How Young Children Learn to Read in HighScope Programs

How High/Scope-trained teachers and caregivers support reading and writing in young children

At all levels, High/Scope teachers and caregivers receive systematic training to learn specific strategies for promoting literacy in partnership with parents. Teachers and caregivers share control of the learning process with children by embracing the following intentional methods of teaching as they promote literacy experiences in the classroom, center, and home.

Create a print-rich environment. Every High/Scope center or classroom has a book or reading area with a wide variety of age-appropriate books and other reading materials. Parents are encouraged to provide lots of reading materials at home as well. All the learning areas and materials in the room are labeled with symbols and words. Additional printed materials are found throughout the room and outdoor play areas (e.g., posters, maps, measuring cups, messages, tool catalogs, group stories, instructions, seed packets, story tapes, and so on).

Make reading a team effort and part of the daily routine. Teachers and caregivers read with children every day and encourage parents and other family members to do the same. Adults read to the youngest children individually and in small intimate groups. For older children, adults establish daily story times during which they read to children and listen as children read to them or to one another.

Explore oral language sounds. Children learn to make the sounds of words and letters by listening, talking, and having fun with oral language—singing, reciting rhymes, hearing, inventing and acting out stories. They build phonological awareness by identifying rhymes, alliterations, and syllables and by creating their own rhymes, alliterations, and word plays. As they write and hear individual letter sounds, they develop phonemic awareness and use phonics to connect letter sounds to print.

Provide an array of writing materials and reasons to write. Writing materials, chosen for different developmental levels, include crayons, markers, brushes, chalk, pencils, pens, all types of paper, and computers (at the preschool and early elementary levels). As children make choices and pursue their interests, they have many reasons to write—to explore writing tools, make a birthday card, or keep a journal. In the elementary grades, writing is often a required part of children’s projects in science, social studies, and other subject areas. Younger children acquire handwriting skills by starting with scribbles and letter-like forms and progressing to conventional forms. Teachers, caregivers, and parents recognize and accept all forms of children’s writing.

Introduce the idea of letters and words as written symbols early. Toddlers and preschoolers each have a personal written symbol they learn to associate with their name. Preschoolers begin exploring written symbols by writing the letters of their names and then move on to familiar words they see around the room. Early elementary students write by using a growing vocabulary of words they encounter in reading and project activities.

Plan for and support children’s learning by assessing their literacy development. Teachers observe children daily to plan experiences that will strengthen and extend their reading and writing skills. They take anecdotal notes, compile portfolios, and use the High/Scope Child Observation Record (COR) and other appropriate measures to document what children are able to do and provide experiences that encourage them to advance to the next level. They also convey this information to parents so they can better understand their child’s progress.

What research says about children’s reading and writing success in High/Scope programs

Four decades of research proves that children in High/Scope programs acquire and sustain better reading and writing skills than children without comparable active learning experiences. Data show that for infants and toddlers, supportive adult-child communication helped to develop children’s pre-reading skills and facilitated their language and cognitive development. For children who attended High/Scope preschool programs, early gains in reading and general achievement resulted in greater success in later years as manifested in higher adult literacy, economic attainment, and emotional adjustment. Children attending High/Scope early elementary programs scored higher on standardized achievement tests than peers in non-High/Scope classrooms. This series of scientifically rigorous studies demonstrates the effectiveness of the High/Scope approach in promoting reading and writing in young children from diverse backgrounds in multiple sites around the United States and in other countries.