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Literacy for Young Children

A Guide for Early Childhood Educators

By: Priscilla L. Griffith, Sara Ann Beach, Jiening Ruan, Loraine Dunn

Use research-based strategies to build early literacy skills!

This easy-to-use guidebook offers early childhood teachers and coaches engaging, developmentally appropriate activities to promote oral language, phonological awareness, print awareness, emergent writing, and early comprehension skills. Chapters provide an overview of each skill, methods for assessment, and effective instructional strategies. Using vignettes of children from diverse backgrounds, the authors illustrate how teachers can support individual learners. In addition, readers will be able to:

Adapt instruction appropriately for ELLs and children with special needs
Partner knowledgeably with families to provide rich literacy experiences at home
Integrate literacy across the curriculum, and more

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Product Details

Grade Level: PreK-12
ISBN: 9781412952002
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2008
Page Count: 256
Publication date: May 06, 2008

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Description

This book is a featured text in a Canter graduate course, Teaching Beginning Readers Pre-K-3 .

"This book merges the five big ideas in reading with developmentally appropriate practice to create a practical guide that will enhance literacy development in any type of preschool setting. The references, resources, and examples will help teachers bring these ideas to life in their classrooms."
—Addie Gaines, Principal
Kirbyville Elementary School, MO

Use research-based strategies to build early literacy skills!

Early childhood educators recognize that young children are more likely to succeed in later grades if they have a variety of engaging preschool experiences. Literacy for Young Children brings together reading research and learning standards to help teachers become informed decision makers about meeting the literacy needs of young students from diverse backgrounds.

Based on the authors' work in Early Reading First classrooms, this resource includes evidence-based, easy-to-implement activities to develop oral language, phonological awareness, print awareness, emergent writing, and early comprehension skills. Chapters provide an overview of each skill, methods for assessment, and appropriate instructional strategies. The book showcases examples of PreK and kindergarten children from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds to demonstrate how teachers can support individual learners. Readers will be able to:

Adapt instruction appropriately for ELLs and children with special needs
Partner knowledgeably with families to provide rich literacy experiences at home
Integrate literacy across the curriculum, and more

As teachers and literacy coaches become more purposeful and confident instructors, they open the door to successful learning while continuing to close the achievement gap.

Key features

One comprehensive, practical resource addressing core topics in early literacy instruction
Teachers will be confident working in today's diverse early childhood classrooms, as the book contains lots of real-world examples based on the authors' experiences in Early Reading First classrooms
Vignettes of 4 ethnically and geographically diverse children illustrate principles in practice
Excellent coverage of how to link assessment and instruction for every component of early literacy learning
Each chapter offers a list of timely books and websites for teachers' reference

Author(s)

Priscilla L. Griffith

Priscilla L. Griffith is the Ruth G. Hardman Chair in Education and a Professor in the Department of Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum at the University of Oklahoma where she teaches undergraduate and graduate level literacy education courses. Priscilla has worked in language and literacy, and teacher education for over three decades. She has applied her expertise in these areas as an editor of professional journals including The Reading Teacher and Action in Teacher Education, as a consultant for school districts, and as a classroom teacher. She has worked with Pre-K teachers in Early Reading First classrooms. In addition, Priscilla works regularly with teachers as Director of the Oklahoma Writing Project, a site of the National Writing Project. She is a past president of the Florida Reading Association and the Oklahoma Reading Association. Priscilla received her Ph.D. degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Sara Ann Beach

Sara Ann (Sally) Beach is a professor of literacy education at the University of Oklahoma where she is coordinator of the reading program and teaches undergraduate and graduate literacy courses. Her professional experiences include teaching children from kindergarten through fifth grade and teaching teachers around the world to use reading and writing as a tool for thinking. Beach has worked with preschool teachers on Early Childhood Professional Educator and Early Reading First grants. Her research focuses on children’s development as literate people and the classrooms that provide opportunities students to become critically literate. Beach has a master’s degree from Texas A&M University and a doctorate in reading from the University of California, Riverside.

Jiening Ruan

Jiening Ruan is associate professor of reading/literacy education in the College of Education at the University of Oklahoma, where she teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in reading and literacy education. She also directs the University of Oklahoma’s Reading Clinic and Reading Specialist Certification Program. Ruan’s research interests focus on literacy development of children from diverse backgrounds and on the effectiveness of technology integration in literacy education. Ruan holds master’s degrees in elementary education and in reading education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on language and literacy education from Purdue University.

Loraine Dunn

Loraine Dunn is a professor in early childhood education at the University of Oklahoma where she teaches early childhood classes, oversees the child development laboratory, and makes student teaching placements. Her research has focused on child care program quality, developmentally appropriate practice, and children’s learning and development. Recently, Dunn served on a team that developed the Early Steps to Literacy project funded by an Early Childhood Educator Professional Development grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Dunn began her career teaching in a child care center serving children living in poverty. She later served as the education coordinator for a Head Start program, a kindergarten teacher in a small rural school, and as a teacher of children and adults in university child development laboratories. Dunn received her master’s degree in child development from Iowa State University and her doctorate in child development and family studies from Purdue University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Introduction: Why Early Literacy?

