Emergent Literacy Project

Introduction

Emergent literacy is an aspect included in children’s curriculum because of the effects that it has on the children’s learning abilities. It contributes substantially to the empowerment of children being active in their own learning process and it also makes them aware of their surroundings. The self-motivation to naturally indulge in the learning process aids the children to develop a deeper level of understanding of the subjects that they partake in at their schools (Heider, 2009). As the literacy levels increase with time, the children become more accustomed to understanding harder concepts that may have otherwise been difficult to grasp. The educators also have a huge responsibility to facilitate the children’s learning process by encouraging the children to follow their passions, interests and natural curiosities (Dombey, Ellis, Pahl, & Sainsbury, 2006).

This emergent literacy project examined the response in behaviour among two children between the ages of 3 and 5. The names of the children involved were Arnold, Christie and Sean whose ages are 3, 4, and 5 respectively. The response in their behaviors included relating the letters of the alphabet to form words that described the objects that they were using to perform their activities outside of class (Kissel, Mraz, Algozzine, & Stover, 2011). For example, by repetitively saying the words such as “sand” to emphasize on what they used to build perhaps sandcastles, the children knew instantly how to say the word naturally without being coerced into doing so. The interest in the sand helped them know what they were playing with naturally. Emergent Literacy project

Learning Experience Analysis

The major literacy outcome that is enforced by the learning experience brought by reading the story book is to help the children learn how to read and write. Reading and writing forms the basis of the whole education system that the children need to follow in order to become civilized adults. Reading and writing bring about a sense of awareness of their environment and gives them the power to communicate effectively with other children, educators and their parents (Dickinson & McCabe, 2001). The EYLF outcomes associated with the emergent literacy projects also involves making the children be aware of the contributions that they can make in the world. Their self-awareness increases as they continue to interact with the components of their environment (Wildová & Kropáčková, 2015). They learn to respect different children from different diversities through the appreciation of other languages and cultures. They will only get to understand such concepts through their capability to read and write. Another EYLF outcome is that the children will be more confident and involved in their learning activities. Skills such as problem solving and investigating certain matters become developed through the use of language to decipher whatever is being investigated (McConnell, Bradfield, & Wackerle-Hollman, 2014). Communicating the problems being Emergent Literacy Project investigated helps the children adapt whatever they have learned from one concept to another. The project will help the children achieve prowess in the interpretation of print sources of information that relate the use of the alphabet.

Initial Storybook

When reading the storybook, the children showed different literacy skills such as dialogic reading. Having the children read the storybook in turns and each child assuming the role of a particular character helps the children to be more involved in the activity (Cunningham, 2010). Their vocabulary also increases through learning new words in the passages that they read. Pronunciation of the new words that they read foster a better understanding of more complex words. Reading the storybook together helps them be able to correct each other whenever one of them is stuck at spelling a difficult word at any particular point. The frequency with which they read the story to each other also improved their memory retaining capabilities through repetition of the key terms learnt in the process. The memory retention of the students also increased due to the children reading for themselves rather than the educator reading for them throughout. Using pictures to relate to different situations also facilitated the learning process (Irwin, Moore, Tornatore, & Fowler, 2012).

The educator’s role in this case was to make the story interesting for the children by emphasizing on certain parts and encouraging the children to use different intonations as well. Helping the children to be interested in the story through elaborate explanation of new words and active involvement in reading the story was also a key factor in enhancing the learning experience in the children’s minds. The more the educator fits into the children’s level of understanding, the more enjoyable it becomes for the children to enjoy and at the same time understand the concept being portrayed by the book (Gerde, Bingham, & Wasik, 2012).

Experience One

In this experience, Sean was the first child to show signs of communicating proficiently. Having been older than the other two children, Sean was able to recognize most of the writings in the story book and he was able to determine the meaning of a sentence by just connecting a few of the key words in the story book and almost immediately interpreting the meaning. Through the use of different symbols and cues in the story while reading, Sean showed signs of knowing how to apply the cues that he read in playing and communicating with others. Through practising this frequently, he could also express his ideas in writing thus fulfilling the rationale of this procedure which was to equip the children with the tools to know how to read and write. The repetitive use of symbols lead to the realization of some patterns that were used in the story such as repetition stylistic device Sean got used to interpreting the meaning of certain cues in the story book (Jensen, 2011). The lessons learnt from the story also fostered Sean’s art of using verbal and nonverbal cues within the other children.

The educator’s role in this case was to show the children the initial meaning of the terms to be learnt in the storybook. By elaborating the meanings of the new terms learnt from the storybook in the simplest terms, the children understand them more quickly to the extent that they can use them almost immediately in their sentences. Given that the children are naturally curious, they will look for any appropriate situation to use the new terms (Gutierrez, Zepeda, & Castro, 2010).

Experience Two

Arnold being the youngest child in this case was susceptible to this second experience. Considering that he had just started learning how to first speak, gaining literacy skills would enable him to know when to share his views and opinions as he speaks. The story book helped him know how to shape the sequence of events that occurred in his surroundings and respond to them accordingly Emergent Literacy Project. By simulating what he had learnt from the story book, he was able to develop confidence that helped him develop other necessary characteristics such as creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, reflexivity, cooperation, imagination and persistence (Heider, 2009). The spirit of confidence also spurred him to be more involved in the learning process through frequent asking of questions wherever he did not understand anything clearly. By doing so, he understood more as he continued reading the story book and in effect the confidence in his speech grew as well.

