Over the next several months, this blog will focus on the earliest stages of literacy, beginning at the preschool level, moving into K-2, and then 3-5.  Our initial emphasis will be on the role that oral language development plays in literacy.    Even as children begin K and as they progress through grade 5, oral language will remain a focus.

 Over the course of weeks/months posts will look at language at the sound, word, sentence, and discourse levels, considering relationships between oral and written language.  There will always be the intent to translate what is known through research and experience into instruction/learning that leads to application across contexts.

 The next post will focus on sounds:  their development from birth through age 7 and how children begin to connect sounds and letters.  There is already a vast literature on “Decoding/phonics” instruction and, therefore, that literature will not be reviewed here.

 After that the focus shifts to words: vocabulary development and the impact of vocabulary development and instruction on reading text.

 At the sentence level, the blog will begin with ways to describe sentences and instructional ideas, programs, and approaches that seem to offer opportunities for success for beginning and struggling readers.

 And then the focus shift to discourse…..where the most promising work begins.  Posts will continue to focus on the talk-text-task relationships that lead to being a successful, engaged, life-lone reader.

 The plan is to post 2 or 3 times a week, with an occasional in-between post of links that seems to offer good ideas for instruction.