ABSTRACT
Parents, along with early childhood educators, play an essential role in the development and mastery of speech and language skills in the early years when children are acquiring the foundation for future learning and communication. Pause and think about that for a moment. Really think about it. As an early educator, you play an essential role in building vocabulary and phonological awareness skills needed for future reading, writing, literacy, and effective communication skills. Chapter 4 highlights the importance and impact of vocabulary development linked to language comprehension and building a foundation for reading comprehension and written expression. Information specific to the positive impact of phonemic awareness linked to spelling, writing, and word recognition will be included to support the need for the introduction and development of these skills during the early learning years. The chapter will emphasise and provide fun, interactive phonological awareness and vocabulary building activities, including the importance of the use of nursery rhymes, rhyming, sound blending and identification, and use of children’s literature to support future reading, writing, and literacy skills.
