ABSTRACT
Intelligent children are generally characterized as being verbally precocious with large vocabularies and advanced oral language. Parents and other caregivers contribute to children's literacy development by providing an environment rich in print resources and enjoyable interactions between the child, adults, and these resources. Interactions between all children and their parents can help develop vocabulary, basic reading skills such as top-down and left-right orientation, and higher level thinking skills. For young readers, parents may play the role of informal reading instructor by participating in an extended discussion of storybook reading. Good readers become better readers because they effectively process information on reading; students with strong cognitive processing abilities become better at processing information because they read widely and well. Early childhood education experiences should include teachers and classrooms that allow meaningful and varied learning experiences at the child's developmental level.
