Oral Language And Comprehension In Preschool

Before children are readers and writers, they are speakers and listeners. This book provides creative, hands-on strategies for developing preschoolers' speaking, listening, and oral comprehension skills, within a literacy-rich classroom environment. Each chapter features helpful classroom vignettes; a section called Preschool in Practice, with step-by-step lesson ideas; and Ideas for Discussion, Reflection, and Action. The book addresses the needs of English language learners and describes ways to support students' literacy development at home. The final chapter pulls it all together through a portrait of an exemplary day of preschool teaching and learning. Reproducible forms and checklists can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

"Subject Areas/Keywords: classrooms, conversational skills, early childhood education, early education, early literacy, ELLs, emergent literacy, English language learners, lessons, listening comprehension, oral language, phonemic awareness, PreK, preschoolers, read

The three billy goats outsmart the hungry troll who lives under the bridge.

This highly regarded teacher resource synthesizes the research base on word recognition and translates it into step-by-step instructional strategies, with special attention to students who are struggling. Chapters follow the stages through which students progress as they work toward skilled reading of words. Presented are practical, evidence-based techniques and activities that target letter- sound pairings, decoding and blending, sight words, multisyllabic words, and fluency. Ideal for use in primary-grade classrooms, the book also offers specific guidance for working with older children who are having difficulties. Reproducible assessment tools and word lists can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. New to This Edition *Incorporates the latest research on word recognition and its connections to vocabulary, reading fluency, and comprehension. *Chapter on morphological (meaning-based) instruction. *Chapter on English language learners. *Instructive "Try This" activities at the end of each chapter for teacher study groups and professional development.

Storytelling has long been a part of our culture, and teachers should recognize its value as a pedagogical tool. The Word Weaving program, an experimental storytelling program, includes folk tales, literary tales, adaptations, and original and true stories from the teller. In it, all stories are simply told to a class without a book in evidence. Because experience with Word Weaving techniques had suggested that storytelling provides several benefits to students, a study was conducted to investigate and document the effects of a full-year Word Weaving program. Subjects were two groups of 13 primary grade students, one control and one experimental. Teachers of the experimental group were trained in and used Word Weaving techniques. Identical procedures involving students retelling a story and then creating a new story based on it were used first in October then again in May. Four measures of language usage were obtained: fluency, vocabulary, descriptive language, and recall. Results indicated that although the two groups were equally fluent at first, by the end of the year, the experimental group told longer stories than they did earlier and also significantly outperformed the control group. Although the retelling data showed no significant differences between the experimental and control groups on any of the dependent variables, the experimental group did show greater gains on all the measures. Teachers also unanimously attested to storytelling's benefits. (Tables of results and suggestions for future research are included.) (JL)

The foundation for success in learning to read and write begins in infancy. As early childhood professionals, we have both the opportunity and the privilege to shape the progress young children make in acquiring the literacy skills, oral language skills, and background knowledge vital to their later success in learning to read and write. By engaging infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in experiences that foster oral language and content knowledge, literacy skills, and cognitive ability, we build a foundation for children's later academic success. Promoting children's desire to read and write is as important as helping children develop the necessary understandings and skills essential for learning how to read and write. Without motivation, children will read and write relatively little and only what and when they must. This book addresses four main points: What children need to learn in these early years The strategies that teachers can use to help children acquire these foundations The features of emergent literacy and language understandings and skills How to design the physical environment in early childhood classrooms to support language and literacy learning This revision updates information, cites new research, and includes new figures. The newest edition of this bestselling book will help early childhood professionals and families support young children in acquiring the understandings, knowledge, and skills needed for later success in learning to read and write.

Many tens of thousands of preservice and inservice teachers have relied on this highly regarded text from leading experts, now in a revised and updated sixth edition. The latest knowledge about literacy teaching and learning is distilled into flexible strategies for helping all PreK–12 learners succeed. The book addresses major components of literacy, the needs of specific populations, motivation, assessment, approaches to organizing instruction, and more. Each chapter features bulleted previews of key points; reviews of the research evidence; recommendations for best practices in action, including examples from exemplary classrooms; and engagement activities that help teachers apply the knowledge and strategies they have learned. New to This Edition *Incorporates the latest research findings and instructional practices. *Chapters on new topics: developmental word study and the physiological, emotional, and behavioral foundations of literacy learning. *Chapters offering fresh, expanded perspectives on writing and vocabulary. *Increased attention to timely issues: classroom learning communities, teaching English learners, and the use of digital tools and multimodal texts.