Early Childhood Literacy
MSU Shares Expertise with Community and State

MSU Connect Feature and Online Resources on Youth Literacy

Governor Granholm's Great Start Initiative

Recent research from neuroscience, psychology, social work and education has shown that zero to five are critical years for developing basic cognitive, language and social skills that pave the way for school readiness. The environment in which a young child is raised and the quality of his early experiences help to shape a child’s intellectual curiosity, social empathy, and self-confidence. The early childhood years offer a critical window of opportunity for helping children achieve developmental milestones that lay the foundation for success in school and life.

In Michigan, Governor Jennifer Granholm has identified early childhood learning as one of her top priorities for the state. Through her Great Start initiative, she has challenged the state to focus on early childhood literacy and on educating new parents.

The MSU FACT Coalition has coordinated a group on early literacy—a timely and responsive collaboration between Michigan State University, state agencies and community organizations to share MSU expertise in early childhood, literacy, and parenting. The goal is to improve school readiness by involving parents, reaching vulnerable populations, training for child care providers, and developing and mobilizing community involvement.

Off to a Great Start
A new publication from MSU called “Off to a Great Start” summarizes current knowledge and best practices in emerging literacy in order to get the youngest learners in the Lansing School District off to the best possible start. The book has been distributed to hundreds of Lansing teachers and includes sections on learning climates, teaching strategies, involving families, and assessment strategies and tools to support emerging literacy.

Literacy Activities for Parents
This project is designing materials for parents outlining activities they can do to help their children aged 0-5 learn to read. The materials were piloted through Extension programs in 2004.

Materials for Child Care Providers
The MSU College of Education, is partnering with the State of Michigan Child Care Licensing Division and Michigan 4C to survey licensed child care providers about literacy activities and then develop information and educational materials to help them meet the new 30 minutes per day licensing requirements in emergent literacy.

Social Emotional Wheel
This project is working with the Michigan Department of Community Health and the Michigan Association of Infant Mental Health on the development of a social/emotional wheel for children ages 0-36 months for possible use in READY kits. MSU Extension staff are also developing a companion piece for 4-5 year olds.

Center for Literacy Achievement Research
The MSU College of Education has created the Literacy Achievement Research Center, which prominently includes research on socio-cultural and cognitive process factors that can enhance literacy development during the early childhood years.