Student success in school depends heavily on an ability to read and write at every grade level. Yet, the starting line for many children is different, depending on their zip code. By age 3, there is a 30 million ‘word gap’ between children from well off and low-income families.
As studies show, this ‘word gap’ can lead to disparities not just in vocabulary size but, also, in school readiness. It can even affect long-term educational and health outcomes, earnings, and family stability decades later.
By talking, reading and singing more to a child, the ‘word gap’ is reduced and his/her chances for later success in school and beyond improved.
4 Tips for Parents
You can give your young child a strong start to build pre-literacy skills for school readiness. Whether at home, on a walk or doing errands, help him/her from an early age to become a successful reader by:
- Playing simple name games by asking ‘what is this’?
- Labeling things at home such as a door or a cup and reading the labels together
- Showing the ingredients as you cook and naming them together
- Reading aloud the words on signs and in stores
Take Action: For hands-on, family literacy activities, download the calendar, 30 Days of Families Learning Together, from the National Center for Families Learning, in English or in Spanish