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. This revision updates information, cites new research, and includes new figures.
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
Laying a Strong Foundation for Literacy in the Early Years
A child’s literacy development begins long before their formal education does. The skills and knowledge that infants, toddlers, and preschoolers acquire through meaningful, playful language and literacy experiences are the building blocks of their later success in reading and writing.
How do early childhood educators foster young children’s understanding of reading and writing during this emergent literacy period? Moreover, how can they nurture a love of reading and writing? With these two questions at its core, the revised edition of this bestselling resource provides
- A comprehensive and updated overview of what literacy development looks like for children from birth through age 5
- Instructional approaches that support robust early language, literacy, and content knowledge learning
- Considerations for choosing and sharing materials and for designing the physical environment in ways that support language and literacy learning
- Recommendations for developmentally appropriate books that engage children’s minds and imaginations
- Authentic writing samples that showcase young children’s thinking around and explorations with mark making
Grounded in new research and drawn from the authors’ extensive experience, this book gives educators the tools they need to create and build on learning opportunities that will lead to thriving, motivated readers and writers.
