Prekindergarten Literacy

Purpose

Early Literacy Essentials aims to improve children's literacy in Michigan. Professional development throughout the state can focus on this set of research-supported literacy instructional practices for daily use in the classroom.

Early childhood education can help improve reading-by-third-grade outcomes. Pre-K education also can address disparities in literacy achievement. Research suggests that each of the 10 practices outlined in this document can positively impact literacy development.

The use of these practices in every Michigan classroom every day can make a measurable, positive difference in the state's literacy achievement.

This document is intended to be read in concert with Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy: Kindergarten to Grade 3. There is important overlap and continuity in these two documents.

Essential Coaching Practices for PreKindergarten Literacy

This document aims to increase Michigan's capacity to improve children's emergent language and early literacy in prekindergarten by highlighting the most effective research-supported practices that early literacy personnel and leaders can use in their coaching work with prekindergarten educators.

When Michigan's young children arrive in prekindergarten, they bring important and varied knowledge from their families and communities, which are highly diverse in their cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, values, and experiences around language and literacy. Prekindergarten educators strive to meet children where they are and to nurture their growth in a collection of important literacy-related skills; the role of coaching is to support educators.