The educator’s role in this case is to help the children understand the importance of communication in their lives. The children need to understand how to fluently organize their thoughts and communicate them effectively through the words that they speak. The educator also has to enable them understand the context in which they should use their words. Therefore, the effect that the educators have on the children gives them the chance to shape their literacy levels through the way that they communicate (Kissel et al., 2011).

Experience Three

Christie, being 4 years, was at an age where she had already learnt a few words and was now starting to get in touch with her identity. Through gaining knowledge on her identity, she would be able to interact with her surroundings and other children based on what she perceived herself to be. The story book helped her achieve this by showing her what girls are supposed to do and the different interests that she should have in her experiences as a young girl. She also got to know the different groups of people that she should interact with and how to interact with them. Christie was also able to make friends by identifying the common interests that they had together. This gave her a sense of security and also developed cooperation as part of the literacy skills learnt. She also showed loyalty through understanding what to keep for herself in the effort of keeping any of her friends out of trouble. Whatever they share may be improved with their own contributions which may have been learnt through their literacy skills (Gillen & Hall, 2003).

The educator’s role in this case is helping the children realize their identity and be able to assimilate into the roles that they are supposed to play in their lives. They acknowledge their places in society through frequent interactions with each other. The increased interaction comes through the use of developed literacy skills that were taught by the educators. Putting them into practice is one of the roles that the educator serves through the giving of many exercises which are incorporated in their classwork (Wildová & Kropáčková, 2015).

Conclusion

The emergent literacy project is useful in developing the children’s character through the things that they learn in class. This makes the whole point of being literate just more than learning how to read and write. This further propels the purpose of education in that it develops character and other skills dictated by the EYLF practices. The practices are an essential component of the curriculum since they promote desirable characteristics within the children. The frequent use of activities such as reading storybooks give the impression of a life that the children would like to have in their future. They also make it possible for the children to develop their interests based on what they have learnt in the process. Literacy also aims at having the children learning through playful activities as well apart from the in-class activities. In as much as the classwork is important, activities outside the classes are also important since it is through outdoor interactions that the rest of their personalities are developed. Other EYLF outcomes are responsible for children acknowledging that they have a voice that can be heard and acted upon by whoever listens to it. They also develop independence through the airing out of their thoughts. It gives them a sense of responsibility that they need to undertake in relation to their daily activities in their societies.Emergent Literacy Project Indeed reading and writing is an essential part of the system that informs the children on who they are. It is right that the necessity of children learning how to read and write is fundamental to the school curriculum.

References

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Dombey, H., Ellis, S., Pahl, K., & Sainsbury, M. (2006). Handbook of early childhood literacy. Literacy. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9345.2006.00430.x

Gerde, H. K., Bingham, G. E., & Wasik, B. A. (2012). Writing in Early Childhood Classrooms: Guidance for Best Practices. Early Childhood Education Journal, 40(6), 351–359. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-012-0531-z

Gillen, J., & Hall, N. (2003). The emergence of early childhood literacy. In Handbook of Early Childhood Literacy (pp. 3–12). https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446247518.n1

Gutierrez, K. D., Zepeda, M., & Castro, D. C. (2010). Advancing Early Literacy Learning for All Children: Implications of the NELP Report for Dual-Language Learners. Educational Researcher, 39(4), 334–339. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X10369831

Heider, K. L. (2009). Information literacy: The missing link in early childhood education. Early Childhood Education Journal, 36(6), 513–518. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-009-0313-4

Irwin, J. R., Moore, D. L., Tornatore, L. A., & Fowler, A. E. (2012). Expanding on Early Literacy. Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children, 10(2), 20–28. Retrieved from http://content.ebscohost.com/ContentServer.asp?T=P&P=AN&K=79201328&S=R&D=ehh&EbscoContent=dGJyMNXb4kSeqLc4v%2BvlOLCmr0qep7dSr6%2B4SLKWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGutlCyq7FJuePfgeyx44Dt6fIA%5Cnhttp://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=792013

Jensen,  a. S. (2011). Early literacy: Towards a unified approach for childcare and school. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 12(3), 311–330. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798411417374

Kissel, B., Mraz, M., Algozzine, B., & Stover, K. (2011). Early Childhood Literacy Coaches’ Role Perceptions and Recommendations for Change. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 25(3), 288–303. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2011.580207

McConnell, S. R., Bradfield, T. A., & Wackerle-Hollman, A. K. (2014). Early childhood literacy screening. Universal Screening in Educational Settings: Evidence-Based Decision Making for Schools, pp. 141–170. Retrieved from http://ovidsp.ovid.com/ovidweb.cgi?T=JS&PAGE=reference&D=psyc11&NEWS=N&AN=2013-25285-006

Wildová, R., & Kropáčková, J. (2015). Early Childhood Pre-reading Literacy Development. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 191, 878–883. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.418