

Baby’s Growing Brain

Newborn

100 Billion brain cells (neurons)

Brain Weight - Grams

Baby’s Growing Brain

6 months

100 Billion brain cells (neurons)

Brain Weight - Grams

Baby’s Growing Brain

1 year

100 Billion brain cells (neurons)

Brain Weight - Grams

Baby’s Growing Brain100 Billion brain cells (neurons)

Brain Weight - Grams

24 months

Baby’s Growing Brain

36 months

100 Billion brain cells (neurons)

Brain Weight - Grams

Baby’s Growing Brain

Newborn

36 months

24 months

12 months

6 months

100 Billion brain cells (neurons)

Brain Weight - Grams

Baby’s Growing Brain100 Billion brain cells (neurons)

There are still

100 Billion brain cells!

Brain Weight - Grams

(only)

What Changed?

WHAT

!

It grows 3 and a half times its original size!

Baby’s Growing Brain

A Brain Cell

Dendrites

Axon

Cell body

Baby’s Growing Brain

Brain Cells Connect • The number of neurons remains relatively stable• Each cell becomes bigger and heavier• Dendrites branch out to receive signals from other neurons.

Baby’s Growing Brain

Growing Connections

Baby’s Growing Brain

Growing Connections

A child’s environment has enormous impact on what happens to those cells.

Early experiences set the stage for how children will learn and interact with others throughout life.

A child’s experiences, good or bad, influence the wiring of his brain and the connection in his nervous system.

Baby’s Growing Brain

Making Connections

• The brain’s “wiring” is created over time.

• Stimulation and experience plays a crucial role in “wiring” a young child’s brain.

• If the connections are not used repeatedly, or often enough, they are eliminated.

Baby’s Growing Brain

Making Connections

• Use it or lose it!

• Applies to all areas of the brain/body . . .

Motor functionsBalance and coordinationVisionCognitionEmotionLanguage

Language Development

• All normal, healthy babies learn to talk.

• All do not get the same stimulation.

• Repetition is critical when learning language.

• Strengthening and expanding the connections help in

learning more words

For example . . .

Again, again, again!

What do you say . . .

When the parent says: “I’m going crazy! He wants to hear the same book over and over.”

That’s how baby learns.

Language Development

• At every reading, something new is learned

• Words and language are the foundation of all learning • But – not just any words

• Not flash cards, memorization, television

• Importance of “rich” language environment

Language Development

RICH POOR

• Responds to baby’s cues, moods• Talk to and with baby• Lots of laptime, facetime• Songs, story telling• Word play – rhymes, silly sounds • Reading, sharing books• Didactic dialog/interaction• Hears complex vocabulary regularly• Encourage to ask questions

What is a Rich Language Environment?

• Attends to child’s basic needs • Talk “ at ” baby• Placed in baby seat• Little personal interaction• Put in front of TV• No age-appropriate books• One way communication• Hears mainly TV, music, sounds in room• Told to hush

Language Development

A Rich Language Environment: Why Does It Matter?

By two years of age, children’s vocabulary correlates with later cognitive performance

Low-income status significantly predicts children’s exposure to language (Bloom, 1998)

Language & Literacy

Children’s language evolves primarily through parent-child interactions

Literacy develops in real life settings for real life activities

Literacy acquisition begins before formal instruction

A Rich Language Environment:

Why Does It Matter?

Language Development

Language and Literacy

Reading to Baby = More Words

Twice as many verbal exchanges Twice as many words

Increased number of unusual and complex words

Greater complexity of sentence structure

Language and Literacy

Reading = Cognitive Development

Memory Creativity Comprehension Vocabulary and Language development Each ensures that connections persist

Language & Literacy

• Critical to child’s brain development and healthy outcomes

• Age-appropriate books are key developmental tools

• Builds “emergent literacy skills.” These are:

How and why we use written words in daily life

Holding books Listening to Pointing atInteracting with the book

Reading Aloud

Language & Literacy

• These skills are necessary precursors to “real” reading

• Essential for formal reading instruction.

• Not been read to regularly = Not ready for school.

Early Literacy Experiences

What percentage of families in poverty have no books in the home? How often are children read to from birth to age 5?

25 1,500

Guess What?

60%

Language and Literacy

Recognize all letters

Count to 20 Write name Pretend to read/recite a

story

Have master 3-4 skills

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Less than 3 times

3 times or more

Per

cen

t o

f ch

ildre

n

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Less than 3 times weekly

3 or more times weeklyP

erc

en

t of

Ch

ild

ren

Reading Aloud and School Readiness

Recognize Count Write Pretend Master All Letters to 20 Name to Read 3-4 Skills /Tell Story

Literacy Development

Children at risk for reading difficulties are those who start school with:

– lower verbal skills– less phonological awareness– less letter knowledge– less familiarity with the processes of

reading

Risky Business

Literacy Development

• Nationally, 35% of first graders are labeled as “slow” and placed in remedial reading programs.

• Dyslexia—prevalence 4-10%

• Most of these children, who are not dyslexic, remain in these programs throughout school.

• Creates a vicious cycle for school failure and failure in life.

Risky Business

Literacy Development

In general, children living in poverty:

– Are 1.3 times more likely to exhibit developmental delays

– Are 1.4 times more likely to be diagnosed with a learning disability

– Are 2 times more likely to repeat a grade

Risky Business

Literacy Development

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Percent of 4th Grade Children with Reading Difficulties - by Income

(NCES 2003)

< 185% poverty > 185% of poverty

Literacy and Life

The Effects of Low Literacy

• Low Literacy and Poverty

• Low Literacy and Poor Health Status

• Low Literacy and Mental Health

Literacy Development

Reading is Doctor Recommended