Developmentally Appropriate Practice
As you have been learning, providing quality, age-appropriate materials and activities to support early literacy is a vital part of an early childhood curriculum for children ages 3-5. Equally important is using developmentally appropriate practices for learning about print. Review "Emergent Literacy: Developmentally Appropriate Practices" and the article "Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children" (pp. 4-10, 15-19) from this week's Learning Resources. Then think about how you would apply the information and practices in each of the following scenarios, i.e., what you might add or change to make each scenario exemplify effective practices:
• A former first-grade teacher, who now teaches prekindergarten in a public school, describes his methods for "teaching children letters and sounds." He works with the whole class, "because that way everyone gets the same instruction," and uses lots of worksheets on letters and sounds, "because that way I can check easily for what a child knows."
• In the activity area set up in her home, a family child care provider explains that she wants to create a "print-rich environment" for her preschoolers. In one area of the home, there is a cozy corner with a shelf of storybooks and a poster on a wall that reads, "We love books." Another shelf, labeled "ART," holds drawing paper and markers. Colorful alphabet letters stretch across one wall above the children's reach. There are other signs high on the walls, such as "We are helpers" in the housekeeping area and "We can share" in a block area.
• A preschool teacher is frustrated that parents are always pushing her to teach reading and writing. She says that they expect their children to know all the letters and sounds and to be writing their own names and other words, too. The teacher resists because she feels that "preschoolers are too young for instruction. When they get to kindergarten and first grade, they'll be ready."
Post your responses to the following:
• Choose one scenario and explain at least one developmentally appropriate idea or strategy that you would suggest to this early childhood educator. Cite information from the Learning Resources in your response.
• Describe insights you have gained about developmentally appropriate practices for early literacy learning and explain any assumptions or misconceptions you had that were corrected.
This assignment is due in 12 hours or less
apa format please
equired Resources
• Course Text: Barone, D., & Mallette, M. (2013). Best practices in early literacy instruction. New York: Guilford Press.
o Chapter 9, "Phonological Awareness and Alphabet Knowledge: The Foundations of Early Reading" pp. 155-172
• Course Text: Vukelich, C. (2016). Helping young children learn language and literacy, birth through kindergarten (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
o Chapter 4, "Organizing Early Language and Literacy Instruction" (pp. 71-98)
o Chapter 5, "Developing Oral Language Comprehension" (pp. 99-111)
o Chapter 6, "Sharing Good Books with Young Children" (pp. 112-128)
• Article: NAEYC/IRA. (1998). Learning to read and write: Developmentally appropriate practices for young children [Electronic version]. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSREAD98.PDF. Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children" [Joint position statement of the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)] Copyright 1998 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Reproduced with permission of the National Association for the Education of Young Children via Copyright Clearance.