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