Reclaiming Early Childhood Literacies: Narratives of Hope, Power, and Vision

At a time when literacy has become more of a political issue than a research or pedagogical one, this volume refocuses attention on work with young children that places them at the center of their literacy worlds. Drawing on robust and growing knowledge which is often marginalized because of political and legislative forces, it explores young children’s literacies as inclusive, redefined, and broadened—encompassing technologies, the arts, multiple modalities, and teaching and learning for democracy, cultural sustainability and social justice. Highlighted themes include children’s rights to grow through playful engagements with multiple literacies to interrogate their worlds; adults who expand and inspire children’s consciousness and awareness of others and the world around them; the centrality of meaning making in all aspects of language and literacy development; a deep respect for diversities, including languages, cultures, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and more; and an expansive understanding of the nature of texts.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Reclaiming Early Childhood Literacies Richard J. Meyer and Kathryn F. Whitmore Pillar I: LEARNING Pillar Introduction: We Use a Lot More "Dots" in Arabic than You Do in English: A Learning Language Story Jerome C. Harste and Carolyn L. Burke Reclaiming or Reframing? Getting the Right Conceptual Metaphor for Thinking About Early Literacy Learning Brian Cambourne Chapter 2 Extension: Moving Toward the Discourse of Meaning-Making Brian Cambourne and Richard J. Meyer What Complex Miscues Tell Us About Kindergarteners’ Making Sense of Print Alan D. Flurkey and David P. Schultz Chapter 3 Extension: Text Matters: Predictable and Decodable Texts Prisca Martens Take That Ronald! Disrupting Gender Role Binaries with Powerful Picturebooks Kathryn F. Whitmore and Christie Angleton Chapter 4 Extension: Innocence, Intersectionality, and Normativity: Choosing Powerful Picturebooks About Gender Diversity Scott Ritchie Toddlers, Touchscreens, and Tablet Technologies: Learning "Concepts Beyond Print" Karen E. Wohlwend Chapter 5 Extension: Digital Observers, Explorers, and Teachers in Preschool Kathryn F. Whitmore and Emily L. Zuccaro Pillar II: TEACHING Pillar Introduction: Noisy ‘E’s’: A Language Story about Teaching Jerome C. Harste and Carolyn L. Burke "Doin’ School in the Orchard": Reclaiming and Nurturing Kids’ Connection to Nature Through Ecological Literacy M. Ruth Davenport Chapter 6 Extension: A Year of Rich Learning for a Young Child Christine Sims and Richard J. Meyer The Search for Joy and the Realities of Wounds in Early Literacy Krystal Wood-Kofonow and Richard J. Meyer Chapter 7 Extension: Amy and George: Wounds and Joy in Literacy Lives Renita R. Schmidt and Meg M. Jacobs Infusing Meaning and Joy back into Books: Reclaiming Literacy in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Holly L. Damico, Jack S. Damico, Ryan L. Nelson, Christine Weill, and Jamie Maxwell Chapter 8 Extension: Beginning the Lifelong Journey of Language and Literacy in Very Young Children Michael L. Shaw Pillar III: CURRICULUM Pillar Introduction: Close Reading: A Curriculum Language Story Jerome C. Harste and Carolyn L. Burke Designing Literacy Curriculum: Teaching Literacy as Response to Learning Kenneth S. Goodman and Yetta M. Goodman Chapter 9 Extension: Designing Curriculum in Response to Max’s and Zachary’s Learning Alan D. Flurkey and Kathryn F. Whitmore First Grade Children Discover the Power of Expression by Creating Descriptive Drawings S. Rebecca Leigh Chapter 10 Extension: Art and Writing in Kindergarten Inquiry Allen Koshewa Reclaiming Early Literacies by Learning about Self and Others through Global Literature and Art Prisca Martens, Ray Martens, Jenna Loomis, Michelle Hassay Doyle, Laura Fuhrman, Christie Furnari, Elizabeth Soper, and Robbie Stout Chapter 11 Extension: Creating Global Understandings Through Play Kathy G. Short and María V. Acevedo Two Curricular Worlds: Home and School Koomi Kim and Richard J. Meyer Chapter 12 Extension: Merging Home and School Curriculum with Home-Based Literacy Portfolios Jane Baskwill Pillar IV: LANGUAGE Pillar Introduction: The ABC Snake: A Language Story Jerome C. Harste and Carolyn L. Burke "I got Angry Birds in my Story": Reclaiming Language in an ESL Kindergarten Tasha Tropp Laman and Lucy Jaimes, with Lisa Jones Chapter 13 Extension: Food Truck Literacies in a Bilingual Kindergarten Community Caryl G. Crowell Maybe Henry Did It! Maybe Chester Did It!: Young Children (Re)Authoring Through Postmodern Picturebooks Lenny Sánchez and Angie Zapata, with Josh Hill Chapter 14 Extension: Young Bilingual Children Engaging in Book Discussion Jeanne Fain Pillar V: SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXTS Pillar Introduction: Holy Squirrel: A Sociocultural Contexts Language Story Jerome C. Harste and Carolyn L. Burke Rhizomatic Possibilities for Writing Processes: Fluid Structures and Components Candace R. Kuby Chapter 15 Extension: Noah the Nomadic Diplomat and the Making of a School Sack Lunch Jennifer Buntjer Merryman and Richard J. Meyer Writer’s Workshop Within the Context of an Islamic School Amy Barnhill Chapter 16 Extension: Photos as Bridges into Hidden Literacy Lives Charlene Klassen Endrizzi Revaluing Novice Readers: Revaluing Families Bobbie Kabuto Chapter 17 Extension: Photographs that Cracked Open Narrow Kindergarten Writing Practices for Children and their Teacher Kathryn F. Whitmore and Carla Wilson A Cello, A Plane, and a Garden: Reclaiming the Context of Play with Young Children to Promote Literacy Sarah Vander Zanden, Sohyun Meacham, Jane Frost, and Jennifer Strange Chapter 18 Extension: Children Speak for Themselves Lorraine Wilson Conclusion: Second School as a Space for Hope, Power, Vision, and the Literacy Lives of Young Children Richard J. Meyer and Kathryn F. Whitmore

About the Author :
Richard J. Meyer is a Regents’ Professor and Chair of Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies at the University of New Mexico, USA. Kathryn F. Whitmore holds the Ashland/Nystrand Chair of Early Childhood Research and is Director of the Early Childhood Research Center at the University of Louisville, USA.