The Earliest Period of a Childs Literacy Development - Essay Example

1. Daneka’s profile: Age: 4 years old Gender: Female Languages spoken: Niuean and English Cultural and Linguistic contexts: Daneka comes from a household where her mother speaks Niuean and English. She attends a school where English is the medium of instruction, however, it is a multi-ethnic kindergarten. Learning dispositions noted from story: (Carr, 1998, 2001) Taking an interest: Ever since Daneka’s brother was confined at the hospital and she has gained an interest in medical equipment such as the drip stand and the infusion of IV. Being involved: During her hospital play, it was observed that she seemed as if she knew what she is doing as she was straightforward in asking for what she needs in her pretend play such as the drip stand, the bag of fluid attached to it, a bandage, a dolly, etc. Persisting with difficulty: When she realized that the drip stand was empty, she persisted in searching for a bag of fluid to attach to it so that the drip station would look authentic. She even suggested to put clamps so that the fluid will not run down. Expressing an idea or feeling. Her play emulated a nurse administering an IV to her own hand and this was observed when she pretended to prick her finger. Taking responsibility. She asked that a note be placed on the medical equipment she was playing with so that no one will touch it and that it will still be available when she comes back to it next time. 2. Assessment: The assessment framework adopted is the Learning Stories Framework (Carr, 2001). It is an approach that tells a story about a child in action as observed and documented by a teacher or practitioner. It is a more holistic approach in assessing a child’s knowledge, skills and attitudes, which are reflective of the child’s competencies (Carr, 2006) 3. Indicators of Daneka’s Language/ Literacy Learning Observation of Daneka’s play gives the teacher an idea of how she thinks and expresses herself in non-verbal language as she actively expressed her ideas in her pretend play as a nurse/patient confined in the hospital (MOE, 1996, Communication 1, p. 74). This is consistent with the LO of Daneka developing non-verbal ways of expressing and communicating imaginative ideas; having an increasingly elaborate repertoire of gesture and expressive body movement for communication Following her ideas is key to her confidence in expressing herself. She has displayed adequate verbal communication skills as she was able to express herself when she requested for some things she needed in her play (Communication, 2, p. 76) She showed ownership of her play by asking her teacher to write a note not to touch her drip. She realized that the note can be read by others and is a form of communication (Communication, 3, p. 78) Observing Daneka gave the teacher ideas on how to help her in her language development. She seems to be open to learning because she is very curious and applies her ideas directly to her play (Communication 4, p. 80) In her play, Daneka learned that her ideas have value and with a responsive environment, she can pursue it. She realized that the practitioner respected her ideas and cooperated with her requests. She has learned that a real life experience can be reproduced in play. Daneka has shown that she has developed confidence in pursuing her ideas further by exploring what the drip would feel like if it were on her. Daneka’s opportunity to observe her brother gave her ideas regarding the use of medical equipment thus supporting and extending her understanding of what is happening to her brother. (Indexed for Mind Map) *Emergent literacy is the term used to refer to the earliest period of a child’s literacy development, specifically the time between birth and when the child can read and write (Sulzby and Teale, 1991). According to emergent literacy theories, the child is the central figure in the construction of learning. His life experiences directly affect his literacy. One theoretical perspective in the area of emergent literacy is that children are innately predisposed to becoming literate especially if they live in a literary-rich environment – lots of books, pictures, films, software, educational posters, etc. *Piaget (1959) also has something to contribute to the theoretical perspective of literacy. According to him, literacy is actively constructed with a child’s interaction with the environment. Such interaction brings about learning, as concepts are constructed or changed, usually, differing from adult concepts. Still another perspective has been inspired by Vygotsky (1962), as he theorizes that a child learns literacy through conversation and involvement in literacy acts with an adult. This interaction between adult and child is called ‘scaffolding’. This occurs when a knowledgeable adult gently guides a child through successive literacy activities while relinquishing autonomy little by little to the child until such time he can do in on his own. 4. Mind Map for Daneka 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Inclusive Teaching and Learning 16. Since Daneka is bilingual, being exposed to both Niuean and English, I have to respect that she becomes adept at both languages because she would have to be able to adapt to her home culture as well as the culture of the wider society. I believe that culturally-relevant teaching takes into consideration the cultural background of the students at all times. Therefore, I need to keep in mind cultural aspects in all interactions with Daneka on both personal and educational levels. (Edwards & Kuhlman, 2007). 