Monday, August 30, 2010
Emergent Literacy
Pick 2-3 of the following questions and reflect on them in the Comments: 1) How would you define emergent literacy in plain English? 2) Why does it matter particularly in special education? 3) What might it look like in classrooms? 4) What are some key principles? 5) How does it differ from reading readiness? Your comments are due no later than Sept. 5.
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1)How would you define emergent literacy in plain English?
ReplyDeleteI believe the easiest way to define/explain emergent literacy is to say that the potential for written language learning is present in everyone. It is a broad view of both reading and writing. Emergent literacy takes a child’s perspective into view.
2)Why does it matter particularly in special education?
Most often readiness and pre-reading (prerequisite) skills such as letter names, colors, visual and auditory representation of letters, words, sounds within words, and left-to-right sequencing are taught often to mastery in special education classes. However, many children with severe impairments never experience actual reading and writing because they cannot master the prerequisite skills. Emergent literacy matters particularly in special education because it would offer an alternative way to introduce reading and writing to students through each child’s perspective.
3)How does it differ from reading readiness?
Emergent literacy research is different from reading readiness in at least two important ways. Emergent literacy takes a broader view in considering both reading and writing. It also attempts to understand literacy development from the child's perspective. Children's early attempts at literacy are considered protoreading and protowriting rather than pre-literacy. In school-based reading readiness programs children are taught the conventional skills of literacy such as letter names, colors, visual and auditory representation of letters, words, left-to-right sequencing, etc.
Nib is Mary Law.
ReplyDelete1. How would you define emergent literacy in plain english?
ReplyDeleteI think that it is everything that a child is exposed to that deals with reading and writing before they master the skill. It could be looking at books, at recipes, or writing/drawing on paper. Exposing the student to variuos forms of reading and writing in different ways to encourage their knowledge and interest.
Ashley Hartsoe
2. What might emergent lieracy look like in the classroom?
ReplyDeleteBooks would always be placed around the classroom and be at a place where students could easily reach them. Computer use would be encouraged, as well as markers and pens to write with. Games that involve writing and word recognition would be fun for the students. The classroom would have a lot of posters and pictures with words and short sentences on them. Students would be exposed to writing and reading in as many ways as possible.
I would define emergent literacy as the growing adaptations that begin to show in a child's actions and thought patterns as they move in the stages of their life from the stage in which they are not able to read and write into the stage in which they are able to read and write. It is a process which will begin with the child becoming interested in looking at pictures, trying to write letters or words and the process will end with conventional reading and writing.
ReplyDeleteEmergent literacy matters in special education because children with disabilities are sometimes deemed unable and they don't receive the natural learning opportunities as most children who are non disabled.
Emergent literacy in the special ed classroom should look the same as in the regular ed classroom with regular activity over an extended period of time.
1) How would you define emergent literacy in plain English? Emergent Literacy to me is all the ways that people communicate. I know that we talk about children and their emerging literacy, but their are many people of all age groups who have emerging literacy. They could have had a stroke or accident, or be a person who speaks a language not typical in the area they live. I think that all these are types of emerging literacy.
ReplyDelete2) Why does it matter particularly in special education? In Special Education not all students are verbal. When most people speak of literacy they think of how people talk. Literacy to me is how people can and do communicate, verbally and non verbally. The way people present themselves, in my opinion is a type of litercy. If someone comes charging at me, I understand that I need to get out of the way.
3) What might it look like in classrooms? How students interact with each other. How students present, position and carry themselves.
1) How would you define emergent literacy?
ReplyDeleteEmergent literacy is the developmental process that begins at birth whereby children
acquire the foundation for reading and writing or literacy. The development of
emergent literacy begins at birth as communication and language develop within socialinteractions and continues through every day exposure to literacy activities.
2) Why does it particurlay matter in Special Education?
The development of early literacy skills can provide important advantages for children with special needs. Special Education teachers should not assume that if a child cannot talk, she cannot learn to read. For some children with special needs, literacy skills can provide support for communication.
3) How does it differ from reading readiness?
Emergent literacy suggests that the development of literacy is taking place within the child. It also suggests that it is a gradual process and will take place over time. In contrast, reading readiness suggests that there is a point in time when a child is ready to begin to learn to read and write.
1. How would you define emeregent literacy in plain English? I believe that every child has the ability for emergent literacy.This is where every child has the opportunity to hear the words, to look at books, and to be able to scribble things even if it does not make sense.
ReplyDelete2.What might is look like in classroom? Children should be able to have access to see computer print, picture books, sound books, listen to talking, listen to music lyrics, have play dough to write in, have an ink pad with the alphabet letters to experiment with, markers, crayons, paper, pencils, dry easers and boards. This is what a classroom needs to look like for all children.
How would you define emergent literacy in plain English?
ReplyDeleteEach and every reading and writing experience that precedes literacy.
What are some key principles?
