Early Literacy Learning at CCGS Kindergarten

At CCGS Kindergarten we believe in the holistic education of every child. We know that a program that provides rich and various play experiences that focus on childrens interests meets children in the here and now and provides just the right amount of challenge, helps to develop an enquiring mind, persistence and a joy of learning. Early childhood is the time where attitudes about the self are being established. We feel that it is very important that the CCGS Kindergarten child sees themselves as a successful, competent learner. Our approach to early literacy is a playful, fun, informal approach.

Educators provide a rich and well thought out learning environment that serves as a stimulating context for early Literacy learning. Early literacy encompasses the development of: Positive attitudes about the self as a learner A love of good literature Vocabulary and oral language development Oral language and Listening skills Pre writing skills and concepts Pre reading skills and concepts

The values and principles that underpin our approach to early literacy learning are: A holistic approach A Language rich environment Learning through play Emergent curriculum (Extending upon childrens interests) Secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships Phonemic awareness Symbolic thought Positive attitudes/ Love of learning VEYLDF Communication skills

The values and principles explained:

A holistic approach The EYLF advocates for a holistic approach to the education of Pre-Literacy skills and concepts. Holistic approaches to teaching and learning recognise the connectedness of mind, body and spirit. When early childhood educators take a holistic approach they pay attention to childrens physical, personal, social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing as well as cognitive aspects of learning. While educators may plan or assess with a focus on a particular outcome or component of learning, they see childrens learning as integrated and interconnected. They recognise the connections between children, families and communities and the importance of reciprocal relationships and partnerships for learning. They see learning as a social activity and value collaborative learning and community participation. EYLF p 14 Learning for young children needs to be set firmly in reality and connected to its context. Children learn best when they are engaged, motivated and see the relevance of the content. (VEYLDF, 2009 p9) They are in a phase of learning that is characterised by hands on exploration, using all their senses to take in information. Piaget talks of assimilation and accommodation which usually occur together. In assimilation we try to incorporate new features of the environment into already existing ways of thinking about it. In accommodation we try to incorporate new features of the environment into our thinking by slightly modifying existing modes of thought. (Santrock) We want children to gain deep understanding so we help them to learn at a developmentally appropriate level.

Learning through play Recent brain research shows that children learn best when they have a strong and genuine relationship with their caregiver and experience a variety of enjoyable play experiences. Enjoyable learning activities and experiences activate the release of dopamine into the brain. Dopamine consolidates the neuronal connections being created in the activity so that when children are enjoying an activity they are actually learning more. We provide an environment that: Extends upon the childs natural interest in literacy Encourages children to research their own questions and find out about their own wonderings using books, the internet and the library Provides many opportunities for children to express themselves symbolically
Respects and seeks to extend upon all childrens attempts at representation and symbolism

Encourages authentic dialogue, in which children can express ideas of interest to them
Has learning centers such as a writing area or office area equipped with such materials as blank books, journals, clipboards, pens and markers, movable alphabets, and a computer. Urges children to write in any way they wish; pretend writing and invented spelling is accepted and encouraged

A Language rich environment includes: Classrooms that are rich with symbols and print Involvement in meaningful interactions where they are encouraged to express their own ideas and feelings and listen to the ideas and feelings of others The program exposes children to the expressive mediaart, music, storytelling, literature, and dramaof their own cultures Provide picture books with limited text that children can read to themselves and to others A wide variety of texts Re reading of favourite stories and rhymes Modelling reading behaviours in front of children, telling them stories Sharing big books with children incidentally modelling reading behaviours Incidentally talk about words, letters, sounds, sentences, full stops etc. Encourage students to share experiences related to reading and viewing Routinely modelling making mistakes when reading to encourage risk taking behaviours Encouraging students to select their own books and read independently every day Incidentally showing that print is written left to right and top to bottom

Comprehension experiences Discuss books and stories and ask questions to assess comprehension Talk about Characters and events and compare Encourage students to respond critically to texts they have viewed Encourage children to read clues from the illustration Reading books with repetitive text, so the children can start to remember and predict what comes next and help them to learn about sequence Children are asked to re tell and re-enact familiar stories Props to encourage re-enactments are set up in an inviting manner Draw attention to relationships between words and pictures Demonstrate use of context cues to construct meaning Relate spoken to written words in context

Oral Language The formal part of the day begins with Morning Meeting, a group discussion time where the activities of the day are discussed, learning from previous days is reviewed and continued, issues are raised and new ideas and questions are discussed. The concepts of good communication are nurtured. We have a group of centre rules for communication that are taught and encouraged at all times.
No hassles or putdowns Proper consideration of all ideas Building on Ideas Listening carefully to what others think Respectful challenging is essential

Educators may choose to have formal show and tell sessions that focus on the current interests and investigations of the group the showing of toys that are not related to the program are not encouraged.

