Theories of Literacy
Development
Chapter 5
Pages 90-115
Theory of Cognitive Development (Jean Piaget)
-Describes the ways in which the quality of children’s thinking changes over time.
-Piaget sought to explain the different ways in which his children processed
information throughout their development.
-He provides a framework for teachers to understand the way children at different
stages think about objects and events.
-Stages of Cognitive Development
-4 factors that affect the quality of 1. Sensorimotor period (birth-2 years): thinking
thinking as an individual grows is based on sensory exploration of the world
1. biological maturation: genetic heredity that is 2. Preoperational period (2-7 years): The child
present at birth starts to categorize their world with words
2. activity: physical experiences that the child 3. Concrete Operational period (7-11 years): the
use of concrete objects to start to think about
goes through
abstract concepts
3. social experience: the child's interactions with
4. Formal Operational period (11-adult): the
others movement beyond concrete to use language in
4. equilibration: the child's search search for an abstract way
cognitive balance
Maturation Theory
● Morphett and Washburne (1931) conducted research to
determine the optimal age at which a child was
developmentally old enough to learn to read.
● They found that a child 6 ½ would perform better on a
reading achievement test than did younger children.
● Recommended that reading instruction not begin until
students reach this age.
● Teachers and parents could cause damage to a child’s
reading ability if they attempted to teach reading to
children who were too young.
● Invented spelling was based off of this theory.
Holdaway's Theory of Literacy Development
Reading is a natural developmental occurrence
Parents are models for children Social interaction
Stage Models of Reading
By knowing what stage students are in, teachers can better
understand and plan for the students’ needs.
Partial Alphabetic Stage
Prealphabetic Stage
(Logographic Stage)
Full Alphabetic Stage
Consolidated Alphabetic Stage
Notable theorists:
Ehri
Chall
Frith
Emergent Literacy Theory
Emergent literacy: from birth to when children can read and
write at about a 3rd grade level.
Literacy development
starts at birth and is
ongoing
Children's
literacy In the emergent
ability literacy stage,
Listening, children master
correlates
speaking, concepts of
closely with
literacy reading, and print and
environment. writing are all concepts about
interrelated books.
Family Literacy Theory
Family literacy- the ways families, children, and extended family members
use literacy at home and in their community (Morrow, 2009).
Family Literacy Theory is a series of ideas proposed by many
researchers who share viewpoints on:
1. The design and implementation and evaluation of
family members.
2. The relationships between literacy use in families and
students academic achievements.
3. The ways in which literacy is naturally used within the
context of home. (Phillips et al. 2006).
Research Applications 1
● Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
○ Bryant (2002) used theory to study how children learn spelling
○ determined that children first learn to use single pattern
■ then learn alternative spelling pattern but single pattern is inadequate
■ overgeneralize pattern
● Maturation Theory
○ Abbott (2010) studied effects of grade retention
○ found retention of young students is only effective when accompanied by
significant amounts of small-group, high quality reading instruction
● Theory of Literacy Development
○ Coker (2006) examined effects of five variables on children’s writing
development
■ student background, vocabulary knowledge, reading skills, classroom
literacy environment, and first grade teacher
○ found variables such as student background, reading skill, first-grade teacher,
and first-grade classroom environment all predicted the children’s writing growth
Classroom Applications
Holdaway's (1979) Theory of Literacy Development presents
literacy growth as a natural process that begins in a young
child's home.
Practices to use in the classroom:
● Big books
● Shared reading
● Stage Models of Reading
Research Applications 2
● Stage Models of Reading
○ Cardoso- Martins (2001) studied early reading development of Brazilian Portuguese
children
■ Two groups
■ children in whole-word treatment group did not begin to engage in traditional
decoding during whole-word phrase
■ found children were greatly influenced by instructional approach
● Emergent Literacy Theory
○ Many studies found that children show an increased level of reading engagement,
phonological awareness, comprehension, and vocabulary acquisition when using
electronic rather than traditional texts
○ Jordan (2000) found that children whose families participated in intervention project
demonstrated significantly greater early literacy achievement than the control children
Summary 1
● These theories explain children’s literacy development.
1. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development (1969)
a. one of the most famous theories used to explain
children’s cognitive Development
b. can be used to help literacy educators understand the
learning stages through which students progress as
they mature and their relationship to literacy
development
2. Maturation Theory (1931)
a. literacy instruction should be delayed until children are
6.5 years old (age where you are most successful to
learn how to read)
Summary 2
3. Holdaway’s Theory of Literacy (1979)
a. literacy development begins in children’s
homes and is based on meaningful learning
experiences
b. created activities such as big books and
shared reading to help educators re-create
the kinds of early literacy experiences that
were found in homes
4. Stage Models of Reading (1983, 1985, 1991)
a. stages through which children progress in
the development of their word identification
abilities
Summary 3
5. Emergent Literacy Theory (2001, 2005,
2012)
a. explains how word identification
abilities develop from birth onward
6. Family Literacy Theory (1993)
a. focuses on unique the unique role
of the home and parents in
children’s literacy development
Ideas for Discussion 1
1. What is the Theory of Cognitive Development and how
is it reflected in reading instruction and reading
research?
1. What Maturation Theory and how is it reflected in
reading instruction and reading research?
1. What is the Theory of Literacy Development and how is
it reflected in reading instruction and reading research?
Ideas for Discussion 2
4. What are the Stage Models of Reading and how are they
reflected in reading instruction and reading research?
5. What is the Emergent Literacy Theory and how is it
reflected in reading instruction and reading research?
6. What is Family Literacy Theory and how is it reflected
and how is it reflected in reading instruction and reading
research?
Activities
● Developmental Case Studies
o Readers can choose a child and
reflect on that child’s literacy
development through each of the
theoretical lenses described in each
chapter.
o Case studies can be presented and
contrast children of different ages.
Activities
● Class-to-Life Writing Assignment
o Write a summary on the major Developmental
Perspectives and provide examples of the ways in
which each theory reflected in a current classroom
setting
Theory of Cognitive Development
Maturation Theory
Theory of Literacy Development
Stage Models of Reading
Emergent Literacy Theory
Family Literacy Theory
