Nov 06, 2014 how to bridge a 30millionword gap the idea that poor children are starved for words. The thirty million word gap a summary from the early catastrophe. The quality of the verbal interactions also plays a role. During the war on poverty in the 1960s, betty hart, a former preschool. This study uses data from 60 commonly read childrens books to estimate the number of words that children are exposed to during book reading. Nov 08, 20 so please, if you have a moment, take some time to read the following links and learn more about the 30 million word gap and then if you have even more time, do what you can to read to a child in your life as much as possible. Their study showed that children from lowerincome families hear a staggering 30 million fewer words than children from higherincome families by the time they are 4 years old. The 30 million word gap words heard per hour children in poverty hear 615 children in the middle class hear 1,251 children of professionals hear 2,153 result. Jan 22, 2015 the word gap doesnt tell the whole story duration. The 30millionword gap argues that lowincome children of color hear 30 million fewer words within the first three years of life than their more affluent peers. Research shows that children from lowincome families are less likely to come in contact with as many words as a child from a highincome family. Its been 18 years since betty hart and todd risley published their landmark study on the giant gap 30 million in words heard by young children depending on their socioeconomic status. Dec 29, 20 closing the word gap between rich and poor children in lowincome families hear dramatically fewer words, which often sets them back in school and later life.
Praise for thirty million words suskind has written a book that gives parents the tools they need to maximize their childrens potential, one word at a time. This disparity in learning is referred to as the achievement gap. Bridging the word gap early childhood development acf. And one recent book by harvard sociologist robert putnam distills the problem as one created by. The year 2009 marks the 30 th anniversary of the original publication. Recognized worldwide for the high quality they represent, ala awards, including the prestigious newbery, caldecott, printz, and coretta scott king book awards, guide parents, educators. Something about that figure, 30 million words, held peoples attention. Quality of words, not quantity, is crucial to language skills, study finds.
So please, if you have a moment, take some time to read the following links and learn more about the 30 million word gap and then if you have even more time, do what you can to read to a child in your life as much as possible. The 30 million word gap suggests that its important for babies and toddlers to hear a lot of words, but the studys authors as well as other researchers agree that simply saying words to a child isnt enough. In most studies, there are as many reasons that the averages would be higher than reported as there are that they would be lower. This is the foundation upon which we have built the thirty million words project. A familys socioeconomic status affects more than just their lifestyle, it can also impact the intellectual development of children as early as 18 months old. Pregnancy and newborn parents, other caregivers, and early childhood educators will be moved and inspired by. The 30 million word gap refers to a research study conducted by psychologists betty hart and todd risley. Shenks essay, which appeared on the atlantics website in 2010, presented research findings about the vastly different levels of language acquisition among children from welfare homes. Risley in their book meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young american children, and subsequently reprinted in the article the early catastrophe. Pregnancy and newborn parents, other caregivers, and early childhood educators will be moved and inspired by this work. I know i plan to, even more so than i already do now. Literacy initiatives and organizations for children literacy initiatives ala youth media awards each year the american library association ala honors books and media for children and teens. Risley d uring the 1960s war on poverty, we were among the many researchers, psychologists, and educators who brought our knowledge of child development. Jul 10, 2017 the word gap and 1 citys plan to close it.
With all that in mind, here are six things to know about the 30 million word gap. That is, a child from a highincome family will experience 30 million more words within the first four years of life than a child from a lowincome family. The 30 million word gap by age 3 by university of kansas researchers betty hart and todd r. Thirty million words is a metaphor for richness in language environment.
Why 30 million words are critical to your childs future success. The word gap examined in this research isnt the only type kids may face. And that gap has a persistent impact on learning, literacy, and education. A study conducted in 1968 by betty hart and todd risley, described in their book meaningful differences, tallied the number of words 40 children heard on average in the first three years of life. Neither genetics nor a lack of potential lie at the heart of this inequity.
