Talking IS Teaching

Leah Langy writes in the IFLS blog Keeping up with Kids about a collaborative effort in the Chippewa Valley to help address the 30 million word gap:

There's a group of early childhood professionals (librarians, teachers, family literacy providers, childcare consultants, and more) in the Chippewa Valley working on an initiative to address the 30 million word gap identified by researchers Hart and Risely in 2003.  What's the 30 million word gap?  It is the difference in the number of words spoken to children, depending on their family/childcare situation, by the time they reach age three.  Some hear 30 million fewer words by age three than their counterparts.  The research suggests that kids from lower income families are more likely to hear fewer words.

The group is using the resources, information and graphics from a website promoting talking with preschoolers to plan their work. 

To read more about the project and the links, click here.