This volume brings together studies, research syntheses, and critical commentaries that examine play-literacy relationships from cognitive, ecological, and cultural perspectives. The cognitive view focuses on mental processes that appear to link play and literacy activities; the ecological stance examines opportunities to engage in literacy-related play in specific environments; and the social-cultural position stresses the interface between the literacy and play cultures of home, community, and the school. Examining play from these diverse perspectives provides a multidimensional view that deepens understanding and opens up new avenues for research and educational practice. Each set of chapters is followed by a critical review by a distinguished play scholar. These commentaries' focus is to hold research on play and literacy up to scrutiny in terms of scientific significance, methodology, and utility for practice. A Foreword by Margaret Meek situates these studies in the context of current trends in literacy learning and instruction. Earlier studies on the role of play in early literacy acquisition provided considerable information about the types of reading and writing activities that children engage in during play and how this literacy play is affected by variables such as props, peers, and adults. However, they did not deal extensively, as this book does, with the functional significance of play in the literacy development of individual children. This volume pushes the study of play and literacy into new areas. It is indispensable reading for researchers and graduate students in the fields of early childhood education and early literacy development.

Literacy Through Play is a resource for preschool and primary teachers who are looking for proven methods for preparing young children to become confident and flexible readers and writers.

In Play=Learning, top experts in child development and learning contend that in over-emphasizing academic achievement, our culture has forgotten about the importance of play for children's development.

The Literacy of Play and Innovation provides a portrait of what innovative education looks like from a literacy perspective. Through an in-depth case study of a "maker" school’s innovative design—in particular, of four early childhood educator’s classrooms—this book demonstrates that children’s inspiration, curiosity, and creativity is a direct result of the school environment. Presenting a unique, data-driven model of literacy, play, and innovation taking the maker movement beyond STEM education, this book helps readers understand literacy learning through making and the creative approaches embedded in early literacy classroom practices.

Guide to all aspects of metal framing, lathing, plastering, drywall, and fireproofing systems. A 16-page section illustrates wall and ceiling textures, and describes how to achieve the various effects. For the trade school or worker. Acidic paper. No bibliography or index. Scholars who are on the cutting edge of play/literacy research examine the role of children's play in early literacy from a number of theoretical and research perspectives, including investigations of play's contributions to early reading and writing development and applied research in how teachers can promote literacy growth through play. Paper edition (unseen), $16.95. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Current research increasingly highlights the role of early literacy in young children's development--and informs practices and policies that promote success among diverse learners. The Handbook of Early Literacy Research presents cutting-edge knowledge on all aspects of literacy learning in the early years. Volume 2 provides additional perspectives on important topics covered in Volume 1 and addresses critical new topics: the transition to school, the teacher-child relationship, sociodramatic play, vocabulary development, neuroimaging work, Vygotskian theory, findings from international studies, and more.

How can we build a strong literacy foundation for children? This book appreciates that learning and language development start with the play episodes, oral language practices, wordplay activities, print encounters, reading events, and writing experiences that children engage in during the early years of life. Filled with rich language activities, The Cornerstones to Early Literacy shows teachers how to create active learning experiences that are essential to building early literacy. This comprehensive handbook is organized around the following topics: Play Experiences - Understanding the early stages of learning and all aspects of the play-literacy connection ; Oral Language - Supporting opportunities for child talk with suggested conversation starters and events that involve personal timelines and storytelling ; Language Awareness and Word Play - Creating a balanced approach to language learning using games and activities that involve literature, music, choral speaking, sound games, and more ; Print Encounters - Discovering, reproducing, and creating all forms of environmental print ; Reading Events - Integrating read-aloud and shared book experiences with proven strategies for supporting and observing young readers ; Writing Experiences - Identifying early writing characteristics and techniques for moving children along in their writing.

This reader-friendly text examines the key foundational studies in early literacy. It addresses such essential questions as how research informs current practices and where the field still needs to go to provide the best learning opportunities for all children. Each chapter describes the methods and findings of one to five seminal studies, critically assesses their long-term impact on practice and policy, and offers takeaways for the classroom. Leading authorities--including several authors of the original pivotal studies--cover 12 essential aspects of language development, literacy development, and home and community literacy experiences in PreK?2.ÿ ÿ

This edited volume constitutes the first serious, sustained examination of the study of children s books for children aged from 0 to 3 with contributions by scholars working in different domains and attempting to assess the recognition of the role and influence of children s literature on the cognitive, linguistic, psychological and aesthetic development of young children. This collection achieves a balance between theoretical, empirical, historical and cross-cultural approaches by examining the broad range of children s books for children under three years of age, ranging from early-concept books through wimmelbooks and ABC books for small children to picture books that support the young child s acquisition of behavioral norms. Most importantly, the chapters proffer new insights into the strong relationship between children s books for young children and emergent literacy, drawing on current research in children s literature research, visual literacy, cognitive psychology, language acquisition, picture theory and pedagogy."