Making Mistakes: Children's Errors as Opportunities for Emergent Literacy Learning in Early Childhood

Errors are essential for emergent literacy learning because they reveal the gaps in young children's knowledge. The ways in which teachers respond to these errors can have important implications for children's knowledge building; yet, there is limited information for teachers about how to effectively respond to children's errors in emergent literacy contexts. In this article, we describe a framework grounded in research and theory for responding to children's errors. We describe a two-step process for acknowledging and responding to children's errors along with specific error-handling practices, and illustrate the application of this framework using real-world, data-driven examples. We also provide recommendations for creating a classroom environment that challenges children, builds their confidence as learners, and welcomes their errors. This article will equip teachers with practical guidance for leveraging preschool-age (i.e., 3-5 years) children's errors as opportunities for enhancing emergent literacy learning.