By agepoverty, so we know the first thing a paren 3, children from the most talkative and encouraging families scored approximately 25 points higher on iq tests than children from the least talkative and encouraging families. I spoke to professor dana suskind, md, founder and director of the thirty million words initiative and author of the book of the same name, about how something as simple as talking is linked to lifelong success. Risley 86% to 98% of words used by children at age 3 were derived from their parents vocabularies the number of words heard varied greatly. Risley d uring the 1960s war on poverty, we were among the many researchers, psychologists, and educators who brought our knowledge of child development to the front line in an optimistic effort to intervene early to forestall the terrible effects that poverty was having on some. Why the 30 million word gap is so important alaskas early. The brain develops most during the first years of life. And some children get more much more conversation than others. Fear of the 32 million word gap none of the folks who read david shenks 32 million word gap for class were pleased. Literacy initiatives and organizations for children tslac.
Researchers betty hart and todd risley identified what they call the 30 million word gap, which shows that children in higher income families will hear approximately 30 million more words than children in families on welfare by the. Understanding the thirty million word gap also helps set the stage for turning the tide for all children. This is known as the word gap, and it can lead to disparities not just in vocabulary size, but also in school readiness, longterm educational and health outcomes, earnings, and family stability. The early catastrophe american federation of teachers. Feb 16, 2015 the term word gap was first coined in the 1995 hartrisley study that found lowincome children are exposed to 30 million fewer words than their higherincome peers before age 3. Nov 04, 20 the 30 million word difference for decades, education researchers have found that children from lowerincome and lesseducated parents typically enter kindergarten with limited language skills compared to their more privileged peers. In order to close the achievement gap, in order to ensure that all children in this country are able to achieve their potentials, welldesigned, carefully monitored programs, based on scientific. The 30 millionword gap is arguably the most famous but. It posits that the way to end academic inequalities is to ensure that lowincome children of color are exposed to more words before they enter school. By 3 years of age, there is a 30 million word gap between children from the wealthiest and poorest families. Apr 22, 2016 a home visitor reads a book with a mother and her 18monthold son as part of an effort in providence, rhode island, to close the word gap. A bookend holds bestsellers in place on a bookshelf at the book cellar, an independent. By age 3, children from privileged families have heard 30 million more words than children from underprivileged families. During the 1960s war on poverty, we were among the many researchers, psychologists, and educators who brought our knowledge of child development to the front line in an optimistic effort to intervene early to forestall the terrible effects that poverty was.
Literacy buddies make a the 30 million word gap difference. This phenomenon is known as the 30 million word gap, and research suggests it is one of the key factors in the achievement gap. Sep 09, 2017 the 30 million word gap suggests that its important for babies and toddlers to hear a lot of words, but the studys authors as well as other researchers agree that simply saying words to a child isnt enough. Even the 1995 study that introduced the notion of the 30millionword gap. All parentchild research is based on the assumption that the data laboratory or field reflect what people typically do.
Key to vocabulary gap is quality of conversation, not dearth. Thirty million little words for a lifetime of difference. At the mcgovern institute for brain research at mit, john gabrielis lab is studying how exposure to language may influence brain function in children. We wont bridge the achievement gap until we bridge the word.
The 30 million word gap by age 3, american educator 271 2003. The 30 million word gap is more of a metaphor for the impact of the early language environment on the developing brain. Dont post outcomes results to learning mastery gradebook. Jan 25, 2017 research shows that during the first three years of life, a poor child hears roughly 30 million fewer total words than his or her more affluent peers. Leslie lewintersuskind, bs, mss, mfa, former director of international program, psychiatry and pediatrics. Nov 21, 20 why the 30 million word gap is so important. A million word gap for children who arent read to at. Ive heard about the the 30 million word gap study a few times including on freakonomics and it occurred to me that income was probably correlated with the childrenparents vocabulary and whether the children went on to. Im hoping that the mention of a 30 million word gap will get whoever im speaking with to want to hear more. Professor dana suskind, md, learned of this thirty million word gap in the course of her work as a cochlear implant surgeon at university of chicago medical school and began a new research program along with her sisterinlaw, beth suskind, to find the best ways to bridge that gap. A typical middleclass child enters 1st grade with 1,000 to 1,700 hours of oneonone picture book reading, compared with an. This gap does nothing but grow as the years progress, ensuring slow growth for children who are economically disadvantaged and accelerated growth.
