Effective Practices to Balance Literacy Instruction in Early Childhood
Keywords:
Emergent literacy, balanced literacy instruction, instructional practice, play-based, direct instructionAbstract
Emergent literacy practices have been debated for decades between developmentally appropriate play-based instruction and direct instruction. Recently, accountability and more rigorous standards have placed pressure on early childhood educators to shift literacy instruction to direct teaching with less emphasis on developmentally appropriate play-based instruction. However, emergent literacy skills are multi-faceted, requiring flexible instructional practices. This manuscript addresses the benefits of implementing both play-based and direct instructional practices to balance literacy instruction. Educators should implement a balanced approach to literacy instruction to meet the developmental needs of children and the academic demands of the standards.
Keywords: Emergent literacy, balanced literacy instruction, instructional practice, play-based, direct instruction
References
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Park, J. (2019). A Comparison of the Pretending Elements between Constructive Play and Pretend Play. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology - TOJET, 18(4), 1–6.
Pyle, A., Poliszczuk, D., & Danniels, E. (2018). The Challenges of Promoting Literacy Integration Within a Play-Based Learning Kindergarten Program: Teacher Perspectives and Implementation. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 32(2), 219–233. doi: 10.1080/02568543.2017.1416006
Pyle, A., Prioletta, J., & Poliszczuk, D. (2018). The Play-Literacy Interface in Full-day Kindergarten Classrooms. Early Childhood Education Journal, 46(1), 117–127. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-017-0852-z
Rohde, L. (2015). The Comprehensive Emergent Literacy Model. SAGE Open, 5(1), 215824401557766. doi: 10.1177/2158244015577664
Terrell, P., & Watson, M. (2018). Laying a Firm Foundation: Embedding Evidence-Based Emergent Literacy Practices Into Early Intervention and Preschool Environments. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 49(2), 148–164. doi: 10.1044/2017_lshss-17-0053
Wasik, B. (2008). When Fewer Is More: Small Groups in Early Childhood Classrooms. Early Childhood Education Journal, 35(6), 515–521.
What Works Clearinghouse (ED). (2012). Phonological Awareness Training. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report. In What Works Clearinghouse. What Works Clearinghouse.
Bolduc, J. (2008). The Effects of Music Instruction on Emergent Literacy Capacities among Preschool Children: A Literature Review. Early Childhood Research & Practice, 10(1).
Bowyer-Crane, C., Snowling, M. J., Duff, F. J., Fieldsend, E., Carroll, J. M., Miles, J., … Hulme, C. (2008). Improving early language and literacy skills: differential effects of an oral language versus a phonology with reading intervention. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49(4), 422–432. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01849.x
Byington, T. A., & Kim, Y. (2017). Promoting Preschoolers’ Emergent Writing. YC: Young Children, 72(5), 74–82.
Cavanaugh, D. M., Clemence, K. J., Teale, M. M., Rule, A. C., & Montgomery, S. E. (2016). Kindergarten Scores, Storytelling, Executive Function, and Motivation Improved through Literacy-Rich Guided Play. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45(6), 831–843. doi: 10.1007/s10643-016-0832-8
Chambers, B., Cheung, A. C., & Slavin, R. E. (2016). Literacy and language outcomes of comprehensive and developmental-constructivist approaches to early childhood education: A systematic review. Educational Research Review, 18, 88–111. doi: 10.1016/j.edurev.2016.03.003
Clay, M. M. (1966). Emergent reading behaviour (Phd dissertation), ResearchSpace@ Auckland).
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, DHHS. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read: Reports of the Subgroups (00-4754). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Guirguis, R. (2018). Should We Let Them Play? Three Key Benefits of Play to Improve Early Childhood Programs. International Journal of Education and Practice, 6(1), 43–49.
Hall, A. H., Simpson, A., Guo, Y., & Wang, S. (2015). Examining the Effects of Preschool Writing Instruction on Emergent Literacy Skills: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Literacy Research and Instruction, 54(2), 115–134. doi: 10.1080/19388071.2014.991883
Heppner, D. H. (2016). ‘Then what happened?’ Studying emergent literacy in the narrative play of preschool children. Language and Education, 30(5), 459–477. doi: 10.1080/09500782.2016.1141933
Hilbert, D. D., & Eis, S. D. (2013). Early Intervention for Emergent Literacy Development in a Collaborative Community Pre-Kindergarten. Early Childhood Education Journal, 42(2), 105–113. doi: 10.1007/s10643-013-0588-3
Husband, T. (2014). Urban Early Childhood Educators’ Perceptions of the Impact of NCLB on Their Literacy Practices. Journal of Curriculum and Teaching, 3(1), 47–53.