17. I believe that children’s cultures, languages and experiences need to be acknowledged, valued and used as important sources of their education because they deserve the best that society can give them. Thus, I should be able to learn about Daneka’s background and personal experiences to use as tools to make connections with her. I can use strategies that include stories about the people in her ethnic group; songs in her native language apart from the lessons given in English. Incorporating these in the curriculum makes learning meaningful to Daneka. Multicultural education using literature from various cultures engages such children in reading and writing and makes them eager to learn the social or cultural contributions made by various groups of people. 18. Detailing Two Activities from the Mind Map Shared Reading: Books and sharing stories are just a few of the learning materials and activities that enhance communication, language and literacy skills. These help concretize learning for very young children in the company of other learners who may contribute much to their shared learning. Shared reading sessions are opportunities to expose children to the process of reading text. Fountas & Pinnell, (1996) lists several benefits of Shared reading. Among them are building previous experiences with books; providing language models; expanding vocabulary; laying a foundation for guided and independent reading. It also supports children who are on the verge of reading so that they can enjoy participating in reading whole stories. It provides an opportunity for the teacher to demonstrate phrased fluent reading and to draw attention to critical concepts about print, providing a context for learning specific words and features of words, and helping children become familiar with texts that they can use independently as resources for writing and reading. Shared reading provides readers a good support system. Readers can help each other as they read the text. They can work and read as a group or team to solve problems that they may encounter as they read the text. They can work on meaning of words that they cannot understand and even share their opinion with concepts found in the book. A lot of conversation may take place as they read and they can share their thoughts and experience. As in “read-alouds”, the teacher draws the children into the story and begins conversations for children to become active participants. Inviting Family Members To Share Family Stories: Hills & Nichols (2004) posit that quality connections between the home and the school explore the worlds the children belong to and highlight those for them. Since the children’s families are very important to them, letting them participate in the growing literacy of children will only emphasize just how relevant language is to children. Jayatilaka (2001) recommends family literacy programs in school that support the practices already existing in the home environment rather than attempting to ignore or replace them. It should also empower parents by introducing them to other ways of interacting with their children in terms of encouraging their literacy to develop. 19. 20. Appraisal of Two Texts and Two Resources Used for Daneka Two texts: Fiction: I will read to Daneka the storybook entitled “When Molly Was in the Hospital: A Book for Brothers and Sisters of Hospitalized Children.” (Duncan,1994). It is a story that she will closely relate to because the character also has a sibling who is confined to the hospital. It is a story that depicts the point of view of siblings of hospitalized children. It discusses their fears, feelings and ways to cope with such new experiences and how their support helps their sick sibling to get better (Giorgin & Glazer, 2008). Non-fiction: Another book I can read with Daneka is entitled “Do You Know A Nurse?” It is childrens book written by a class of Advanced Practice Nurses taught by Dr. Loretta Brush Normile, Associate Professor of Nursing at George Mason University. It shows what nurses do, and I would like Daneka to be exposed to it because of the observation that she is interested in medical procedures done by the doctors and nurses in the hospital. The pictures were illustrated by nurses themselves, so Daneka will have a more concrete idea of what they actually do. 21. Two Resources: In support of Daneka’s interest in medical procedures and health concerns, I can turn to this resource: http://www.childfun.com/index.php/activity-themes/community-helpers/131-doctor-activity-theme.pdf. This provides me with a multitude of ideas and activities that I can do with Daneka which consists of arts and crafts, games and activities, songs and poems and a whole lot more all on the theme of doctors and nurses I will also keep a copy of Appendix F: Functions of Language in Hoghen & Wasley’s (1989). “Learning in early childhood. What does it mean in practice?” as it gives tips on how to promote different language functions. Knowing that Daneka is bilingual and is developing her communication skills, I want to be ably guided by this resource on how I can best help her develop both her Niuean and English languages in connection to the functions she can use to communicate. 