LITERACY & LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

EXECUTIVE DIPLOMA IN CHILDCARE & PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATIONLITERACY & LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

LEELA DEVI A/P SUBRAGASAM9TH & 10TH FEBRUARY 2010

Early Literacy:Policy and Practice in the Preschool Years

As early childhood education moves front and centre in the public policy debate, more attention is being paid to early literacy. Early childhood professionals have long recognized the importance of language and literacy in preparing children to succeed in school. Early literacy plays a key role in enabling the kind of early learning experiences that research shows are linked with academic achievement, reduced grade retention, higher graduation rates and enhanced productivity in adult life. This report synthesizes the body of professional knowledge about early literacy and offers research-based recommendations. Literacy development starts early in life and is highly correlated with school achievement. All of the domains of a childs development: physical, social-emotional, cognitive, language and literacy are interrelated and interdependent. The more limited a childs experiences with language and literacy the more likely he or she will have difficulty learning to read. Key early literacy predictors of reading and school success include oral language,Alphabetic Code and print knowledge. Well-conceived standards for child outcomes, curriculum content, and teacher preparation help establish clarity of purpose and a shared vision for early literacy education. Increased demands for program accountability are often heavily focusedOn assessments of childrens early literacy development. Highly capable teachers are required to implement todays more challenging early literacy curriculum. Teacher knowledge, respect and support for the diversity of childrens families, cultures, and linguistic backgrounds are important in early literacy development.Policy Recommendations: All children should have access to early childhood programs with strong literacyComponents that include clear adaptations for children with special needs. Early literacy curricula and teaching practices should be evidence-based,Integrated with all domains of learning, and understandable to staff members. Early literacy standards should be established that articulate with K-12Programs and reflect consistency and continuity with overall program goals. Early literacy assessment should use multiple methods and use the informationTo improve both teaching and the total preschool program. Standards for early childhood professionals should require staff to meet early literacy instructional standards. Parent involvement programs should have a strong early literacy component that guides parents and caregivers in providing early literacy experiences at home. Support for English Language Learners should be specified and provided in both the home language and English where feasible.

National Institute forEarly Education ResearchContact Us:120 Albany StreetSuite 500New Brunswick, NJ 08901Tel 732 932-4350Fax 732 932-4360Question 1Implement an ongoing assessment system that documents each child's progress and changing characteristics in a portfolio that includes screening and ongoing assessment results, samples of the child's work, completed checklists, ongoing observation notes, family-provided information, photographs, and other data demonstrating the child's progress for FIVE days.EI have been in the teaching line for almost 5 years. The youngest that I have thought is a group of 5 year olds. Among these children, there is one particular child who had difficulties in reading and writing.I took the opportunity to meet her parents and spoke to them about her condition. They agreed that she is rather slow compared to her brother and sister. Through this meeting, I also found out that this child was sent to a babysitter as her parents are busy working. At the babysitters place, she spoke very little English and did not practise any writing. Her parents werent much help as they often come home late night.I informed her parents that I would assess their daughter for a five period with some activities which would show some progress in her writing and reading skills.

DAY 1I gave her some dotted line papers to trace. She could trace straight lines and curved lines with some help (refer to attachment A). After this activity, I read to her some simple words from a picture dictionary. I asked her some questions about these pictures and she could answer. I understand that she knows basic words and their meanings. After her break time, I gave her more activities on tracing. She still needed my help. I also gave her colouring activity. It was a picture of a bunch of grapes. When I asked her if she knew what it was, she told me yes, but she didnt know the word. I told her they were grapes. As she was colouring, she repeated the word grapes a few times. Before she headed home, I read the picture dictionary to her once more.

DAY 2I prepared for her a new set of tracing lines. My aim today was to get her to write them without my assistance. She could do the straight one, but had difficulties with curved lines. I helped her out. I also introduced capital letter A. She could trace the letter with little help (see attachment B)During reading time, I used the same picture dictionary that I used on day 1. I read the words to her. She repeated after me. She had a little difficulty pronouncing certain words. With a few repetitions, she was saying correctly.

DAY 3She came with a lot of excitement today. I found out later that it was because her mother sent her and will pick her later. To my surprise, she traced capital letter A on her own without any help (see attachment C). Even though, it was not perfect, she knew the correct sequence in writing the letter. After her break time, I asked her if she wanted to read or colour. She would normally choose to colour but today, she told me she wanted to read. She picked out a story book from the reading corner. It was about letter A. I asked why she choose this book, her reply was, I like A . She now has the interest because she understands what she is writing. I promised to read her the book after reading the picture dictionary. She agreed. While reading the picture dictionary, I pointed at simple pictures (market, vegetables, and prawns) and asked her to name them. Although she could name only a few, it was improvement compared to the first day.When her mother came to pick her, I spoke to her. I found out that her mother is coming home early after work and is coaching her at home. I told her mother to take her around the house and show her things in the house and tell their names. It would really help her. Her mother also told me that they are speaking more of English at home now.

DAY 4Today, she is still writing letter A. Her writing has improved. I gave her some papers on curved lines as she is still not good at it. She managed to write the curved lines with minimal help. Her pencil grip and alignment has also improved.At the reading corner, I tested her on her memory and understanding. I used the picture dictionary and told her that she was going to read for me today. She hesitated, but after giving her encouragement, she did. I pointed at the pictures and she told me the words. Out of 20 words that I had thought over these 4 days, she could tell 15 words (see table 1). I was very impressed with her. I also read her the story book about letter A. I told her that she could bring the picture dictionary and the story book home. I told her to read the words to her mother. She was very happy.

