Fostering Early Language for Later Literacy Success (2024 Spotlight on Structured Literacy #4)

This is the 3rd webinar in the 2024 Spotlight series. From the joyful sound of a baby’s first babble to independent reading, early language skills and later literacy are intricately connected. This talk will explore how oral language serves as a crucial building block that paves the way to reading success. Evidence-based strategies and activities that integrate these skills into everyday interactions will be shared to empower educators and caregivers to foster language-rich environments.
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Read Dr. Lakeisha Johnson's 2024 bio here: Dr. Lakeisha Johnson is an Assistant Professor in the School of Communication Science and Disorders at Florida State University and an ASHA certified speech-language pathologist. She is also the director of The Village, the community outreach and engagement division of the Florida Center for Reading Research.
She received her doctorate in Communication Sciences and Disorders with an emphasis in literacy implications for culturally and linguistically diverse populations from Florida State University in 2012. Dr. Johnson previously served as a research scientist at Georgia State University in the Urban Child Study Center where she oversaw several projects related to evaluating and improving language and literacy skills in urban early childhood settings and as an assistant professor at the University of the District of Columbia.
​Dr. Johnson’s primary research interests include language, literacy, dialect, and executive function development in African American children and other at-risk populations. It is her mission to investigate the aforementioned areas while building and strengthening research-practice partnerships between the university and the local community to ensure children from vulnerable and underserved populations obtain strong language and literacy skills. Her current work involves providing professional development for librarians to increase their use of evidence-based practices during story time sessions and youth programming. Additionally, Dr. Johnson runs a website, Maya’s Book Nook, to promote language and literacy skills using diverse children’s books.
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