Organizing The Early Literacy Classroom

Filled with clear explanations and doable strategies, this book helps PreK-2 teachers juggle the demands of planning effective instruction and creating a literacy-rich classroom environment. Realistic vignettes illustrate how to set goals, develop standards-based curricula and assessments, establish routines, and organize the classroom space and the daily schedule. The authors demonstrate the nuts and bolts of building an exemplary classroom library and professional teaching library, collaborating as a team with other teachers and specialists, preparing report cards, and communicating with families. Several reproducible forms can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

Tens of thousands of K–3 teachers have relied on this book--now revised and expanded with more than 50% new material--to plan and deliver effective literacy instruction tailored to each student's needs. The authors provide a detailed framework for implementing differentiated small-group instruction over multiweek cycles. Each component of the beginning reading program is addressed--phonological awareness, word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. In a large-size format for easy photocopying, the book includes dozens of reproducible lesson plans, instructional activities, assessment forms, and other tools. Purchasers get access to a webpage where they can download and print the reproducible materials. New in 2024: An online-only Study Guide by Sharon Walpole presents commentary and discussion questions for each chapter from a science-of-reading perspective--available for download at www.guilford.com/walpole-studyguide. New to This Edition *Differentiation 2.0: the approach has been fine-tuned based on field testing, new research findings, and current standards and response-to-intervention frameworks. *Many additional reproducible tools, such as coaching templates and the Informal Decoding Inventory. *Beyond lesson plans and materials, the second edition offers more guidance for designing instruction and grouping students, making it a one-stop resource. *Reproducible tools now available to download and print. An NCTQ Exemplary Text for Reading Instruction

Early literacy instruction is one of the most fundamental goals of schooling, and one that sets the stage for students' lifelong learning and success. The text encompasses standards for early literacy instruction, instructional strategies, alternative assessment procedures, strategies for making program connections, and ways to integrate children's home literacy into the classroom. Each chapter opens with vignettes to emphasize key points in the text, and offers instruction on how teachers can create classrooms that immerse children in theoretically-sound, meaningful literacy though events, lessons, and activities. This engaging, user-friendly book makes the ideas on theory and practice readily accessible to those interested in helping young children learn to read.

Create and manage an effective and developmentally-appropriate early childhood classroom! Filled with management suggestions and recommendations for young children's development, this guide provides ready-to-use lessons and templates to enhance learning.

This practical book provides pre- and inservice teachers with an understanding of how math can be learned through play. The author helps teachers to recognize the mathematical learning that occurs during play, to develop strategies for mathematizing that play, and to design formal lessons that make connections between mathematics and play. Common Core State Standards are addressed throughout the text to demonstrate the ways in which play is critical to standards-based mathematics teaching, and to help teachers become more familiar with these standards. Classroom examples illustrate that, unlike most formal tasks, play offers children opportunities to solve nonroutine problems and to demonstrate a variety of mathematical ways of thinking—such as perseverance and attention to precision. This book will help put play back into the early childhood classroom where it belongs. Book Features: Makes explicit connections to play and the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics. Offers many examples of free play activities in which mathematics can be highlighted, as well as formal lessons that are inspired by play. Provides strategies for making assessments more playful, helping teachers meet increasing demands for assessment data while also reducing child stress. Includes highlight boxes with recommended resources, questions for reflection, key research findings, vocabulary, lesson plan templates, and more. “This is one of those books that I wish I had written. It is smart, readable, relevant, and authentically focused on children.” —From the Foreword by Elizabeth Graue, Sorenson Professor of Early Childhood Education, University of Wisconsin “In this deceptively easy-to-read book, Amy Parks explains two things that could make a world of difference in early childhood and elementary classrooms: Mathematics isn’t something in a workbook—it’s a fascinating part of the real world; And playing in school isn’t a luxury—it’s an essential context for learning about all sorts of things, including mathematics. Through vignettes of children learning mathematics as they play, Parks helps teachers recognize their ‘answerability to the moment,’ eschewing someone else’s determination of ‘best practice’ in favor of what works with actual children eager to learn mathematics.” —Rebecca New, School of Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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.

Most educators will agree that a kindergarten program must provide not only a print-rich environment, but also carefully organized learning experiences. This book maps out how to develop and maintain an exemplary literacy program in a kindergarten classroom. The first section of the book explores the necessary elements of an outstanding kindergarten literacy program and how to organize these elements effectively. It examines developmentally appropriate practices and the research that supports them. The second section of the book provides teachers with strategies for a balanced literacy program: interactive readalouds; shared reading; independent reading and writing; modeled writing; and language play. The book concludes with reflections on the increasing diversity of students in classrooms and how to accommodate that diversity. Interspersed throughout the book are classroom vignettes, sample activities, and points to consider when designing instruction for the kindergarten classroom. (Contains an extensive reference list and 28 children's book references.) (NKA)

"Chris Hall uses mindset language (optimism and persistence, thinking flexibly and staying open to new learning, empathy, transfer, risk-taking, metacognition) to shift writing instruction back to the writer's identity. Revision isn't a stage of the writing process but an awareness that's present through all stages of writing: What did I think before and what do I think right now? How do I reconcile those two ideas to create something good? Cultivating this awareness leads not only to students' greater agency but also skill growth (as Chris's student examples show)"--