Week 2: Oral Language and Early Literacy – Content Review

Please put a title page and cite the page

* Course Text: Oral Language and Early Literacy in Preschool
o Chapter 3, Planning for Talking, Reading, and Writing a Lot, pp. 19-38
o Chapter 4, Creating a Supportive Learning Environment for Child Talk, pp. 39-53
o Chapter 5, Using Best Practices to Join Oral Language and Early Literacy Learning, pp. 55-80

* Media: Early Literacy
o Program 2, Language and Literacy Development (approximate length: 22 minutes)
Dr. Dorothy Strickland explains key influences on children’s oral language and how it impacts literacy development.

Supplementary Readings and Resources

* Course Text: Oral Language and Early Literacy in Preschool
o Chapter 6, Putting It All Together in the Early Childhood Classroom, pp. 94
o Appendix, pp. 116

* Web Article: Challenging Common Myths About Young English Language Learners.
http://www.fcd-us.org/sites/default/files/MythsOfTeachingELLsEspinosa.pdf

* Website: Color Colorado: A Bilingual Site for Families and Educators of English Language Learners
http://www.colorincolorado.org/index.php?langswitch=en

* Web Article: English Language Learners and Literacy Development
http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/englang-learners.html

Content Review

Directions:

* Respond to each item. Each response should be concise and between 2 & 3 paragraphs in length.
* Use MS Word to write your responses, and submit your answers to all three questions in one Word document.
* Copy and paste each question within the document, so that your Instructor can see to which question you are responding.

1. In your own words, explain the connection between oral language and early literacy, including specific skills and knowledge that children develop as they expand their speaking and listening vocabularies. Cite specific Learning Resources from this week to substantiate your thinking.

2. Put yourself in the place of an early childhood professional who is the new director of a preschool. Although there is a daily routine, you notice that the teachers do not plan activities to encourage language development and early literacy. When you ask why, they explain that planning feels too teacher directed and would contradict following a child’s lead and building activities from children’s interests. Write a script (your response) explaining the purpose and value of long- and short-term planning for oral language development. Be sure to address the teachers specific concerns with examples of how to plan for language development in ways that build on children’s interests and expand and deepen their knowledge. Cite evidence from the Learning Resources to substantiate your thinking.

3. Review the child talk strategies in Chapter 4 of the Oral Language and Early Literacy in Preschool course text. Summarize how these strategies support children’s oral language development. Choose one strategy you would introduce to families and explain how to guide a parent in using it with a preschool-age child.