Promoting Literacy in Practice

1
Promoting Literacy in Practice

• Meaningful Early Literacy Experiences
• for Young Children
• Kathleen Roskos
• October 2, 2004

2
Overview of the Topic

• A short definition of literacy in practice
• Why it is important
• Guiding principles for authentic pedagogy in
  early literacy instruction

3
About literacy in practice

• learning about print through learning about the
  world
• participating in content-rich activities that
  include reading and writing
• engaging in increasingly more mature play in
  literacy-rich settings and contexts
• achieving through active learning aimed toward
  high standards

4
Literacy in Practice is different

• from
• Memorizing isolated facts about print
• Reproducing information
• Passing acquaintance with significant concepts
  and skills
• Focusing on compliance with drills and routines
• Reciting information and responses
• Meeting low expectations

5
Why literacy in practice?

• Because research shows benefits from
• integrated instruction to build knowledge
  networks
• active learning linked to high standards
• high levels of substantive talk adult peer
• ample socio-dramatic play
• social support for achievement accomplishments

6
Making Early Literacy Learning a Priority

• By focusing on
• Higher order thinking
• Depth of knowledge and skill
• Connectedness to the world
• Substantive conversations
• High expectations, respect inclusion
• Adapted from Newmann Wehlage (1995). Successful
  school restructuring A report to the public and
  educators. Madison, WI CORS, WCER

7
Guiding Principles

• Content, language and literacy are organized into
  a meaningful set of learning experiences.
• Instruction occurs in multiple settings using
  flexible methods.
• Play serves an integrative function in literacy
  development unites cognition and affect
• Learning is socially supported to meet high
  expectations. Respect, inclusion, challenge,
  effort, contribution

8
Preparing Teachers and Providers

• Coordinating time, materials, and resources to
  actively build language, literacy and conceptual
  knowledge in a rich learning domain (e.g., our
  physical world). Planning
• Creating a literate environment physically,
  socially, symbolically
• Differentiating instruction grouping,
  scaffolding, assessing
• Orchestrating instruction pacing, management,
  transitions
• Communicating literacy in practice