Developing Early Literacy Skills: Things We Know and Things We Know We Don’t Know

Developing Early Literacy Skills: Things We Know and Things We Know We Don’t Know

Christopher J. Lonigan and Timothy Shanahan

It is important to remember that what members of the National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) and these commentators have in common is the goal of improving our understanding of children’s early development related to literacy and advancing the field of early childhood education so that children gain maximum benefit of their education. We were struck by the either-or approach of many of these commentaries, as the report does not present a choice between code-focused and meaning-focused instruction, and we do not view early childhood education in this either-or fashion. Nevertheless, we applaud the time and effort these authors have expended stating their views and raising questions for the field, and we are heartened that many of the issues raised by them are the same as those explicitly stated in the Report. We have divided our comments into two responses: this one that addresses the critics’ conceptual concerns, and one on the methodological and statistical issues.