Emergent Reader and Emergent Writer

Characteristics of An Emergent Writer

• Emergent Reading – pertains to the first stage in a child’s growth toward literacy.

Particularly , this stage relates to the beginning experiences or the child’s first experiences with print in the home and continues through early years of formal schooling.

• However, this reading behavior does not begin at a particular age but emerges continually, thus the term called emergent reading.

Harris and Hodges (1981)

• Refer to this period of acquiring the specific skills and abilities that allow reading to take place as preparedness allows him/her to cope with a learning task.

This is significantly determined by a complex pattern of:

• Intellectual

• Motivational

• Maturational

• Experiential factors

Further, reading readiness is viewed as a set of:

• Social

• Emotional

• Physical

• Cognitive competencies

• Since the beginning of emergent reading is not determined at a particular age, it is helpful to recognize the various stages of reading development that a child undergoes and to monitor his/her progress through these stages.

• Children pass through stages at different levels of maturity. Similarity, not all children pass through all stages of reading, all at the same time and in the same order. Most significantly, each child is identified as an individual emergent reader developing at his/her own pace and rate.

Stages of Reading Process

• A number of models on reading development have been designed and have guided reading instruction in identifying the stages of reading where a particular child is in and where children in a heterogeneous class belong.

• The basic and progressive stages of reading generally serve as a guide in determining the reading skills of a particular child or of the whole class.

• However, it is important to note that, not all children pass through the same stages simultaneously and possess all the same skills. Therefore, an individual reader maybe identified in terms of his readiness, skills and own pace.

• Marie Clay (1991) and Fountas and Pinnell (2001) have noted five main stages of literacy development that relate to both reading and writing.

Stage 1 – Emergent Readers

• The age of emergent readers generally ranges from 2-7 years old. They begin to familiarize themselves with the concepts of print related to directionality, one-to-one correspondence between the spoken and written word, and the value of picture clues to the meaning of a story.

• They also develop an understanding that the printed word carries the meaning of a story.

• They begin to make text-to-world connections and may be able to extend on what is written on the page.

Stage 2 – Early Readers

• Picking up from the concepts attained as an emergent reader, early readers now begin to rely more heavily on the printed text than on the pictures in a book.

• Most often, they begin to developed word recognition strategies such as:

• Monitoring

• Searching

• Cross-checking

• Self-correction.

• This type of readers also begins to develop a data bank of sight words that allows them to read with increased speed as they are read more often in phrases rather than single words.

• As a general rule, early readers are between the ages of 5-7. Because readers develop at varying rates, a teacher may have a class containing both emergent and early readers as well as readers in the next development stage, the transitional reader.

Stage 3- Transitional Readers

Transitional readers make the leap into fluent reading as they are generally able to read in meaningful phrases with comfortable pace and appropriate voice intonation. Transitional readers are able to read more lengthy texts with the little reliance on pictures for text meaning, these readers tend to range from5 to 7 years.

Stage 4- Self-Extending Readers

Readers, progress into reading independence in the fourth developmental stage. They often read a variety of textual genres and use reading as a tool for gaining new knowledge or building upon existing knowledge. This type of readers are able to read more complex texts and begin to read for variety of purposes. Often these readers range in age from 6 to 9 years of age.

Stage 5- Advanced Readers

Advance readers are those readers who have attained a level of mastery with reading. They are generally over the age of 9 and have become proficient in reading and in comprehending various text sources. They enjoy reading and use reading as means of gaining knowledge and in comprehending various text sources. They can also read fluently and can interpret texts at both concrete and inferential level. Advanced readers connect what they have read to themselves to other texts and to the world around them. They have internalized a series of reading strategies that are used interchangeably as they read different texts.

Beginning readerBasic concepts of printPicture-analysisSound-letter recognition

Word recognition

Sight words

Print reading

Gradual speed in reading

Towards fluent reading

Reading of lengthy texts

Little reliance in pictures

Independent reading

Reading various texts

Reading for information

Mastery in readingProficient comprehensionReading for informationReading for pleasureInferential readingInterpretive readingInternalized reading strategies

Emergent reader

Early Reader

Transitional reader

Self-extending reader

Advanced reader

Stages of the Reading Process

Factors that influence the

development of an Emergent Reader

Perceptual Factors

developed sensory skills and visual and auditory discrimination

left to right eye progression

stimulated awareness and manipulation of objects/toys

emulates adult reading behavior

Oral Language Factors

has a great deal of oral language

has well-developed aural/oral language skills

Uses descriptive language

Cognitive Factors

conscious understanding about language

has emerging ability to think

uses trial and error to discover new things

expanding memory

imaginative or creative

Affective Factors

shows strong involvement in being read to

has a great deal of time and interest in reading

enjoys reading aloud

can retell stories actively

Home Environmen

t Factors

Has access to print materials

Has parents who are habitual readers themselves

Has social interaction with parents and peers

Has pleasant environment for reading