A guide for childcare, Head Start, and pre-kindergarten teachers
47 pages, 8.5" x 11" guide
This Children's Literacy Initiative publication is presented in an easy to follow format with more than 50 color photographs illustrating how to implement the elements of a literacy-rich environment.
How does a classroom
become a literacy environment?
A classroom which is rich with literacy is full of environmental and functional print, the best children's books, writing materials, and play spaces and activities that encourage and develop reading and writing. In these classrooms, children from every background, no matter their experience or skill level, are surrounded with the tools and materials they need to start down the path to being successful readers and writers. In these literacy-rich environments, reading and writing are not isolated skills to be studied or drilled, but are the very ground on which the children stand.
The discussion of each topic -- room arrangement, centers, reading aloud, extending books into activities, and developing phonemic awareness -- is in clear, concise language with photos from actual classrooms. Following each topic, a section called "What this Achieves" connects the individual ideas to the "big picture" of overall literacy goals; in addition, each topic is followed by helpful suggestions culled from CLI's 15 years of experience in pre-kindergarten and Head Start classrooms.Creating a Classroom Literacy Environment shows teachers how to focus the classroom setting and activities to expand students' learning by:
* Incorporating reading and writing into every play space, center, and activityCreating learning and reading spaces within your classroomFilling your room with useful printTeaching vocabulary through reading aloud from the best children's literatureDeveloping phonemic awareness using rhymeDesigning classroom themes that harness children's curiosity and teach meaningful content
* Encouraging parents and families to extend classroom learning into the home
Creating a Classroom Literacy Environment is a user-friendly guide to creating the very best classrooms in which children's learning and children's work are the focus, so that every activity and every available material can become opportunities for engaged and joyful learning.
