Literacy's Beginnings: Supporting Young Readers and Writers (3rd Edition)

The third edition of Literacy's Beginnings: Supporting Young Readers and Writers offers an integrated, literature-based approach to reading and writing instruction keyed to the typical developmental stages through which most children pass. Its emphasis is on child-centered instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, comprehension, and interpretation. Numerous vignettes are presented, which describe young children's reading and writing from birth to age eight. Children's learning is examined in social settings, including home, preschool, and school. A thorough description of ways to organize an environment to stimulate the growth of language, both written and oral, makes the text an invaluable resource for prospective teachers of children from birth to age eight. Special attention is given to instruction in phonological and phonemic awareness embedded in a literature-based program. Special attention is also given to the unique opportunities for literacy development afforded by computers. For anyone interested in emergent literacy (birth through age 8).