Justice LM, Kaderavek JN, Fan X, Sofka A, & Hunt A. (2009). Accelerating preschoolers’ early literacy development through classroom-based teacher-child storybook reading and explicit print referencing. Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools, 40(1), 67–85. https://doi.org/0161-1461(2008/07-0098)
Lefebvre, P., Trudeau, N., & Sutton, A. (2011). Enhancing Vocabulary, Print Awareness and Phonological Awareness through Shared Storybook Reading with Low-Income Preschoolers. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 11(4), 453–479.
Loftus-Rattan, S. M., Mitchell, A. M., & Coyne, M. D. (2016). Direct Vocabulary Instruction in Preschool: A Comparison of Extended Instruction, Embedded Instruction, and Incidental Exposure. The Elementary School Journal, 116(3), 391–410. doi: 10.1086/684828
Lovelace, S., & Stewart, S. R. (2007). Increasing Print Awareness in Preschoolers with Language Impairment Using Non-Evocative Print Referencing. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 38(1), 16–30.
National Early Literacy Panel. (2008). Developing early literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel. Washington, DC: National Institute for Literacy.
Neuman, S. B., & Roskos, K. (1997). Literacy Knowledge in Practice: Contexts of Participation for Young Writers and Readers. Reading Research Quarterly, 32(1), 10–32. doi: 10.1598/rrq.32.1.2
Neumann, M. M. (2014). Using environmental print to foster emergent literacy in children from a low-SES community. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29(3), 310–318. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.03.005
Nicolopoulou, A., Cortina, K. S., Ilgaz, H., Cates, C. B., & Sá, A. B. D. (2015). Using a narrative- and play-based activity to promote low-income preschoolers’ oral language, emergent literacy, and social competence. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 31, 147–162. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2015.01.006
Paige, D. D., Rupley, W. H., Smith, G. S., Olinger, C., & Leslie, M. (2018). Acquisition of Letter Naming Knowledge, Phonological Awareness, and Spelling Knowledge of Kindergarten Children at Risk for Learning to Read. Child Development Research, 2018, 1–10. doi: 10.1155/2018/2142894
Park, J. (2019). A Comparison of the Pretending Elements between Constructive Play and Pretend Play. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology - TOJET, 18(4), 1–6.
Pyle, A., Poliszczuk, D., & Danniels, E. (2018). The Challenges of Promoting Literacy Integration Within a Play-Based Learning Kindergarten Program: Teacher Perspectives and Implementation. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 32(2), 219–233. doi: 10.1080/02568543.2017.1416006
Pyle, A., Prioletta, J., & Poliszczuk, D. (2018). The Play-Literacy Interface in Full-day Kindergarten Classrooms. Early Childhood Education Journal, 46(1), 117–127. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-017-0852-z
Rohde, L. (2015). The Comprehensive Emergent Literacy Model. SAGE Open, 5(1), 215824401557766. doi: 10.1177/2158244015577664
Terrell, P., & Watson, M. (2018). Laying a Firm Foundation: Embedding Evidence-Based Emergent Literacy Practices Into Early Intervention and Preschool Environments. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 49(2), 148–164. doi: 10.1044/2017_lshss-17-0053
Wasik, B. (2008). When Fewer Is More: Small Groups in Early Childhood Classrooms. Early Childhood Education Journal, 35(6), 515–521.
What Works Clearinghouse (ED). (2012). Phonological Awareness Training. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report. In What Works Clearinghouse. What Works Clearinghouse.
Published
2020-10-16
How to Cite
Managhan, E. (2020). Effective Practices to Balance Literacy Instruction in Early Childhood . Learning to Teach Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies Through Research and Practice, 9(1). Retrieved from https://openjournals.utoledo.edu/index.php/learningtoteach/article/view/375
Issue
Section
Section on Language Arts
