Talking IS Teaching

Leah Langby writes in the IFLS blog, Keeping Up with Kids,  about an early literacy community of practice she is part of in the Chippewa Valley and an initiative they are working on:

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.

They are using a valuable resource to help them get started: Talking is Teaching.

To read the rest of the KUWK blog post and link to resources, click here.