Because vocabulary and oral language development are connected to reading comprehension, these school readiness differences have longterm consequences. Aug 30, 2017 the term refers to the roughly 30 million word gap between children from lowerincome families and higherincome families entering elementary school. A typical middleclass child enters 1st grade with 1,000 to 1,700 hours of oneonone picture book reading, compared with an average of just 25 hours for a child from a lowincome family. By the age of three, children should know, or have been associated with 30 million words. A controversial 1992 study suggested that children growing up in poverty hear about 30 million fewer words in conversation by age 3 than those from more privileged backgrounds. So, the differences from the paper show that the differences in the three classes are 19 million over four years between the top 2 tiers, and 32 million word exposures between top and bottom tier. The term 30millionword gap often shortened to just the word gap was originally coined by betty hart and todd r. Chicagoan dana suskind, md believes that the difference between those children who do well in school and those who do not is caused by a gap of thirty million words heard spoken by parents and caregivers from the time a child is born until the age of three, the period for optimum brain development. See more ideas about preschool literacy, literacy and literacy and numeracy. A recent study shows that the vocabulary gap is evident in toddlers. A home visitor reads a book with a mother and her 18monthold son as part of an effort in providence, rhode island, to close the word gap. Beth suskind is codirector of the thirty million words initiative and is integral to translating the complexities of the science behind their research into a curriculum. Risley in their book meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young. How to bridge a 30millionword gap the idea that poor children are starved for words.
The 30 million word gap by age 3 by betty hart and todd r. Other studies since then suggest this 30 million word gap may be much smaller or even nonexistent, logan said. Young children whose parents read them five books a day enter kindergarten having heard about 1. Next steps in designing research to inform practice annemarie h. Risley published a study that highlighted the close link between childrenes academic success at ages nine and 10 and their verbal interaction with their parents during the first years of life. The last edition, revised and retitled stand in the gap, was issued in 1997 as a followup resource for the million men who spent six hours in prayer for revival on the mall in washington, dc, at a gathering called stand in the gap. Why the 30 million word gap is so important alaskas. The 30 million word gap the role of parentchild verbal interaction in language and literacy development in 1995, researchers betty hart and todd r. So, assuming a linear extrapolation like the authours, the claim for a 3 year word gap should be 14. A million word gap for children who arent read to at home. Quality of words, not quantity, is crucial to language.
Why 30 million words are critical to your childs future. Research shows that during the first three years of life, a poor child hears roughly 30 million fewer total words than his or her more affluent peers. By 18 months, children in different socioeconomic groups display dramatic differences in their vocabularies. Closing the word gap between rich and poor children in lowincome families hear dramatically fewer words, which often sets them back in school. Key to vocabulary gap is quality of conversation, not dearth of words. The term 30millionword gap was originally coined by betty hart and todd r. The term word gap was first coined in the 1995 hartrisley study that found lowincome children are exposed to 30 million fewer words than their higherincome peers before age 3. By age 3, children from wealthier families typically have heard 30 million more words than have children from lowincome families. Sep 08, 2015 praise for thirty million words suskind has written a book that gives parents the tools they need to maximize their childrens potential, one word at a time.
By agepoverty, so we know the first thing a paren 3, children from the most talkative and encouraging families scored approximately 25 points higher on iq tests than children from the. Longitudinal data on 42 families examined what accounted for enormous differences in rates of vocabulary growth. The early catastrophe the 30 million word gap by age 3 by betty hart and todd r. Closing the 30 million word gap by dennis pierce february 22nd, 2016 to cancel the effects of poverty, school systems are extending literacy programs to the larger community mention napa county, calif. Research on early literacy and the 30 million word gap. Is the real factor income and this study just picks a one of many factors that correlate with income. My colleagues and i are working toward closing that 30 million word gap by providing a chance for babies, toddlers, and their caregivers to sing, talk, play, and listen to stories together. Meaningful differences in the everyday experiences of young american. Snell temple university abstractrecent attention to the word gap has renewed public interest in the striking vocabulary disparities between children in poverty and their higher income peers.