Change Over Time In Children S Literacy Development

Bringing together prominent scholars, this book shows how 21st-century research and theory can inform everyday instructional practices in early childhood classrooms (PreK-3). Coverage includes foundational topics such as alphabet learning, phonological awareness, oral language development, and learning to write, as well as cutting-edge topics such as digital literacy, informational texts, and response to intervention. Every chapter features guiding questions; an overview of ideas and findings on the topic at hand; specific suggestions for improving instruction, assessment, and/or the classroom environment; and an engrossing example of the practices in action.

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

Change Over Time in Children's Literacy Development presents a comprehensive account of young literacy learners constructing networks of interacting systems for processing information, an account extending from the time of the children's first engagement with reading and writing tasks to their development of a self-extending system of literacy expertise. To show how children's initially simple sets of responses become controlled, accurate, and coordinated, Marie Clay has drawn on research evidence and theoretical constructs from developmental psychology, neuropsychology, information processing theory, and linguistics. This book is a theoretically rich, informative, and compellingly readable account of children's literacy learning with wide professional relevance. Teachers, educators of teachers, researchers, and students will return to it often to advance their understandings and guide their work with young literacy learners. Marie Clay presents her theoretical perspectives on learning, intervention, and the prevention of literacy difficulties with reference to: detailed observational studies of young children learning to read and write theoretical models of literacy processing understandings from neurological sciences her thirty years of experience with the successful literacy intervention Reading Recovery. She directs particular attention to the often neglected topics of children's writing, visual learning, and self-correction and also alerts readers to the limitations of current explanations and poses provocative hypotheses for ongoing exploration. Challenging, thoughtful, and vitally relevant, Change Over Time in Children's Literacy Development will continue to be essential reading for literacy professionals around the world.

Understand how children become literate and mold a confident reader with this easy to read resource

Widely recognized as a leading text in its field, this popular guide explores literacy development beginning in infancy and through fourth grade. The latest edition continues to prepare teachers to create and implement literacy-rich curricula in early childhood classrooms, while providing updates to federal legislation and highlighting the impact of state standards on educational settings. Recent technology is integrated into activities used to enhance literacy competencies. Throughout the book, the author’s approach to reflective teaching empowers teachers to become effective decision makers and thoughtful mediators in children’s transactions with literacy. A conceptual and theoretical foundation for describing reading and writing processes is followed by research-based descriptions of the signs of emergent literacy and developmentally appropriate instructional strategies. The emphasis on linguistic and cultural diversity includes an array of approaches for supporting English language learners. Chapter extension activities challenge readers to apply concepts through observation, research, curriculum development, and discussion. Sample observation and assessment forms assist in determining children’s progress in developing literacy.

Designed to be scholarly in content and grounded in research and at the same time be practical and usable for day care workers, classroom teachers, and curriculum specialists, this book discusses various aspects of the view that children's literacy development is a continuous process beginning in infancy with exposure to oral language, written language, books, and stories in the home. Articles in the book focus on theory and practice for children aged two through eight in classrooms ranging from day care facilities and other prekindergarten settings through second grade. Articles include: (1) "Emergent Literacy: New Perspectives" (William H. Teale and Elizabeth Sulzby); (2) "Oral Language and Literacy Development" (Susan Mandel Glazer); (3) "Family Storybook Reading: Implications for Children, Families, and Curriculum" (Dorothy S. Strickland and Denny Taylor); (4) "Literature for Young Children" (Bernice E. Cullinan); (5) "Reading to Kindergarten Children" (Jana M. Mason and others); (6) "Emergent Writing in the Classroom: Home and School Connections" (Elizabeth Sulzby and others); (7) "Is it Reasonable...? A Photo Essay" (Nancy Roser and others); (8) "The Place of Specific Skills in Preschool and Kindergarten" (Judith A. Schickedanz); (9) "Assessment of Young Children's Reading: Documentation as an Alternative to Testing" (Edward Chittenden and Rosalea Courtney); (10) "Designing the Classroom to Promote Literacy Development" (Lesley Mandel Morrow); (11) "A Model for Change: Framework for an Emergent Literacy Curriculum" (Dorothy S. Strickland); and (12)"Fostering Needed Change in Early Literacy Programs" (Jerome C. Harste and Virginia A. Woodward). An appendix contains a statement of concerns about present practices in prefirst grade reading instruction and recommendations for improvement. (RS)