How Young Children Learn to Read in HighScope Programs (continued)

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.