Facilitating Preschool Literacy

The contributors to this volume--representing Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and including both university educators and preschool teachers--present ways to provide for, support, and guide children as they gain a greater understanding of reading and writing. The book considers the notion of children constructing literacy, looks at literacy in the context of the home and family, and looks more directly at literacy learning in preschool settings. The chapters discuss the role of parents and caregivers in supporting a child's literacy development, then explain how the preschool educator can build on and continue to link with the home literacy provision.

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"Facilitating Preschool Literacy" addresses three important themes in the literacy learning of preschool children: 1. Children are active constructors of their own learning. 2. Families provide invaluable support in the early literacy learning of children. 3. Preschool settings should reflect the literacy learning that occurs in many homes and should provide opportunities for children to further develop their literacy. Accepting these views has a profound influence on the way early-years educators provide learning opportunities for the children in their care. The contributors to this volume -- representing Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and including both university educators and preschool teachers -- present ways to provide for, support and guide children as they gain a greater understanding of reading and writing.

The first part of this book considers the notion of children constructing literacy, the second part looks at literacy in the context of the home and family, and the third part focuses more directly on literacy learning in preschool settings. The chapters discuss the role of the parent or caregiver in supporting a child's literacy development, then explain how the preschool educator can build on and continue to link with the home literacy provision.

"Facilitating Preschool Literacy" will be a valuable resource for educators who seek a greater understanding of the adult's role in providing literacy opportunities in home and classroom settings.





ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robin Campbell is a professor of primary education at the University of Hertfordshire, Watford, United Kingdom. EXCERPT. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
From the Introduction As literacy research has developed in recent years three important strands have become apparent in relation to the preschool child. First, there is the perception of children as active constructors of their own learning. Second, there is the recognition of the support that families provide in the early literacy learning of children. Third, there is an acceptance that preschool settings have to reflect the literacy learning that occurs in many homes and must provide opportunities for children to further develop their literacy. Each of these themes is important for preschool educators to consider, and I will comment on each in this Introduction.

Intensive case studies of young children developing as readers and writers (for example, Bissex, 1980; Schickendanz, 1990) have demonstrated how children construct their own understanding of reading and writing. Reading and writing initially may be unconventional with miscues in the reading alongside scribbles and invented, or developmental, spellings in their writing. Nevertheless, children's progress is evident during literacy activities as they increase their understandings about written language systems (Goodman, 1990; Kamii, Manning, & Manning, 1991) . An acceptance of the views presented in these studies has a profound influence on the way early-years educators provide learning opportunities for the children in their care. The emphasis should be on provision, support, guidance, and the facilitation of learning. This creates a nontraditional view of the nature of teaching with young children.

Teachers recognize the very important role that families provide in encouraging the literacy development of children. Edmund Huey (1908/1972) suggested of reading development that "The secret of success lies in parents' reading aloud to and with the child" (p. 332) . Teachers may have lost sight of this dictum for a period, but it is now fully in the mainstream of educational thinking. For instance, Taylor and Strickland (1986) detailed accounts of parents sharing storybooks with their children. The accounts demonstrated the benefits to children from such sharings and also indicated the variety of family backgrounds within which storybook reading can take place.

Although storybook reading has such an important place in supporting children's reading development, there are many other literacy activities taking place in the home that support literacy (Weinberger, 1996) . It is useful to be reminded of the many opportunities presented by newspapers, magazines, and comics, letters, bills, and shopping lists; and, of course, television. However, it is not the materials alone that encourage children toward literacy. The role of the parent or caregiver who supports the child is important. Geekie and Raban (1993) noted the positive support and encouragement that often is provide d at home, especially by mothers. They also suggested that schools need to provide interactions between the teacher and children that approximates more closely to the earlier positive interactions between mother and child. This is not always easily achieved in classrooms, especially those in which the class size might be large. Nevertheless, it is useful to be reminded of the important role of the adult in the preschool setting; he or she, through interaction with the child, can do much to facilitate literacy learning.

The preschool educator will want to build on and continue to link with the home literacy provision that already has been e