Teaching Language and Literacy: Preschool Through the Elementary Grades

Facilitating children’s reading, writing, speaking, and listening development in pre-K through grade 5 is the focus of this highly respected text, now updated in a new Fifth Edition. In it, the authors show how teachers can effectively promote the development of oral and written language and describe numerous scientifically-based instructional practices that have been proven to be successful in supporting children’s reading, writing, speaking and listening development.

In the first part of the book the authors present a solid foundation of language and literacy learning; look in depth at children’s oral language development; discuss family literacy and what children learn about reading and writing in the early years; show how to provide opportunities for reciprocal conversation and discussion; provide additional content on promoting oral language in the elementary grades and present a new section that focuses on vocabulary instruction for young children.

The second part of the book discusses language arts instruction at the pre-K and kindergarten levels, and Part 3 focuses on elementary-grade reading and writing instruction and assessing older children’s literacy performance.

And in this new edition—

• Teachers learn ways to support the Common Core Standards in language and literacy instruction.
• Aligning with the standards, the scope of this edition’s grade level has been reduced from pre-K to grade six, to pre-K to grade five.
• A new author, well-known literary researcher and scholar Kathleen Roskos, has completely revised the chapters on elementary reading. (Chapters 8 and 9)
• Many new references have been added and outdated ones deleted, keeping readers up to date on the latest research.
• Many new Trade Secrets illustrate how to apply the book’s teaching strategies to specific situations, and how real teachers deal with practical problems that arise in the course of daily life in the classroom.
• More practical, hands-on examples and activities help teachers put research and theory into practice.

"I really like the thoroughness of this book. It is written at the student’s level: it introduces key concepts in descriptive yet clear ways and walks students through complex processes of learning in comprehendible ways." - Cindy Lassonde, SUNY College at Oneonta

How children acquire language and literacy knowledge in many different contexts—and how teachers can effectively promote the development of oral and written language—is the focus of this highly regarded resource. Readers get an authoritative look at how children acquire language and literacy in a variety of contexts and how teachers can effectively promote development in oral and written language.

Teaching Language and Literacy integrates a constructivist/emergent literacy perspective with scientifically-based instructional practices that are successful in supporting children’s reading, writing, listening and speaking development. This new edition features the work of a new author, Kathleen Roskos, and includes numerous up to date references, examples, and hands-on activities for putting theory into practice in today’s classrooms.

James Christie is a professor of Social and Family Dynamics at Arizona State University, where he teaches courses in Family and Human Development. His research interests include early literacy development and children's play. Dr. Christie has co-authored Helping Young Children Learn Language and Literacy, 3rd ed. (2008) and Play, Development, and Early Education (2005). He has served as co-director of Early Reading First projects in San Luis and Somerton, AZ; Bullhead City, AZ; and Gallup, NM.

Billie Jean Enz is an emeritus professor of early childhood education at Arizona State University, where she taught and served as an administrator for 25 years.  She has co-authored several texts on mentorship and new teacher development and is the founder of the Beginning Educator Support Team (BEST) program.   Her research interests include language and literacy development and family literacy. Dr. Enz has co-authored Helping Young Children Learn Language and Literacy, 4^th ed. (2011) and Assessing Preschool Literacy Development (International Reading Association, 2009). She also served as the founding executive director for Educare Arizona.

Carol Vukelich is the L. Sandra and Bruce L. Hammonds Professor in Teacher Education, Director of the Delaware Center for Teacher Education, and Deputy Dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Delaware. Her research and teaching interests include children’s early literacy development and teachers’ professional development, specifically coaching strategies. Dr. Vukelich has served as President of the Association for Childhood Education International and the International Reading Association’s Literacy Development in Young Children Special Interest Group. She was a founder of the Delaware Writing Project, and serves as one of its co-directors. In addition to this book, other books by Dr. Vukelich include Helping Young Children Learn Language and Literacy, 3rd ed. (2012); Building a Foundation for Preschool Literacy: Effective Instruction for Children’s Reading and Writing Development, 2nd ed., (2009); and Achieving EXCELLENCE in Preschool Literacy Instruction (edited with Laura M. Justice, 2008). She has served as a co-director of three Early Reading First projects. 

Kathleen Roskos is a professor of educationat John Carroll University, where she teaches courses in reading assessment and instruction. Formerly an elementary classroom teacher, Dr. Roskos has served in a variety of educational roles, including director of federal programs in the public schools, department chair in higher education and Director of the Ohio Literacy Initiative at the Ohio Department of Education from 2000-2002. She has developed and coordinated numerous educational grants, most recently Early Reading First projects in Lorain, OH and Akron, OH. Dr. Roskos studies early literacy development, teacher learning and reading curriculum, and has published articles, chapters and books on these topics. Her current research examines the use of ebooks in early childhood literacy education. She was one of the lead writers of the 2010 Educator Professional Standards of the International Reading Association. Other recent books by Dr. Roskos include The Early Literacy Materials Selector (co-authored with Lisa Lenhart and Brandi Noll), Nurturing Knowledge (co-authored with Susan B. Neuman), and Designing Professional Development in Literacy (co-authored with Catherine Rosemary and Leslie Landreth).