DAY 5Its still letter A today. Her writing is much better (see attachment D). I feel that she is ready to move on to the next letter. I rewarded her with a sticker for such good improvement.During reading time, she could read all the 20 words that I thought her. I think her mother had helped her at home. I taught her another 5 new words from the picture dictionary. While reading the storybook, she could say a few simple words from the story.

SUMMARYThe link between supportive parental involvement and childrens early literacy development is well established. Snow et. al. and others have shown that children from homes, where parents model the uses of literacy and engage children in activities that promote basic understandings about literacy and its uses, are better prepared for school. Several national efforts have focused with some success on getting books into the hands of parents and children and promoting regular parent-child book reading. Tabors, Snow, and Dickinson report that efforts such as these have evidently worked to some extent, citing national surveys showing an increase in parent-child literacy activities among families withpreschoolers. Unfortunately, the increases among families considered to be at greater risk lagged behind that of other families. These researchers recommend that efforts to promote shared reading with children go beyond giving books to families to include suggestions for how parents might engage in these activities to promote conversation and dialogue. They go further to suggest that it is not the frequency of book reading or even the quality of the talk that accompanies book reading alone that is related to childrens language and literacy abilities, but the broader pattern of parent-child activities and interactions that support childrens language and literacy development. The challenge to get the message across to all parents, particularly to low-income and low-education parents, that everyday activities of all sorts, accompanied by interesting talk with lots of new vocabulary words, can play an important part in their childrens language and literacy development.Summary Literacy development starts early in life and is highly correlated with school achievement. All the domains of a childs development, including literacy, are interrelated and interdependent. The more limited a childs experiences with language and literacy, the more likely he or she will have difficulty learning to read. Well-conceived standards for child outcomes, curriculum content, and teacher preparation help establish clarity of purpose and a shared vision for early literacy education. Early literacy curricula and teaching practices should be evidence-based, integrated with all domains of learning. States and districts should establish standards for early literacy that reflect consistencyand continuity with overall program goals. At the same time, programs should be designed to provide comprehensive support for all children, including English Language Learners. In many instances, this may require major changes in policies involving standards and accountability for children, programs and the professionals responsible for them. Competent leadership in the policy arena is essential. As Roskos and Vukelich aptly state, What early literacy policy accomplishes in the next decades depends not only on the structures placed on and in settings and programs, but also on the people who act on those structures to create patterns of activity that can either advance, resist or stall change

ATTACHMENTSAttachment A

Attachment B

Attachment C

Attachment D

Pictures

Table 1DAY 1DAY 2DAY 3DAY 4DAY 5

Market

Vegetables

Prawns

Cucumber

Hammer

Trolley

Plastic bag

Drain

Grapes

Motorcycles

Styrofoam

Carton

Coconut

Hawker

Grocery

Mouse

Desserts

Squid

Crab

Taxi

Question 2Write a lesson plan on writing or reading. Include two activities in the lesson plan. Explain how you would carry out the two activities in detail.

"My Candle"Materials required: pens/pencils, paper, tapered candles & holders, matches Activity Time: 45 minutes Concepts Taught: Composition using figurative language and vivid words (similes, metaphors, personification, etc.) This is probably my students' favourite writing assignment. They obviously tell their friends about it, because every year my new students ask, "Are we going to do that candle thing?" NOTE: Be sure to get permission from your principal before using fire in the classroom. I have never had any accidents other than candle wax dripping onto the desks! I warn my students that ANY horseplay with the candles will result in an immediate office referral. 1. Divide students into groups of three.2. Give each group a candle (already firmly mounted in holder)3. 10 minutes: Light the candles and tell the students to write everything they observe in concrete detail. (i.e., my candle is red; the flame is yellow with a tiny speck of blue in the centre; the wick curls as the flame burns, etc.)4. 15 minutes: Now turn the lights off! Point out the new ambiance of the room. Notice the shadows on the wall, the glow, the mood, etc. Now tell the students to give their candles human characteristics and vividly describe what it is doing. Remind them to use similes, metaphors, adjectives and adverbs (Some of my students have written the flickering flame is a ballerina dancing gracefully; she bows to the audience; she is crying tears of melted wax, etc. One group compared the candle to a volcano erupting and lava running down the side of the mountain as it devoured everything in its path.).5. 10 minutes: Have your students write a brief paragraph describing the newly personified candle. Tell them to let their imaginations run wild. Remind them to edit and explain why the candle is crying, or what the ballerina feels emotionally as she dances. 6. 10 minutes: Allow each group to share paragraphs aloud, and be sure to praise each effort. You will be pleasantly surprised at how much effort the kids will put into this fun little project. HINT: Keep the lights off during the writing and sharing times. I have found that the students stay focused on the assignment better in the candlelight.

Follow-up ActivityMaterials required: coloured papers, scissors, glue, colourful pictures, and decoration itemsActivity Time: 45 minutes1. Give each student some coloured papers and decoration materials.2. Get them to write down their paragraph on the coloured papers.3. Ask them to decorate their paragraph with suitable pictures and colours.4. Bind each groups work into a scrapbook.5. Decorate the cover. Be sure to put the group members names on the cover.6. Display the scrapbook in the reading corner of your classroom. You will be surprised to see how eager the children will be to read their friends scrapbooks.HINT: Share these ideas with other English teachers in your school. Exchange scrapbook with other classes and display them in your classroom. It will definitely be a boost of confidence to your pupils.

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