22. 23. 24. 25. Issue on Bilingual Children in Aotearoa, New Zealand 26. In Aotearoa, New Zealand, bilingualism prevails. Bilingual children share the plight of their peers as they negotiate their social and cultural identities daily (Jones-Diaz & Harvey, 2007). Usually, such negotiations produce direct implications to the children’s attitudes regarding their own culture and language as well as the learning of the dominant language endorsed by the greater society (McNamara, 1997). One example is Daneka, who is exposed to Niuean which is her mother’s native language as well as English, which is the language spoken in her early childhood centre. 27. It can be confusing for Daneka to be in a situation where the government pushes for literacy in English, but does not really have a policy that mandates her multicultural school setting to likewise encourage the native languages of the multicultural children. Curriculum is usually embedded with the notion of normative developmental pathways for children’s emerging literacies based on monolingual studies on literacy processes and functions (Jones-Diaz & Harvey, 2007). Children in Aoteoroa, New Zealand, therefore are left with a system that disempowers the literacies inherited by the children, families and whanau from their ancestry, and they are expected to conform to English-only materials and resources, as well as assessed on their progress following an English framework. Gregory et al. (2004) contends that the situation neglects the complex sociocultural context wherein literacy understanding of children of their own culture are just emerging. 28. Therefore, practitioners should exert greater effort in enhancing bilingualism and supporting the valuation of cultural roots. They have the responsibility to guide families and whanau on bilingual approaches in programming and the use of bilingual staff. This collaboration with families and communities in all aspects of the program is fundamental. Respecting and acknowledging the rich experiences that families make in their children’s literacy development is essential that is why educators must strive to find out about and complement home and community literacy experiences. Such experiences may be used as avenues in the early childhood and primary settings to make direct use of children’s cultural and linguistic capital (Jones-Diaz & Harvey, 2007). This will indeed make children’s learning more relevant and meaningful. 29. 30. References 31. Carr, M. (1998) Assessing children’s experiences in early childhood. Final report to the Ministry of Education. Wellington: Research Division, Ministry of Education. 32. Carr, M. (2001) Assessment in early childhood settings: Learning stories. London: Paul Chapman 33. Carr, M. (2006) Learning Dispositions and Key Competencies: a new curriculum continuity across the sectors?, Early Childhood Folio, Vol. 10 34. Duncan, D. (1994) When Molly Was in the Hospital: A Book for Brothers and Sisters of Hospitalized Children. Rayve Productions. 35. Edwards, S. & Kuhlman (2007), W. Culturally Responsive Teaching: Do We Walk Our Talk?, Multicultural Education, Summer 2007 36. Fountas, I. C. and Pinnell, G. S. (1996). Guided Reading, Good First Teaching for All Children. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann 37. Gregory, E., Long, S., Volk, D. (eds) (2004) Many pathways to literacy: young children learning with siblings, grandparents, peers and communities. Routledge Falmer, New York. 38. Hoghen, J. & Wasley, D. (1989) Learning in early childhood. What does it mean in practice? Pp. 116-117. Australia: Education Department of South Australia. 39. Hill, S. & Nichols, S. 2004, Multiple pathways between home and school literacies, in Early Childhood Education, pp.159-172. 40. Jayatilaka, J. 2001, Family literacy: Schools and families of young children working together, Australian Journal of Early Childhood, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 20-24. 41. Jones–Diaz, C., & Harvey, N. (2007). Other words, other worlds: bilingual identities and literacy. In L. Makin, C. Jones-Diaz, & C. McLachlan (Eds.), Literacies in childhood: Changing views and challenging practice (pp. 203-216). Sydney: McLennan & Petty, Elsevier. 42. McNamara, T. (1997) Theorizing social identity, TESOL Quarterly Vol. 31 (3): 561-6. 43. Ministry of Education (1996).  Te Whāriki/He whāriki matauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media. 44. Normile, L.B. (ed) (2004) Do You Know A Nurse?, GMU Foundation, Maryland 45. Piaget, J. (1959) The Language and Thought of the Child. London: Routledge & Kegen Paul. 46. Sulzby, E. & Teale, W.H. (1991) “Emergent Literacy.” In R. Barr, M.L. Kamil, P., Mosenthal & P.D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of Reading Research Volume II. New York: Longman. 47. Vygotsky, L.S. (1962) Thought and Language (E. Hanfmann and G. Vaker, Eds & Trans.) Cambridge, M.A.: MIT Press 48. 49. 50. 51. Read More