The article "Young Children's Literacy-Related Play" by Saracho and Spodek was about how most young children have already acquired the skills to learn how to read before encountering in formal, official reading instruction. "At the early literacy levels, young children are able to accomplish numerous transactions in dealing with text by using their knowledge of language, literature, and the world." (pg. 708). An emergent literacy prospective deals with the idea of including literacy-like behaviors such as pretend reading as a legitimate source introducing children to literacy knowledge and practices. There are also many connections between play and literacy. "During play, young children are introduced to literacy concepts and skills that require them to accept different points of view." (pg. 711). Ecological theory is about the environmental effect that children have in their growth and development. It allows children to describe, organize, and clarify their consequences as seen in their own environment. "Play helps young children learn about their intellectual, social, symbols, and language world." (pg. 715). Play helps promote literacy development, so it is crucial that children get a strong dose of play throughout their days. There was a longitudinal study, and the results proved that children with high levels of play with literacy materials in preschool were able to read signs and had greater pretend verbalizations.
The article "Sociodramatic Play and Literacy" by Owacki is about how children play in different circumstances and how they develop/gain knowledge from playing in these circumstances. Something that stood out to me and that was very important was about play, Owacki states, "As children play, they think, question, discuss, reflect, problem solve, challenge, and put their minds together." (pg. 160) Another main part of the article talked about that during play, teachers should maybe ask critical questions, encourage critical dialogue, and break stereotypes. This is if we as teachers have concerns about how the children are playing. Another thing to do is incorporate play into teaching. Having centers that pertain to the children's experiences is a good way, have some models of written languages (maps, traffic signs, etc.), and have reading/writing materials available for the children when playing. A good part of this article gave examples and ideas of literacy-enhriched play centers. As they play in these centers, they will gain more and more knowledge about the center. Teachers can also focus in on one thing in particular at these certain centers. Play is key in children's learning. It is their way to expand on their knowledge about the world they live in. According to Johnson and Christie, " Theory and research link play with a host of developmental virtues, including imagination, creativity, problem-solving, social competence, emotional well-being, and literacy development." (pg. 182) As one student stated that his teacher brought sunshine to their class everyday, because of how play was in the classroom. Play is more important than what most people realize.
In the Language and Social Development Block Play, the story gives a look into a theory of play and learning. When working with young children play has been found to be a natural way of teaching children. Children that are multilingual or english language learners need an approach to learning that is not invasive and allows them to express themselves while learning. "The goal of project approach is to foster young children's thinking, self-awareness, senses, emotions, community membership, and aesthetic experiences."(Pate 13). Teachers in one school studied their children and put them into four categories based on their social skills. They then arranged their classroom to fit the needs of each group. The goal was to help build them through learning during play and to have them expand past their group. The teachers found that by using play children can learn to develop social skills and language by interacting and listening from others. Children were able to learn while expressing themselves and learning at their own rate. I have seen this method used in the classroom before and I feel that this is a successful way to accomplish many different skills that are necessary for a child to learn. Children learn best from their peers so by playing with others they were able to learn new languages and improve on those that they already know.
This is a link explaining why play is so important. Everyone always says that play is important, but how? This video does a good job of explaining play. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5JyA0m2TvE
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