Helping Young Children Learn Language and Literacy: Birth Through Kindergarten

The unique focus of this book integrates constructivist learning, diversity, and instruction-based assessment, and helps translate principles into practice for teachers of early literacy.   The book begins with a brief overview of the recent key national policies and initiatives that have had a significant impact on the teaching of reading and writing at the preschool level. Renowned and respected authors Vukelich, Christie, and Enz describe a continuum of approaches to reading instruction, ranging from emergent literacy to Scientifically-Based Reading Research. They also present their vision of a “blended” approach to teaching literacy that includes the best elements of these diverging views. The authors end this introduction with a set of principles to guide the effective teaching of literacy in preschool and kindergarten classrooms.   A Letter to Students from the Authors Dear Student,   Helping Young Children Learn Language and Literacy, 2nd edition, is about teaching the language arts –about facilitating reading, writing, speaking, and listening development for children, ages birth through kindergarten.  It is intended for preservice and inservice preschool and kindergarten teachers and administrators. The first edition of our book was written in late 1990s and was heavily influenced by the emergent literacy perspective that was dominant at the time.  This constructivist view maintains that the best way to teach early literacy is to provide settings and experiences that provide rich, meaningful experiences with language and print.  Key emergent literacy strategies include extended classroom discourse, print-rich environments, shared reading, shared writing, and literacy-enriched play. We still believe that these strategies form the core of an effective early literacy program.  However, over that past decade, a series of significant national educational events have impacted early literacy education, including the standards movement, No Child Left Behind legislation, and the use of scientifically-based reading research to make curricular and instructional decisions. The new second edition of our book reflects these important new trends and explains how this new skills-based approach to literacy instruction can be integrated with the earlier constructivist perspective. We advocate blending scientifically-based reading research with the emergent literacy perspective to create a `value added’ approach to language and literacy teaching and learning.  The second edition contains new content focusing on the “core” knowledge and skills that young children must have to become successful readers: oral vocabulary, phonological awareness, and alphabet knowledge. Vignettes demonstrate how these skills are directly and systematically taught to young children.  We also provide examples of how emergent literacy strategies such as shared reading and shared writing are being used in these same classrooms.   We believe that this type of balanced approach to early literacy instruction is the best way to prepare young children to become successful readers and writers.   We think that you will find our book to be very user friendly.  We provide definitions for key terms and study questions at the beginnings of each chapter and concise summaries at the end.  We provide many vignettes, case studies, and “trade secret” examples from master teachers to make learning and teaching come to life.  Each chapter ends with a “Linking Knowledge to Practice” feature that helps connect research and theory with the practices that you will observe in preschool and kindergarten classrooms.   We hope our text finds its way into your professional library and will become a helpful resource for you as you develop or continue your development as a professional educator.   Sincerely,     Carol, Jim, and Billie      

Table of Contents:
CHAPTER 1 EARLY LITERACY POLICY INITIATIVES           Before reading this chapter, think about...     Focus Questions     Language and Literacy: Definitions and Interrelationships     National Literacy Policies and Initiatives The Standards Movement Good Start, Grow Smart Early Reading First Using Scientifically-based Reading Research to Make Curricular and Instructional Decisions A Continuum of Instructional Approaches Emergent Literacy Approach Scientifically-Based Reading Research (SBRR) Approach Blended Instruction — A “Value Added” Approach A Blended Literacy Instructional Program Summary     Linking Knowledge to Practice       CHAPTER 2  Oral Language Development         Before reading this chapter, think about...     Focus Questions     Perspectives on Children’s Language Acquisition     Behaviorist Perspective     Linguistic Nativist Perspective     Social-Interactionist Perspective     A Neuro-Biological Perspective     Linguistic Vocabulary Lesson     Phonology     Morphology     Syntax     Semantics     Pragmatics     Observing the Development of Children’s Language     A Biological View of Development     A Social-Interactionist View of Language Development     What Is Normal Language Development?     Factors Contributing to Variation in Rate of Language Acquisition     Gender Differences    Socioeconomic Level     Cultural Influences     Medical Concerns     Congenital Language Disorders     Disfluency     Pronunciation     Summary     Linking Knowledge to Practice     CHAPTER 3  Facilitating Oral Language Learning      Before reading this chapter, think about...     Focus Questions     Home Talk: A Natural Context for Learning and Using Language     Encouraging Personal Narratives     Reading Storybooks     Television as a Language Tool     Time    4 Choosing Programming for Young Children     Active Viewing     School Talk: A Structured Context for Learning and Using Language     Language Opportunities in School     Teacher Discourse     Reciprocal Discussions and Conversations     Contexts for Encouraging Language     Group Activities     Learning Centers     Dramatic Play     Language-Centered Activities     Sharing     Storytelling    Language Play     Songs and Finger Plays     Assessment: Finding Out What Children Know and Can Do     Summary     Linking Knowledge to Practice               CHAPTER 4 Sharing Good Books with Young Children       Before reading this chapter, think about...     