Abstract
This publication is a compilation of articles published in the journal Young Children, a peer-reviewed journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The articles, published between 2007 and 2013, have been selected from the journal’s archives as being exemplary in terms of their focus on language and literacy, and the importance of this for the development of young children. The 13 articles, supplemented with an introduction by Nell K Duke, resources lists and discussion questions, provide an engaging insight into some very useful and purposeful language and literacy practices across a range of American early childhood contexts. This compilation is of interest to professionals working in the field who have a working knowledge about teaching language and literacy in the early years, as each article is about a particular aspect of literacy learning or a focused classroom language activity. As such, it is similar to a journal, where readers will likely pick and choose articles of interest to their needs or professional situation.
A common feature across all the articles is the balance of theory and practice. The first article, ‘The Daily Dozen: Strategies for Enhancing Social Communication for Infants with Language Delays’, provides a short overview of relevant concepts and then provides 12 strategies for caregivers to support language development. The strategies in many ways mirror best practice for engaging with and supporting language development in all babies and young children, but offer a specific focus for children with language issues.
Similarly, ‘What do we mean by reading readiness?’ encourages early childhood practitioners to be mindful about ways to encourage parents and caregivers to read and engage with their children using authentic experiences and texts. The authors share scenarios where enthusiastic parents try to use phonics and letter-learning activities with very young children to support their literacy development, rather than contextual and meaningful engagement with stories and family activities. The principles expressed here reflect recent research about a more play-based and language-experience approach to literacy before formal schooling begins, rather than implementing a skills-based programme when children are not developmentally ready.
Given that it is published in the United States, the book does have a particularly North American flavour in terms of vocabulary and cultural assumptions, such as the article exploring ‘50-cent word’ discussions with preschoolers, meaning more sophisticated vocabulary. Similarly, concepts such as reading and writing workshops, a staple practice in many US classrooms, is not necessarily used or understood in other countries.
Contextualized language and literacy learning is foundational in each of the articles. In the article ‘Sagacious, Sophisticated, and Sedulous: The Importance of Discussing 50-Cent Words With Preschoolers’, the significance of scaffolded and meaningful talk is foregrounded, with a number of instances. For example, a teacher might explain the word persevere when it is first encountered in a storybook, and then continue to use the word appropriately by, the say, modelling its use during a conversation about young siblings. Similarly, there is a helpful outline of a lesson-planning sequence in another article, when using a dual-language storytelling focus for bilingual learners. The lesson plan is supported by the key principles of teaching students in two languages, moving it from simply a one-off lesson to a guide for independent planning by teachers.
The strong emphasis on the needs of multilingual learners across articles is another key feature of the book, given that language diversity in early learning settings across many English-speaking countries is now widespread. Bilingualism is seen as an asset, rather than a deficit, with various practical strategies given to support young dual-language readers and writers.
While the nature and length of the text preclude extensive coverage of all areas, a facet of critical literacy, in terms of young girls and identity, is explored in an article about reader’s theatre. The provision of opportunities to discuss gender roles and children’s literature (a helpful book list is provided) and then to explore the female voice using reader’s theatre may be an area unfamiliar to some early childhood educators. This work complements that by other researchers in the field, such as Vivian Vasquez (United States) and Leonie Arthur and Criss Jones-Diaz (Australia).
The inclusion of arts-based activities in this text, such as reader’s theatre, storytelling and storyacting, and the reading and performance of poetry in the classroom is another feature across a number of articles. Given that the right to play and engage in the arts is legislated in the UN Rights of the child (article 31), it is most encouraging to see this enacted in classroom settings, particularly at a time when some policy implementations appear to limit the role of arts in literacy learning, in favour of curricula shaped by assessment and testing.
Acknowledging the importance of visual representation as part of literacy and language development, there are a variety of work samples used throughout the text showing imagea and written work. However, there is very limited reference in most of the articles to multimodality and the role of visual and multimodal texts as part of contemporary literacy practices. Reference to work by Kress (2010), Dalton (2012) and Pantaleo (2015) would have been helpful in this respect.
While a number of articles focus on reading or writing, it is clear that the importance of talk and social communication is woven through this publication, whether it is using photo-narration to support language learners, supporting writing development in multilingual classrooms or language awareness activities using poetry experiences. The importance of language and literacy development for young children reflects current approaches and relevant theoretical foundations, as well as combining a variety of innovative and creative practices, which educators can easily adopt in their own settings, making it a most welcome professional resource.