2. • Children living in poverty are more likely to display antisocial
behaviors and suffer from depression
• Lower levels of poverty may also impact a child’s cognitive skills, such
as memory, letter recognition and advances in reading
• Low income families engage in much less conversation and use smaller
vocabularies when talking with their children
•By the time children from low income families
enter kindergarten, they are 12-24 months
below national norms in language and prereading skills
• Children facing poverty often have little to no
access to books and reading ultimately leading
to reductions in academic achievements

3. • By the age of 3 children from wealthier families have typically
heard 30 million more words than children from low income
families
• Middle and upper class families often provide a
large variety of books leading to advantages in
social, emotional and cognitive dimensions
• Children from families of higher socioeconomic
statuses are more likely to attend summer camps,
participate in family travel and benefit from other
learning and enrichment activities which
reinforces, maintains and improves literacy skills

4. • Students may encounter new rules, norms and values in school
that contradict with the culture in their home
• Some children have strong academic backgrounds in their home
language, however some particular English sounds do not exist in
the native language of some cultures
•Basic literacy skills, such as turning the
pages of a book, may be lacking for some
students
• Children from other cultures often face
peer-rejection resulting in poor social
skills, behavior problems and low levels of
academic achievement
• The home culture of students is often
overlooked in school

5. • The more types of reading and literacy materials there are in the
home the higher the students scored in reading, writing and math
• There is a substantial relationship between the parents
educational attainment, occupation and involvement and their
child’s reading comprehension levels at schools
•Parental strengths such as warmth and
sensitivity increases development and
comprehension in language and
academic growth
•According to the National Center for
Education Statistics (NCES), only 53% of
children ages three to five were read to
daily by a family member

6. • Less than half of high school students read 10 books per year
• One in six children who are not reading proficiently in third grade
do not graduate from high school on time, a rate four times greater
than that for proficient readers
• Poor reading skills in the early
elementary grades are highly
correlated with later delinquency
• A firm foundation in early literacy
provides children with essential skills
for future professional development
and a successful career

7. • Children should have opportunity for meaningful interactions
with printed materials
• Create a book and literacy rich environment
• Provide parents with
community resources
• Incorporate phonological
awareness and instruction
• Plan a wide variety of literacy
integrated activities such as
games, role plays and songs

8. The purpose of this activity is to
provide children with the
opportunity to explorer
reading, writing and creativity
while giving the educational
professional a chance to assess
developmental skills such as
literacy, motor and social skills.

9. • The Urban Child Institute
http://www.urbanchildinstitute.org/articles/research-to- policy/policy/poverty-can-jeopardize-thedevelopment-of-literacy-and-early
• National Education Association
http://www.nea.org/grants/facts-about-childrens-literacy.html
• The Future of Children
http://futureofchildren.org/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=78&articleid=572&sectionid=39
56
• The American Prospect
http://prospect.org/article/reading-life-0
• National Prevention Center Network: Early Literacy Development
http://www.dropoutprevention.org/effective-strategies/early-literacy-development
• Early Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners
http://www.ngsp.net/Portals/0/downloads/HBNETdownloads/monographLK.pdf
• Pathways to Early Literacy: The Complex Interplay of Child, Family, and Social Cultural Factors
http://people.oregonstate.edu/~mcclellm/ms/Advances%20in%20child%20development%2003.pdf
• Economic Factors Affecting Children
http://www.ehow.com/info_8048090_economic-factors-affecting-children.html