Testing for Genetic Predispositions

¶ … Literacy Development

This chapter is primarily concerning with the stages of development of literacy among students and notes the four stages including: (1) readiness for reading or pre-reading ages birth to six years of age; (2) the initial stage of reading or ages six to seven years of age; (3) the fluent stage of reading or ages seven to eight years of age; and (4) the reading to learn stage or ages nine to thirteen years of age. This chapter additionally relates the literacy experiences that a students gains in their home including their access to books and other print publications, the demonstrations of adult literacy behavior in the home, and adults who support student literacy through reading to the student or encouraging the student to read aloud. This chapter highlights the students experiences with reading in the environment other than the home to support literacy learning.

Emergent Literacy Strategies

This chapter focuses on the induction of environmental print into the classroom including the EP Alphabet chart, folders, walks, and dramatic play enabled by literacy. Functional print connected with activities in the classroom including such as labels, lists, directions, schedules, calendars, messages, sign-in and sign-up lists, and inventory lists. Literature can be shared with children through the selection of good books, through use of library centers and effective strategies for reading stories. The family-focused reading strategies include such as book bags and classroom lending of books and literacy and play can be linked through dramatic play centers that are enriched with literacy and preparatory exercises as well as involvement in play by the teacher. Shared writing experiences can be successfully used in the form of the Language experience approach, group story-telling and reading, sharing of individual experiences and interactive writing.

Chapter 6: Teaching Early Reading and Writing

The primary focus of this chapter is phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, alphabet knowledge, instruction of phonics, awareness of print, early writing instruction and strategies used in teaching English language learners. Phonological awareness includes knowledge about rhyme, alliteration, segmentation of words and syllables, and onset and Rime substitution. Phonemic awareness including knowledge about phoneme isolation or sound matching and isolation, phoneme blending, phoneme segmentation, and manipulation of phoneme including addition, substitution and deletion of phonemes. Alphabet knowledge is inclusive of knowledge about environmental print, reading and writing of the child's name, songs, letter charts, alphabet word walls and games. In addition Phonics instruction and print awareness are highlighted in early reading instruction. Early writing instruction is concerned with the context for writing or the writing center and writing in other centers and writing workshops. The writing workshops includes focus lesson writing, writing time during the classroom schedule and group sharing of what the students have written as well as the publishing of what the children have written. Strategies that teachers can use for teaching English language learners includes vocabulary instruction and phonological awareness instruction.

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

This chapter is focused on the important knowledge of teachers concerning the literacy development of children and the types of assessment to be used including assessment that is ongoing and on-demand assessment of student literacy achievement. Ongoing tools for assessment including such as anecdotal notes, reflections of teacher or vignettes, checklists, video and audio recordings, product or work samples and there is a need to address the problems associated with storage of these assessments. On-Demand Assessments include such as standardized testing, Criterion-referenced and norm-referenced tests.