During a Professional Development session on Language and Literacy, the QuIPS team focused on the importance of establishing a strong foundation before introducing the Read Write Inc Phonics curriculum to the children. This curriculum is a synthetic phonics programme designed to equip children with the necessary skills to become confident readers. However, it is crucial to empower children to be confident and independent learners before diving into learning sounds and reading.
During this session we discussed certain research that highlights:
- Strong correlation between language acquisition and children’s later reading development
- Children who experienced more child-directed speech were more efficient in processing familiar words and had larger expressive vocabularies
- Significant relations between the frequency of conversational turns (back-and-forth conversational interactions between the child and adult) and children’s later cognitive performance and vocabulary
So how does this research impact the way we as teachers, and you as parents, engage your child? We discussed a few ways that we could practically implement this in our classroom:
- Using a wide range of vocabulary in our interaction with the children
- Plan for intentional questions during lessons, giving children regular opportunities to reflect and lead the discussions
- Engage children with questions during storytelling
- Setting up an environment that encourages conversation
At QuIPS we believe that discussing research in the field of early childhood education supports evidence-based practice, professional growth, reflective teaching, advocacy, and accountability. It helps us stay informed, improve our teaching practices, and ensure that your children continue to receive high-quality education and care.