Early Reading First

Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Overview of This Book

Chapter 1. Children's Development and Literacy Learning

How Children Develop and Learn

Child Development: The Foundation for Literacy

Introducing Rebecca, Juan, Michael, and Annie

Foundations for Learning to Read

Supportive Classroom Environments

Summary

Chapter 2. Language Development and Diversity

Role of Oral Language in Literacy Development

What Does Research Say About How Children Acquire Language?

Benchmarks of Oral Language Development for Preschool Children

Assessing Oral Language Development

Research-Based Instructional Strategies Supporting Oral Language Development

Language Diversity

Summary

Chapter 3. Phonological Awareness Development in Preschool Children

What Is Phonological Awareness and What Is Its Role in Literacy Development?

What does Research Say About How Children Acquire Phonological Awareness?

Indicators of Children's Development of Phonological Awareness

Assessing Phonological Awareness

Research-Based Instructional Strategies Supporting Phonological Awareness

Addressing Diversity

Summary

Chapter 4. Alphabetic Principle

What Is the Alphabetic Principle and What is Its Role in Literacy Development?

What Does Research Tell Us About the Alphabetic Principle?

Assessing the Alphabetic Principle

Research-Based Instructional Strategies Supporting Understanding of the Alphabetic Principle

Addressing Diversity

Summary

Chapter 5. Writing

How Are Reading and Writing Connected in Early Literacy Development?

What Does Research Say About Emergent Writing Development?

Assessing Writing

Research-Based Instructional Strategies to Support Emergent Writing

Addressing Diversity

Summary

Chapter 6. Comprehension: Making Meaning

What Is Comprehension?

What Helps Children Comprehend?

Assessing Comprehension

Research-Based Instructional Strategies

Addressing Diversity

Summary

Chapter 7. Sharing Books With Children

The Importance of Book Sharing for Children's Early Literacy Development

What Does Research Say About Storybook Reading With Children?

Selecting High-Quality Children's Literature

Developing Classroom Libraries

Research-Based Instructional Strategies for Sharing Books With Children

Addressing Diversity

Summary

Chapter 8. Integrating Literacy Across the Curriculum

Integrated Curriculum

Planning an Integrated Unit

Summary

Chapter 9. Literacy in the Real World

Language and Literacy in Communities

Infusing Home and Community Literacy in the Classroom

Summary

Chapter 10. Helping Parents Facilitate Children's Literacy at Home

Why Parents Become Involved

Parental Beliefs

Types of Parental Involvement

Why Parental Involvement?

Summary

Chapter 11. Bringing It All Together

Preschool Programs Make a Difference

The Physical Environment

The Interactional Environment

Assessing Your Literacy and Language Environment

Planning Whole and Half Day Programs

Summary

References

Children's Books Referenced

Additional Resources for Teachers

Helpful Websites

References

Index

Reviews

"A comprehensive and comprehensible book that provides a framework for a productive, engaging, literacy-developing classroom. This text provides a complete schema to support and enable novice teachers and affirm the experienced teacher with an overview for developing literacy in early childhood."

Judy A. Leavell, Associate Professor
St. Edward’s University

"Griffith and her colleagues have written a valuable book for literacy instructors. The attention to detail and the inclusion of research-based instructional strategies will make this book an excellent resource for all teachers and coaches in grades preK and K."

Ruth Short, Associate Professor
University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee

"This book merges the five big ideas in reading with developmentally appropriate practice to create a practical guide that will enhance literacy development in any type of preschool setting. The references, resources, and examples will help teachers bring these ideas to life in their classrooms."

Addie Gaines, Principal
Kirbyville Elementary School, MO

"A great resource for any early childhood teacher! The book provides concrete examples of how to implement best practices in an early childhood classroom. By connecting all the big ideas in literacy, the authors have set a standard for best practice!"

Emma McGee Barnes, Literacy Facilitator
Hawk Ridge Elementary School, Charlotte, NC

"This clear, concise text allows the reader a look into the classroom and an opportunity to relate to students and teachers in specific and meaningful ways to address literacy and its many important parts."

Teresa P. Cunningham, Principal
Laurel Elementary School, Laurel Bloomery, TN

"A major strength of this book is the focus on addressing the needs of each child as an individual, supporting his or her literacy development through both the physical and the interactional environment. I look forward to using this book in my literacy methods courses."

Elizabeth Willner, Associate Professor
Oklahoma City University

Other Titles in: Literacy, K-12 | English/Language Arts (Middle/High School)

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This book is not available as a review copy.