Strategies for Developing Emergent Literacy

This practical, reader-friendly textbook for pre-service early childhood educators describes all of the major approaches and strategies for teaching beginning literacy to young children. It provides classroom-tested games, strategies, and reproducibles for teaching all of the word identification and comprehension techniques, including graphophonic (phonic) analysis and higher levels of comprehension. Strategies and materials for teaching listening skills, oral language skills, writing skills, and spelling skills to young children are included. Norm-referenced and informal means of assessment including authentic assessment are described. Strategies and materials for teaching literacy skills to children with many types of special needs is a major strength of the text as is the comprehensive description of all the major literacy approaches including the whole language approach , the language experience approach, the basal reader approach, and systematic phonics.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Introduction to Early Literacy InstructionChapter 2: Approaches, Strategies, and Materials for Teaching Early LiteracyChapter 3: Developing Competency in Listening Skills and Oral Language AbilityChapter 4: Developing Competency in Letter-Name Knowledge and the Word Identification SkillsChapter 5: Developing Competency in Vocabulary and Comprehension SkillsChapter 6: Assessing and Developing Writing and Spelling SkillsChapter 7: Assessment Devices and Strategies that Can Be Used in an Early Literacy ProgramChapter 8: Teaching to Literacy to Children with Special NeedsIn ConclusionActivities IndexName IndexSubject Index

About the Author :
Wilma H. Miller is Professor Emerita (May, 1998) from Illinois State University at Normal where she taught literacy education courses for thirty years. She received her Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree from The University of Arizona, Tucson, in 1967. She is a former elementary teacher in Illinois and Arizona and professor at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. Her doctoral dissertation received a Citation of Merit from the International Reading Association in 1968. She is the author of nineteen books and over 200 articles in literacy education. Her books Reading Diagnosis Kit, Complete Reading Disabilities Handbook and Alternative Assessment Techniques for Reading and Writing (Prentice Hall) all were best-sellers in the field. In May, 1998, she received the 1998 Outstanding Contribution to Education Award from Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, where she received her Bachelor and Masters degrees. Her special interests are emergent literacy, literacy assessment, reading comprehension, and teaching literacy to children with special needs.