Literacy Knowledge in Practice: Contexts of Participation for Young Writers and Readers

Abstract

S Children's earliest discoveries about written language are closely tied to daily activities as they interact with others in writing and reading situations. Thus, one way to examine literacy in its earliest forms is to explore literacy knowledge in the practice of ongoing activity. Using activity as the basic unit of analysis (Leon'tev, 1981; Vygotsky, 1978), this study investigated young children's literacy activity within play settings designed to reflect authentic literacy contexts in children's real‐world environment. Three literacy‐related settings were created in an Even Start preschool class: post office, restaurant, and doctor's office. Over a 7‐month period, 30 preschoolers (fifteen 3‐year‐olds; fifteen 4‐year‐olds) were observed 1 day a week as they engaged in their free‐play activity. Data were qualitatively analyzed using the constant‐comparative approach, and five key features of context described. Results of the study indicated that in the course of play activities, children demonstrated declarative knowledge about literacy (e.g., roles, and names of literacy objects), procedural knowledge (e.g., routines), and strategic knowledge (e.g., metacognition). In these contexts, 3‐ and 4‐year‐old children adapted the tools of literacy for specific purposes and engaged in strategic behaviors in a variety of problem‐solving situations, giving evidence to the rich repertoire of literacy knowledge and inventive heuristics they bring to these informal settings. Los primeros descubrimientos de los niños acerca del lenguaje escrito están estrechamente relacionados con las actividades en las que están inmersos mientras interactúan con otros en situaciones de escritura y lectura. Por lo tanto, una forma de examinar la lectoescritura en sus formas iniciales es explorar el conocimiento de la lectoescritura en la práctica de actividades en curso. Usando la actividad como unidad básica de análisis (Leonátev, 1981; Vygotsky, 1978), este estudio investigó las actividades de lectoescritura de niños pequeños en situaciones de juego diseñadas para reflejar contextos de lectoescritura auténticos en el entorno del mundo real de los niños. Se crearon tres situaciones de lectoescritura en una clase de Jardín de Infantes: el correo, el restaurante y el consultorio del médico. Durante un período de siete meses, se observó a 30 niños (15 de tres años; 15 de cuatro años), un día por semana, mientras estaban deDIE dicados al juego libre. Los datos se analizaron cualitativamente usando el enfoque constante‐comparativo y se describieron cinco rasgos clave del contexto. Los resultados del estudio indicaron que, en el curso de las actividades de juego, los niños demostraron conocimiento declarativo acerca de la lectoescritura (p.ej., roles y nombres de objetos viculados a la lectoescritura), conocimiento procesal (p.ej., rutinas) y conocimiento estratégico (p.ej., metacognición). En estos contextos, los pequeños de 3 y 4 años adaptaron las herramientas de la lectoescritura a propósitos específicos y se involucraron en comportam...

Early Childhood Exposure To Literacy Skills As Better Predictor Of Reading Achievement: A Longitudinal Study From Ghana

“…Thus early exposure to literary tools has resulting effects on literacy improvement. Children are likely to use space and its boundaries to regulate and guide their own responses and to use these more intimate settings to interact in longer and richer conversation with others (Neuman and Roskos, 1997).…”

Play and Literacy Learning in a Diverse Language Pre-Kindergarten Classroom

“…But DAP's notion of learning and play may fail to educators encourage literacy learning through play in classroom settings by providing materials, including theme-related print materials -for example, putting menus, pencils, a note pad for food orders in a restaurant center as a dramatic play area -and teacher intervention through modeling and coaching to help children engage in literacy practices through play (Christie, 1994). In these print-enriched environments, children often incorporate literacy into their dramatic play, so play can be a good medium for young children's learning and development (Vukelich, 1994;Dyson, 1995;Neuman & Roskos, 1997; International Reading Association & National Association for the Education of Young Children, 1998).…”

Differences in Children’s Writing Develepment in The US and Turkey

“…By contrast, the class in the US had a rich literacy environment and everything in the class had a label; the class also had a writing center and word wall for supporting literacy skills. When children have supportive activities with a literacy environment about meaningful print, children build early literacy concepts and improve their capacity for reading and writing behaviours in preschool (Neuman & Roskos, 1997;Haney, 2002). Therefore, writing activities and young children's curriculum within a natural context can contribute children's literacy development (Haney, 2002).…”