Language and Literacy

1
Language and Literacy

• High Scope Approach

2
Basic Beliefs about Language and Literacy

• Spoken and written language are interconnected.
• Emergence of language is a dynamic process
• The primary function of Language is communication
  between people.
• Language and literacy develop in young children.

3
Basic Beliefs continued

• Language and literacy develop through
  interactions.
• Early childhood settings that value language and
  literacy and noisy and ACTIVE!

4
Supporting language and literacy (speaking and
listening)

• Talking with others about personally meaningful
  experiences.
• Describing objects, events, and relations.
• Having fun with languagelistening to stories and
  poems, making up stories and rhymes.

5
Supporting language and literacy (reading and
writing)

• Writing in various ways drawing, scribbling,
  letter like forms, invented spelling,
  conventional spelling.
• Reading in various ways reading storybooks,
  signs and symbols, ones own writings.
• Dictating stories.

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Suggestions

• Establish a climate in which children are free to
  talk.
• Sharing control between adults and children
• Focusing on childrens strengths
• Forming authentic relationships with children
• Making a commitment to supporting childrens
  play.
• Adopting a problem-solving approach to social
  conflict.

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Be available for conversation throughout the day.

• Place yourself at the children's physical level.
• Listen carefully to what children are saying.
• Give children control of conversations.
• Accept childrens hesitations and non verbal
  utterances.
• Learn and remember each childs particular
  interests.

8
Encourage children to talk with one another
throughout the day

• Provide opportunities for cooperative projects
  and play.
• Support children who wish to play together.
• Refer one childs questions and problems to
  another child.
• Interpret and deliver messages.
• Explain the context of children's
  messages.Acknowledge conflicting viewpoints.

9
Converse with ALL children

• Make time to talk with children.
• Look for comfortable opportunities for dialogue.
• Be aware of your personal preferences.

10
Reading with Children

• As a general rule try to read with small groups
  of children rather than the whole group.
• Sit on the floor so the children can cluster
  around you.
• Maintain a balance between new and old favorite
  stories.
• Reread childrens favorites at their request, or
  at your initiative.
• Read interactively and with pleasure, pause for
  comments and questions.

11
Reading continued

• Make story reading a regular part of your daily
  routine, so children can count on it.
• Read at other times of the day also.

12
Story telling,

• Pass around a basket of props and have each child
  take one and add on to the story.
• Rewrite an old favorite story
• Have opportunities and props to retell favorite
  stories.
• Start a story with the children and let them add
  onto it.

13
Writing

• Provide a variety of writing and drawing
  materials.
• Anticipate various emergent forms of writing.
• Drawing
• Scribbling
• Letter like forms
• Invented spelling
• Conventional spelling

14
Writing

• Encourage children to write in their own way.
• Display and send home samples of writing
• Provide a print rich environment