Chapter 1 Literacy and the Youngest Learner READ 399 Notes PDF

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Textbook: Literacy and the Youngest Learner
Chapter: 1
Professor: Linda Wise...

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Chapter 1: Literacy and the Youngest Learner: The Importance of Literacy-Rich Activities and Environments Why Start So Early with Literacy? Literacy can serve many purposes in early childhood environments: -just as print plays an integral role in society, it can play an integral role in early childhood settings as well -name tags can identify children's clothing, cubbies, and work -labels and pictures can indicate where materials and toys are stored -lists of favorite songs or games can serve as helpful reminders to teachers during the day Literacy can be a source of great joy for young children -for generations, children have enjoyed wonderful books such as first-word books, counting books, texture books, and many others -many adults can still tell you their favorite children's book -all children have a right to the joy that books and beloved authors can bring Literacy provides a way for children to learn about the world around them -books and other print materials can help children explore and come to understand better the people, places, and things they encounter in everyday life -can also help children learn about the world beyond their own Literacy knowledge is an excellent predictor of children's later school achievement -children who know alphabet letters and the sounds they represent, who can hear sounds in words, and who can understand how print works are far more likely to be good readers in kindergarten and the grades that follow -providing children strong literacy education in the early years has been shown to lead to better outcomes later on Literacy builds language knowledge -building children's vocabulary is a priority for most teachers, as it should be -unless children are exposed to books and other print materials, they may never encounter many words and complex structures that make up our language Is Weaving Literacy Into Early Childhood Education Developmentally Appropriate for Young Children? -some literacy activities are not appropriate for our youngest learners BUT literacy instruction can be developmentally appropriate -in 1998, the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) released a joint statement on developmentally appropriate practice in literacy for young children; important points in that statement include: 1.children take their first critical steps toward learning to read and write very early in life 2.failing to give children literacy experiences until they are in school can severely limit the reading and writing levels they ultimately attain 3.recognizing the early beginnings of literacy acquisition too often has resulted in use of inappropriate teaching practices suited to older children or adults perhaps but ineffective with children in pre-k, K, and early grades

4.the ability to read and write does not develop naturally, without careful planning and instruction -the issue is NOT whether to weave literacy into early childhood environment and activities, but how to do so Literacy Development Begins at Birth -educators used to believe that there was a particular age when children were "ready to read" -more recent thinking says that literacy "emerges" from birth, assuming the child is being raised in a literate world -long before children can read and write in the conventional sense, they are learning about literacy; they are learning the following: 1.why people read 2.what people read 3.how people read; children learn that: -we read from left to right, top to bottom -we read words, as opposed to making a story up or reading just the pictures on a page -we identify words by looking at their letters, which represent sounds in speech -we use different parts of the text to help make meaning -research indicates that young children of different economic, racial, ethnic, and language backgrounds all learn a great deal about literacy when they are exposed to it What are Expectations for Literacy Learning, Birth to Age 5? -as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act, state, county, and district agencies have developed typical accomplishments for children when they reach specific ages -literacy accomplishments will vary from child to child and depend on the experiences each child has had: -birth to 3 year old accomplishments: -recognizes specific books by cover -pretends to read books -labels objects in books -comments on characters in books -listens to stories -requests/commands adult to read -uses increasingly purposeful scribbling -may begin attending to specific printsuch as letters in names -three to four year old accomplishments: -understands/follows oral directions -shows interest in books -recognizes print in environment -displays reading/writing attempts -writes messages as part of a playful activity -can identify about 10 alphabet letters -connects information and events to real life experiences -kindergarten accomplishments: -knows parts of books and functions -retells, reenacts, or dramatizes stories or parts

-recognizes some words by sight

-notices when simple sentences fail to make

sense -recognizes and can name all upper and lowercase letters -can name some book titles and authors Goals for Preschool and Kindergarten According to the IRA and NAEYC -a second set of expectations comes from the International Reading Association and the National Association for the Education of Young Children; does not provide expectations for infants and toddlers, but does for pre-k and K: goals for preschool: -children can: -enjoy listening and discussing storybooks -understand that print carries a message -engage in reading and writing attempts -identify labels and signs in environment -participate in rhyming games -what teachers do: -share books with children -talk about letters by name and sounds -establish a literacy-rich environment -reread favorite stories -engage children in language games -what parents and family members can do: -talk with children, engage them in conversation, give names of things, show interest in what child says -read and reread stories with predictable texts to children -encourage children to recount experiences and describe ideas and events that are important to them -visit the library regularly -provide opportunities for children to draw and print, using markers, crayons, pencils goals for kindergarten: -kindergartners can: -enjoy being read to and themselves retell simple narrative stories or informational texts -use descriptive language to explain and explore -recognize letters and letter-sound matches -show familiarity with rhyming and beginning sounds -understand left-to-right and top-to-bottom orientation and familiar concepts of print -what teachers do: -encourage children to talk about reading and writing experiences -provide many opportunities for children to explore and identify sound-symbol relationships in meaningful contexts -help children to segment spoken words into individual sounds and blend sounds into whole words -frequently read interesting and conceptually rich stories to children

-provide daily opportunities for children to read and write -what parents and family members can do: -daily read and reread narrative and informational stories to children -encourage children's attempts at reading and writing -allow children to participate in activities that involve writing and reading -play games that involve specific directions (ex: Simon Says) -have conversations with children during mealtimes and throughout the day...