The process of learning to read and write is a continuum that begins at birth.
Reading, writing, speaking, and listening abilities develop concurrently and interrelatedly, rather than sequentially.
The functions of literacy are as integral to literacy learning as the forms. Literacy development is best fostered when reading and writing are functional, purposeful, and goal-directed.
Children learn written language through active engagement with their world. Emergent literacy learning is constructive, active and interactive.
All children learn written language as a by-product of functional, everyday activities involving printed and oral language.
Rosie Simmons
How would you define emergent literacy in plain English?
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of emergent literacy, I think of all the things that we do before we are readers and writers that prepare us to be readers and writers. Babies will "read" books by looking at and mouthing them, toddlers can tell stories based on the pictures in books, pre-schoolers learn letter sounds and the names for all sorts of
things from animals to colors, etc., and even scribbling with all sorts of instruments or finger painting prepares kids to write one day. This is why exposing all children to books, crayons, paper, magazines, store shelves, road signs, ANYthing that teaches them that we have names for everything and symbols (letters)
that make the words we speak.
Emergent literacy could also mean the activities we do with an adult who is learning a new language. For example practicing different pronunciations (rolling r's for Spanish language learners!) could be an emergent literacy skill.
Why does it matter particularly in special education?
I think it matters because we need to be able to "go back" and really think about how we would teach a very young child to read and make sure an elementary student (or older) has all of those skills needed to become a successful reader. If a student never grasped certain steps of literacy then reading is going to be a difficult task for
them. It's important that we as teachers know where our students are in their literacy and remember to review with them periodically.
How does it differ from reading readiness?
I think emergent literacy differs from reading readiness in that it is the foundatiion for reading readiness.
A student needs to be exposed to the many aspects of literacy in order to be ready to read.
How would you define emergent literacy in plain English? I would define this as anything that is made available to a child that incorporates reading and/or writing. examples might be coloring, picture books, white boards, magnadoodles, books, notepads, etc. #2. Why is this important for Special Education? For the same reason that it is important to anyone. Reading and writing are ways of communication, and for a child who is non verbal writing may be the only way for them to communicate. Just because a child is non verbal does not necessarily mean they can not read.
ReplyDeleteEmergent literacy is a process that begins at birth and includes all varities of communication-reading, writing, speaking. It is the earliest form of literacy and beings with a childs first contact with written language.
ReplyDeleteEmergent literacy in the classroom demonstrates a print rich environment. The classroom will have lots of reading material. It will also have plenty of different utensils for the child to write with such as pencils, pens, markers, magnetic letters, and computer keyboard and writing programs. There will can also be lots of words around the classroom labeling different items and areas.
K's momma is Dorothea Smith.
ReplyDeleteEmergent Literacy in plain English is the process of a child learning to read and write. It incorporates everything from learning that the golden arches means McDonalds to looking at picture books, a parent reading to them, to scribbling on a note pad, and basically everything that the child comes into contact thru normal everyday life.
ReplyDeleteAllen Sigmon
It is important in special education. It gives us another way to teach students that might have difficulties with learning to read the traditional way. We can reach them thru environmental cues that could help them to communicate.
ReplyDeleteAllen Sigmon
2) Why does [emergent literacy] matter, particularly in special education?
ReplyDeleteI believe that it matters because it breaks down the communication barriers that we struggle with so often, especially with students who are Autistic.
3) What might [emergent literacy] look like in classrooms?
I'll admit, I hadn't put much thought into emergent literacy and it sounds like I should have since I have a 4 year old who just started her second year of PreK. Several of the things mentioned in the article that were used to introduce literacy to the students are certainly in use in Abbey's classroom (although I realize it isn't comparable since it's a regular ed classroom). When she comes in each morning she hangs her bookbag on a hook that has her name above it. She then moves a little symbol with her name on it over to the "Present" side of the sign on the door of the classroom. Next, she goes to the lunch chart and choses her meal for the day. She takes a card with her name on it and attaches it with a magnet on the side of whichever meal she choses. There are pictures of the two choices on the top of the poster with the name of the meal printed on the bottom of the picture. For example, there would be a picture of a piece of pizza, with the word "pizza" below it. Almost every center and almost every toy is labeled with it's name. There is certainly a reading center and there is plenty of time for her to write what she says is her name. They also sent home little cards with each letter of her name so we could help her work on putting them in the right order. I hadn't realized it, but all these things are teaching her literacy. I knew that as long she was trying to write (even if it looked nothing like conventional letters) we should encourage her because eventually she would write something that actually looked like her name. Her sister used to correct her, but I told her to just tell her that she'd written her name and then show her how she would write it. This was long before I read this article, so maybe we were on the right track.
4) What are some key principles?