Preface

PART ONE: FOUNDATIONS

1. Foundations of Language and Literacy           

Before Reading This Chapter, Think About . . .   

Focus Questions          

Language and Literacy: Definitions and Interrelationships

The Common Core State Standards

A Continuum of Instructional Approaches or “The Reading Wars”

A Comprehensive Literacy Instructional Program

Summary         

Linking Knowledge to Practice  

2. Oral Language Development   

Before Reading This Chapter, Think About . . .   

Focus Questions          

Language Acquisition Theories  

Linguistic Vocabulary Lesson    

Observing the Development of Children’s Language        

What Is Normal Language Development?           

Factors Contributing to Variation in Rate of Language Acquisition

Family Focus: Developing Language Over Time 

Summary         

Linking Knowledge to Practice  

3.  Family Literacy           

Before Reading This Chapter, Think About . . .   

Focus Questions          

Home Talk: A Natural Context for Learning and Using Language 

Home Literacy Experiences       

Family Focus: Parent Workshops          

Case Studies   

Summary         

Linking Knowledge to Practice  

4. Facilitating Oral Language Learning   

Before Reading This Chapter, Think About . . .   

Focus Questions

Explicit Vocabulary Instruction

Rich Classroom Language Experiences 

Contexts That Encourage Language Use           

Language-Centered Activities for Children          

Promoting Oral Language in the Elementary Grades

Family Focus: Sharing the Fun and the Language Learning         

Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners: Helping Children Develop Conversation and Academic Language Skills           

Strategies for Children with Special Needs: Speech Delays        

Summary         

Linking Knowledge to Practice  

PART TWO: EARLY LANGUAGE AND LITERACY INSTRUCTION  

5.  Emergent Literacy Strategies  

Before Reading This Chapter, Think About . . .   

Focus Questions          

Print-Rich Classroom Environments

Sharing Books with Young Children       

Shared Writing

Family Focus: Sharing Instructional Materials and Offering Guidance      

Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners: Storybook Time      

Strategies for Children with Special Needs: Reading Storybooks with Children with Disabilities

Summary         

Linking Knowledge to Practice  

6.  Teaching Early Reading and Writing   

Before Reading This Chapter, Think About . . .   

Focus Questions          

Early Reading Instruction          

Early Writing Instruction

Family Focus: Creating a Book Nook and Author’s Corner          

Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners: Modifying the Classroom Environment         

Strategies for Children with Special Needs: On Your Mark, Get Set, Go

Summary         

Linking Knowledge to Practice  

7. Assessing Early Literacy: Finding Out What Young Children Know and Can Do         

Before Reading This Chapter, Think About . . .   

Focus Questions          

Determining What Children Know and Can Do    

Ongoing Assessment     

On-Demand Assessment          

Using Assessment Data to Plan Early Literacy Instruction           

Family Focus: Sharing Assessment Results With Parents           

Strategies for Teaching ELLs: Assessing English Language Learners’ Language and Literacy      

Summary         

Linking Knowledge to Practice  

PART THREE: ELEMENTARY GRADE LITERACY INSTRUCTION        

8.  Beginning Reading Instruction: Helping Children Learn to Read

Before Reading This Chapter, Think About . . .   

Focus Questions          

Understanding the Reading Process      

Overview of Beginning Reading Instruction

Elements of Beginning Reading Instruction        

Strategies for Children with Special Needs         

Summary         

Linking Knowledge to Practice  

9.  Continuing Reading Instruction in Grades 3-5  

Before Reading This Chapter, Think About . . .   

Focus Questions          

The Content of G3 — G5 Reading Instruction

Reading Development Ages 9 — 11

The Comprehension Process

Teaching Read-to-Learn Skills and Strategies

The Reading Program

The Reading Lesson

Monitoring Reading Progress

The Reading Lesson

Organizing for Reading Instruction

Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners        

Summary         

Linking Knowledge to Practice  

10.  Creating Writers: Teaching Children to Write Well       

Before Reading This Chapter, Think About . . .   

Focus Questions          

The Essentials of Teaching Writing        

Preparing the Classroom Environment   

The Structure of the Teaching of Writing: The Components of Writing Workshop 

Using Technology in the Teaching of Writing      

The Explicit Teaching of Writing

Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners        

Writing Instruction: Strategies for Children with Special Needs    

Family Focus: Connecting Home and School     

Summary         

Linking Knowledge to Practice  

11. Teaching the Mechanical Skills of Writing       

Before Reading This Chapter, Think About . . .   

Focus Questions          

Spelling           

Grammar          

Capitalization and Punctuation  

Handwriting      

Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners

Family Focus: Helping Children With Spelling    

Summary         

Linking Knowledge to Practice  

12. Assessment: Determining What Older Students Know and Can Do      

Before Reading This Chapter, Think About . . .   

Focus Questions          

An Assessment System 

High Stakes Assessment of Reading and Writing Achievement

Classroom —Based Assessment of Reading Performance

Assessing Students’ Writing Performance         

Family Focus: Explaining Tests and Test Scores to Parents

Summary         

Linking Knowledge to Practice  

References

Author Index    

Subject Index