Focus Questions     Making Books Accessible to Young Children    Classroom Library Centers     Books     Physical Characteristics     Classroom Lending Library     Sharing Literature with Children     Effective Story-Reading Techniques     Adult Behaviors While Reading     Child Behaviors During Reading     Cultural Variations in Story Reading     Classroom Read-Alouds     Shared Book Experience     Extending Literature     Creative Dramatics     Puppets     Cooking     Felt or Flannel Boards and Characters     Art Projects     Writing     Author Study     Assessment: Discovering What Children Know and Can Do     Summary     Linking Knowledge to Practice         CHAPTER 5  Earlier Views: Readiness and Emergent Literacy    Before reading this chapter, think about...     Focus Questions     Traditional Readiness View Emergent Literacy     Concepts about Print     Purpose and Functions of Print    Graphic Awareness     Conventions of Print    Early Forms of Reading and Writing    Emergent Writing     Emergent Reading     Home Literacy Experiences     Access to Print and Books     Adult Demonstrations of Literacy Behavior     Supportive Adults    Independent Engagements with Literacy     Storybook Reading     Learning Literacy in a Second Language Summary     Linking Knowledge to Practice     CHAPTER 6  Emergent Literacy Strategies       Before reading this chapter, think about...     Focus Questions     Functional Literacy Activities     Environmental Print    Functional Print     Labels     Lists     Directions     Schedules     Calendars    Messages    Sign-In and Sign-Up Lists     Inventory Lists    Linking Literacy and Play     Curriculum Connections   Shared Enactments    Language Experience Approach or Shared Writing     Group Experience Stories  Individual Language Experience Stories       Summary     Linking Knowledge to Practice     CHAPTER 7 The New View:  Science-Based Reading Research (SBRR) Strategies Before reading this chapter, think about...     Focus Questions       Science-Based Reading Research Phonological and Phonemic Awareness Instruction Phonological Awareness RHYME ALLITERATION WORD AND SYLLABLE SEGMENTING ONSET AND RIME MANIPULATION Phonemic Awareness PHONEME ISOLATION PHONEME BLENDING PHONEME SEGMENTING PHONEME MANIPULATION Alphabet Instruction Songs Letter charts Alphabet word walls Games Phonics Instruction Print Awareness Instruction Teaching Concepts about Print Key words   Assessment:  Finding Out What Children Know and Can Do Summary     Linking Knowledge to Practice         CHAPTER 8  Teaching Early Writing         Before reading this chapter, think about...     Focus Questions       Children’s Development as Writers   The Context for Writing: The Writing Center    Gather the needed materials     Arrange the materials     Computers and word processing     Writing in other centers   The Writing Workshop     Focus lessons     Writing time     Group share time      Journals and Interactive Forms of Writing     Journals     Dialogue writing     Pen pals       Publishing Children’s Writing       Handwriting       Assessment:  Discovering What Children Know and Can Do         Anecdotal notes          Checklists   Summary     Linking Knowledge to Practice   CHAPTER 9  Assessing and Adapting Instruction to Meet the Needs of Diverse Learners    Before reading this chapter, think about...     Focus Questions       Determining What Children Know and Can Do What Is Important for Teachers to Know about Children’s Literacy Development? Two Kinds of Assessment  Ongoing Assessment            Ongoing Assessment Tools       Addressing Storage Problems               Creating a Portfolio  WHAT IS A PORTFOLIO?     HOW ARE ARTIFACTS SELECTED FOR INCLUSION?     WHO SELECTS THE PIECES FOR INCLUSION?     WHY WAS EACH ARTIFACT SELECTED FROM THE WORKING PORTFOLIO FOR INCLUSION IN THE SHOWCASE PORTFOLIO?     HOW OFTEN SHOULD ARTIFACTS BE SELECTED FROM THE WORKING PORTFOLIO FOR INCLUSION IN THE SHOWCASE PORTFOLIO?     SHARING THE PORTFOLIOS WITH OTHERS       On-Demand Assessment          Standardized      Classroom-based On-demand Assessments   Adapting Instruction to Meet the Needs of Special Populations      English as Second Language Learners     Children with Special Needs     Summary     Linking Knowledge to Practice       CHAPTER 10       Integrating the Curriculum Before reading this chapter, think about...     Focus Questions     The Integrated Approach to Curriculum Design       Erasing the Seams:  Designing Integrated Curricula Phase 1: Selecting a Topic     Phase 2: Determining What the Children Already Know and What They Want to Learn about the Topic     Phase 3: Determining Ways to Answer Children’s Questions: The Activities or Projects    Sharing Learning with Others     Integrating Literature into the Study     Phase 4: Assessment and Evaluation     Phase 5: Involving Parents         Designing the Classroom’s Physical Environment to Support the Integrated Curriculum     Carve the Large Classroom Space into Small Areas    Gather Appropriate Resources to Support the Children’s Learning     Place Similar or Related Centers Near Each Other    Make Literacy Materials a Part of the Fabric of Each Center       Organizing The Classroom’s Daily Schedule: Creating a Rhythm to the Day     What Happens During Whole-Group Time?      What Happens During Small-Group Activity Time?      What Happens During Center or Activity Time? Integrated Units Alive in a Classroom     Summary    Linking Knowledge to Practice      CHAPTER 11       Helping Families Facilitate Language and Literacy Development          Before reading this chapter, think about...     Focus Questions     What Roles Do Families Play?     Language Development    Reading and Writing Acquisition     Dilemmas Facing Modern Families    Helping Families and Primary Caregivers Become Effective First Teachers     Personal Interactions     Home Visits     Family Workshops     Phone Calls     Parent—Teacher Conferences     Classroom Instructional Publications     Informal Weekly Notes    News Flashes     Monthly Newsletters     Teachers and Schools as Professional Resources    Sharing Instructional Materials and Offering Guidance    Classroom Lending Library    Writing Briefcase     Book Bags    Videotape     Schools as Community Resources     Teacher as Community Contact    VIP Program    Business Adoption Programs     Community Tutors     Buddy Reading Program     Summary     Linking Knowledge to Practice