I think THE key principle, or the one thing that will result in kids learning to read, is opportunity. I was shocked to read that the teacher honestly hadn't attempted to teach her students to read and write. It seemed like she assumed that they couldn't so she essentially gave up. It was either that, or she had tried some methods of her own without much success and had given up without much of a fight. It was so fortunate for the kids in her class that the researchers came along to show her how to help her students reach some successes in reading and writing. Another key principle is just being exposed to the written word. There are so many opportunities per day to attach a word to it's meaning so that the kids connect the two.
I failed to label my response. The above response was posted by Niki Humphries.
ReplyDelete1) How would you define emergent literacy in plain English?
ReplyDeleteI would define it as the ever-evolving process that is unique to each child involving their daily interactions with the world and how it impacts their progress with reading, writing and communicating. It is affected by their various life experiences with language in all forms and translates into their attempts to transfer this knowledge into effective communication.
2) Why does it matter particularly in special education?
When dealing with children with special needs, special attention and considerations need to be given to what we can do to ensure that we are accommodating these children and allowing them every possible way to communicate. Each child has their own special needs, abilities, and methods of communicating. Thus emergent literacy can prove very advantageous by allowing alternative methods for these children to learn and communicate.
3) What might it look like in classrooms?
An environment rich in written language ranging from books to various printed media such as posters and labels on things, centers where the children have opportunities for creativity and written expression ranging from painting to writing, encouraged activities such as journal keeping, and regular book readings by the teacher as well as opportunities for the students.
1)How would I define emergent literacy in plain English? It is the process of the child learning to read and write. Everyday activities that occur from birth can help them become literate. Pointing out and reading labels of cereal boxes, making a shopping list with the child, and using recipes with the child to bake cookies were some great examples given in the article that can happen without much effort. It is giving children the materials and tools to learn in a natural environment without much supervision. We have books set out in our living room for our two year old daughter to look at, and after reading these articles I am going to get better at making paper and crayons more available to encourage her writing skills.
ReplyDelete2)Why does it matter particularly in
Special Education? I think that it matters in Special Education because it often takes them longer to master prerequisite skilss to reading instruction in conventional literacy. Because it might take longer for them to get the subskills such as "letter names, colors, visual and auditory discrimination of letters, words, sounds within words, left-to-rigth sequencing, and so on" (tutorial) Special education students are often not given the opportunity to explore reading materials or writing tools. The statistic of how most children with Down Syndrome are 8-years-old before they are given a book at school made my jaw drop! I think it is a must for all children to be given the opportunity to interact with literacy materials, no matter if they have a disability or are non-disabled.
3)What would it look like in a classroom? The second article that we had when the researchers observed for 4 months and then had interventions for 5 months gave some great examples on what a classroom that supports emergent literacy would look like. Basically it is anything that would increase a child's natural learning opportunity.
Some examples some the article include:
-computer opened to basic children's writing and publishing program
-computer opened to a basic word processing program
-video painting toy
- etch/a/sketch
-magnadoodle
-glo-doodler
- peel/erase pads
-crayons and paper
- post/it pads and pencils
-wipe off markers and white boards
- small chalk boards and chalk
-letter stamps and ink pads
-manual typewriter
-letter shaped cookie cutters with playdoh
-books with electronic soudn effects
-board bokos
-wordless picture books
-comic books
-children's magazines
-newspapers
-stories with repeated lines
-books on tape
-touch and feel books
-homemade picture books
-integrateing text into existing routines whenever possible
Giving children time to interact with these materials and also to have time to get into small groups to support use of these materials seemed to be beneficial.
1.) How would you define emergent literacy in plain English? I would define emergent literacy as the gradual development of literacy in a child at an early age, the early phases of literacy development. It is the way a child interacts with reading and writing skills before thier conventional literacy skills have even developed. An example of this would be if a child is read to on a regular basis, they begin to understand the act of reading. The child may sit down with a book and begin telling a story and turning the pages as if reading, but in reality the child is simply just reciting a familiar story.
ReplyDelete2.)What might emergent literacy look like in a classroom? It would be an environment of a wide selection of books. Items that are used on a regular basis may be labeled and there would be games that would involve writing activities and word associations. Items such a s paint, clay, crayons, and markers would be readily available to encourage writing and self expression.
3.) How does emergent literacy differ from reading readiness?
Emergent literacy is the interaction between a child and reading and writing preceding conventional literacy skills. Reading readiness suggests that there is a point in life when a child is ready to read.
Heather Carpenter
What is emergent literacy? Emergent Literacy to me is the ability to communicate. This can be through pictures, hand gestures, verbal sounds or any sounds that represent a type of communication with others.
ReplyDeleteWhat does it look like in students with disabilities? Literacy is any way of communication with others. Verbally, physically or even eye movement.
What are the classroom conditions necessary for universal literacy? Having an environment where it is conducive to express ones self. Environments rich with tools for expressionism, paper, pencil, crayons, recorders, pans, straws, paper wads, colored bubbles, drums, mirrors, anything that a student can express themselves with.