Early Childhood Literacy

The recent push to increase the success of students with special needs in general education classroom puts additional pressure on educators to ensure all students meeting are meeting the literacy standards (Lenz, Ehren, and Deshler 2005). When educators are overwhelmed by the various needs of students in their class, implementing whole class instructional approaches may not reach all students (Diamond and Powell, 2011). Not all students benefit from cookie cutter learning experiences. Teachers are aware small groups provide students with special needs with a more individualized learning opportunity, but in research conducted by Diamond and Powell, many teachers found it difficult to find time to implement small group activities consistently
Although the deficits in the levels in literacy development may not be identified yet in early childhood, many of these students may be diagnosed in the future. Students
Being aware of these barriers, how they effect student academic performance in the future, and the importance of developing a solid foundation of emergent literacy skills in early childhood, are crucial in striving to close the literacy achievement gap. Although the impact early childhood literacy instruction has on future achievement is under recognized, the acknowledgement of the significance is on the rise amongst educators (Invernizzi, Landrum, Tcichman, and Townsend, 2010). This viewpoint is support by research conducted by Hammill (2004), where success with early alphabet knowledge impacting future literacy success was discovered. More specifically, a strong literacy foundation built in preschool promotes success in high school (Campbell et al. 2002; Cunningham and Stanovich 1997). Early educators can not afford to ignore the at-risk factors, but eliminating their effects can be