Improving Academically

Literacy and Academic benefits (Snow & Blum-Kulka, 2002)

Language in the preschool years predicts reading in the later elementary grades (e.g., fourth grade) and middle school (Dickinson & Porche, 2011; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network, 2005; Storch & Whitehurst, 2002; Walker, Greenwood, Hart, & Carta, 1994)

Meta-analysis found a high correlation between preschool language skills and reading competence at the end of first and second grade (National Early Literacy Panel [NELP], 2009)

Vocabulary

Vocab from books vs mealtime: Young kids learned 1,000 rare words at the dinner table, compared to only 143 from parents reading storybooks aloud. (Washington Post quoted by Dr. Anne K. Fishel, professor, Harvard Medical School; research by Dickinson & Tabors, 2001; Snow, 1991)

Vocabulary plays a critical role in young children’s learning to read and, as a result, their overall success in school (Storch & Whitehurst, 2002; Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998; DEVELOPING VOCABULARY THROUGH PURPOSEFUL, STRATEGIC CONVERSATIONS Barbara A. Wasik ■ Charlene Iannone-Campbell)

Research suggests that providing opportunities for children to talk and use language in meaningful contexts can promote vocabulary development in preschoolers (Dickinson, Golinkoff, & HirschPasek, 2010)