How do we save play in a standard-driven educational environment? This edited collection, Play and Literacy: Play & Culture Studies provides a direct answer and solutions to this question. Researchers and theorists have argued for decades that play is the best way to learn language and literacy for children. This book provides theoretical and historical foundation of connection between play and literacy, applied research studies as well as practical strategies to connect play and literacy in early childhood and in teacher education. This book features chapters on the history of play and literacy research, book-play paradigm, play in digital writing, book-based play activities, play-based reader responses, classroom dynamics affecting literacy learning in play, and using play with adults in teacher education such as drama-based instruction. Variety of chapters addressing the strong connection between play and literacy will satisfy the readers who seek to understand the relationship between play and literacy and implement ways to use play to support language and literacy.

This volume presents studies and research syntheses on the significance of play in the literacy development of young children and pushes the study of play and literacy into new areas. Children' s play is under serious attack that puts it in a precarious position in today' s brave new world dominated by early learning standards and achievement outcomes. Reflecting this paradigm shift that has taken place since the publication of the first edition, this edition is organized around a different set of focal perspectives on the play-literacy interface:
*The Playful Mind;
*The Play-Literacy Instructional Environment; and
*The Play-Literacy Social Context.

Looking both back and ahead-- re-visiting previously reported studies and also introducing new inquiries into the role of play in early literacy development and learning, especially as these shed light on school readiness-- this volume mines studies that directly focus on play-literacy links as well as new studies and syntheses that take these links in new directions and to new starting places for research. It challenges play-literacy researchers to use their imaginations to overcome persistent methodological problems, to break from the past into new territories of study (such as neuroscience), to strive for multi-disciplinary perspectives, and to push harder for the incorporation of play into the literacy education of young children.

"Play and Literacy in Early Childhood" is intended for researchers and practitioners in the fields of early childhood education and early literacy development and as text for upper-level courses in these areas.

This volume presents studies and research syntheses on the significance of play in the literacy development of young children and pushes the study of play and literacy into new areas. Children' s play is under serious attack that puts it in a precarious position in today' s brave new world dominated by early learning standards and achievement outcomes. Reflecting this paradigm shift that has taken place since the publication of the first edition, this edition is organized around a different set of focal perspectives on the play-literacy interface:
*The Playful Mind;
*The Play-Literacy Instructional Environment; and
*The Play-Literacy Social Context.

Looking both back and ahead-- re-visiting previously reported studies and also introducing new inquiries into the role of play in early literacy development and learning, especially as these shed light on school readiness-- this volume mines studies that directly focus on play-literacy links as well as new studies and syntheses that take these links in new directions and to new starting places for research. It challenges play-literacy researchers to use their imaginations to overcome persistent methodological problems, to break from the past into new territories of study (such as neuroscience), to strive for multi-disciplinary perspectives, and to push harder for the incorporation of play into the literacy education of young children.

"Play and Literacy in Early Childhood" is intended for researchers and practitioners in the fields of early childhood education and early literacy development and as text for upper-level courses in these areas.

Before children are readers and writers, they are speakers and listeners. This book provides creative, hands-on strategies for developing preschoolers' speaking, listening, and oral comprehension skills, within a literacy-rich classroom environment. Each chapter features helpful classroom vignettes; a section called Preschool in Practice, with step-by-step lesson ideas; and Ideas for Discussion, Reflection, and Action. The book addresses the needs of English language learners and describes ways to support students' literacy development at home. The final chapter pulls it all together through a portrait of an exemplary day of preschool teaching and learning. Reproducible forms and checklists can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

Your all-in-one guide to selecting the very best early literacy materials!Learning to read and write is too important to be left to chance, so it's absolutely critical that the early literacy curriculum and literature you use in PreK and kindergarten environments reflect the very best research and instructional practices. But, with the proliferation of new products, what's the best way to start? What criteria should the curriculum meet? Which research-based best practices should be represented? Early Literacy Materials Selector (ELMS)uthe first dedicated evaluation tool for early childhood literacy materialsuprovides all the answers.Step by step, this one-of-a-kind toolkit will help you:Recognize the characteristics of high-quality literacy materialsWork in teams or individually to evaluate your resourcesUnderstand the importance of the research baseEstablish a baseline against which new literacy materials can be comparedAll in all, there's no better resource to ensure we put our youngest students on the right path to school readiness and success.'Teachers, administrators, and curriculum directors will appreciate the clear guidance for conducting a systematic review of core program materials. A highly effective tool for examining the quality of early literacy materials, ELMS is the first of its kind, and will be a welcome resource.'uSusan B. Neuman, ProfessorUniversity of Michigan'A much needed resource for considering features of curriculum materials in a systematic way. I know of no other tool like it for early childhood materials.'uJudith A. SchickedanzBoston University

Before children are readers and writers, they are speakers and listeners. This book provides creative, hands-on strategies for developing preschoolers' speaking, listening, and oral comprehension skills, within a literacy-rich classroom environment. Each chapter features helpful classroom vignettes; a section called Preschool in Practice, with step-by-step lesson ideas; and Ideas for Discussion, Reflection, and Action. The book addresses the needs of English language learners and describes ways to support students' literacy development at home. The final chapter pulls it all together through a portrait of an exemplary day of preschool teaching and learning. Reproducible forms and checklists can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.