Development of Early Literacy Skills in Children - Article Example

Whalen has discussed a report in support of his arguments and tried to convey to the reader why he thinks that an orderly house assists in the development of early reading skills in young children. She mentions a study by researchers at Columbia University’s Teachers College and Ohio State University, which says that parents can help their children to read by doing much more than just providing them with books. They can provide them with a well-managed and orderly household to assist them in reading. This research was done on 455 kindergarten and first-grade twins. It was concluded that “mothers who are above-average readers are also those who are more likely to keep a tidy home and to implement daily household routines”, and these mothers are better teachers for their children.

The subject matter of the article very well goes with the title the author has suggested and has good scholastic importance. The problem can be well understood by an average reader and the research is not limited to the author’s aptitudes and ideas. However, the author has not been able to provide enough evidence to support his claim and has only discussed one study. The article lacks proof and sound arguments and the reader is not convinced as to how an orderly home can help a child in developing reading skills. It would have been better if Whalen had discussed multiple research to back up her claim. It is only the last paragraph that is convincing enough for the reader because it discusses the important role of book reading in the development of reading skills.

2. Review of the Literature/ Comparison with other research
We cannot deny the significance of an orderly home in early literacy skills. We are just arguing that Whalen did not provide much evidence. To back up the article’s argument, we compared it with some other writings provided by profound scholars. Lee and Croninger (1994) assert in their writing that “variations in the home environments of poor and middle-income children affect their literacy development, which leads to substantial differences in reading ability and behavior” (p.286). Now, this research more clearly describes the main causes of inequity of home environments of children and how their literacy gets affected by the disorderliness of their homes.
Other researchers like Morrow and Weinstein, and Rasinski and Fredericks (as cited in U.S. Department of Education, 2011) affirm that a literate home environment is vital if the parents aim to enable their children to develop literacy skills. A literate home environment is a complement to the school. According to the article, a literate home environment does not mean that the parents should be able to read and write in English; instead, it means that they must be able to provide their children with a lot of reading material and a good study location inside the house. This article supports Whalen’s arguments in his last paragraph, that parents must support their children’s reading abilities through the provision of books, anywhere and anytime.

Connor (2007) conducted a study regarding the influence of school and home environments on the literacy skills of children, and states in his research that, “Home learning environments and parenting, along with preschool opportunities in the community, have been shown to directly relate to children’s language and vocabulary skills.” Connor’s research is very vast as compared to Whalen’s because he has very deeply explained the effect of orderliness in schools and homes on reading and literacy skills.
3. Summary/ Overall Critique
The article was undoubtedly a well-written paper. Thus, he is emphasizing the need for further research. Overall, it was a good addition to the research base related to the impact of an orderly home routine and environment on the development of early reading and literacy skills.  Read More