Focus on Background Knowledge
Learn ways to build background knowledge in young children—what they know and believe about themselves and the world around them. Explore key research and find out how children ages birth to 5 develop these skills.
Learn ways to build background knowledge in young children—what they know and believe about themselves and the world around them. Explore key research and find out how children ages birth to 5 develop these skills.
Learn how to promote the Planned Language Approach for Oral Language and Vocabulary in your program. Explore the research and the development trajectory for these skills in children ages birth to 5.
When you read with children, they connect the words they hear to the pictures on the page and things in their world. Learn why story time is important for children’s brain development.
Explore this brief to learn how home visitors can support children who are learning more than one language. Find out how a solid foundation in a child’s home language is key to later language success.
Listen as Catherine Snow talks about how the ELOF relates to the language and literacy domain.
Use this video to guide reflection and enhance practices that support language development with infants, toddlers, and their families.
Discover more about infant and toddler language development. Hear tips on how to support this development, including for children who are dual language learners.
Explore this News You Can Use (NYCU) that provides teachers, home visitors, and family child care providers with strategies that support children’s emerging language and literacy skills.
For young learners of English who are speakers of other languages (ESOL), the challenges of literacy and language development are different if they are learning in an all-English environment where they need the language to function in school, or if they are in an environment where English is taught as a foreign language (EFL) in school. This position paper from the Division of Early Childhood focuses on children who speak a language other than English at home, and who are entering school environments where English is the principal medium of instruction.
Learn about the Thirty Million Words Project. It is a parent-directed behavioral intervention designed to address language disparities for low-income children.