Vocabulary The meaning of new words are discussed regularly Children are introduced to the vocabulary of books such as front cover, title, author, illustrator, index, fiction and non-fiction

Phonemic awareness experiences Choosing books with rhyme and repetition Sing, chant rhymes, jingles and songs Making up nonsense rhymes and poems Model having fun with language Singing, rhymes, finger plays Funny onset rhymes like see you later alligator, Clapping syllables, alliteration, games such as: I spy, Clapping words in a sentence Talk about letters by name relating initial letters to the sounds they represent

Listening Children are expected to attend and give cultural cues that they are listening to and understanding what is said to them Many opportunities to engage in group discussions are provided Building upon the ideas of others is valued Listening respectfully to different perspectives is valued Paraphrasing and checking for understanding is modelled and encouraged

Guided writing Educators incidentally write in front of children reinforcing the concepts of writing such as sentences are made up of words with spaces between, sentences start with capitals and end in full stops, questions have a question mark Educators scribe childrens words in describing their representational work Show that a written word is a unit of print with space either side Ensure that the purpose of all writing is always made clear to the child

Extending upon childrens interests Children learn best when they are engaged, motivated and see the relevance of the content. (VEYLDF, 2009 p9) Just as adults find it easiest to focus and learn about topics and events that interest them so to do children. Educators observe children to identify these interests and seek to develop activities and provocations that help to nurture and extend upon these interests . We are extending childrens interests and encouraging literacy learning when we: Scribe the childs story onto their artwork and encourage them to re- read this to the class Provide a clipboard and pen to children who are engaged in a restaurant game asking them to take your order Set up the home corner as the Three Bears house after children express an interest in the story

Encouraging a child who loves football to create his own footy ladder

Secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships Recent brain research shows that children learn best when they have a strong and genuine relationship with their caregiver. Educators, who are attuned to childrens thoughts and feelings, support the development of a strong sense of wellbeing. They positively interact with the young child in their learning. Educators provide:

An open attitude that they are interested and emotionally available to each child Rich and meaningful conversations and group experiences which introduce children to new ideas, topics and vocabulary Group discussions and a class culture that values listening skills and taking into account the perspectives of others We encourage children to wonder about their world, ask lots of questions and through their play try to answer their own questions and sort out the information they have gathered so that it makes sense to them and fits logically into their developing knowledge schemes Debate is encouraged where children are asked to elaborate upon their ideas and agree or disagree with each other in a safe and respectful manner
Literacy experiences should be adapted to meet the needs of children of diverse cultures Bilingual children should be encouraged to write in their preferred language, and books in their native language should be provided Reading materials should match the family life experiences of all children; non-book reading materials such as magazines, catalogs, and signs should be included Opportunities for all types of personal expression, including storytelling, drama, and music, should be incorporated

Symbolic thought Symbolic thought begins through imaginative play. Transforming a rod into a broom, for example, requires more complex symbolization than using a toy broom as a real one. Childrens drawings and artwork show further progress towards symbolic thought. Childrens artwork begins to tell a story or convey a message just as primitive art forms did. Writing is a symbol system and to become literate a childs brain must be well established in the symbolic phase. Children begin to assign a message to their drawings and begin to read the message to others. They eventually move towards making marks on paper and assign a meaning to the marks that they make. When they do this they show us that they are role playing being a literate person and that they are beginning to understand the concept that the purpose of writing is to convey a meaning. Educators encourage: Drawing skills and representational thought prior to letter development and name writing Children to develop symbols and marks to represent their learning Socio-dramatic play centres in the classroom to encourage children to pretend, such centers should include realistic play props related to home themes or topics in the curriculum. For example, if children are studying transportation, a make-believe boat or airport can be created to encourage curriculum-relevant play Socio-dramatic play area should also contain nonrealistic raw materials, such as wooden rods, boxes, and rubber forms. These materials allow children to use objects to stand for things that are completely different

Teachers and caregivers can intervene in children's play to promote greater symbolization. Encouraging children to take on diverse and highly imaginative roles, to transform objects, and to invent make-believe situations will enhance symbolic thought Encourage children to recognise their own name

Language difficulties Educators note difficulties that require special services and refer these children to the individual differences department. Children with extensive articulation errors or disfluency, those who have difficulty learning or retrieving words, and those who do not speak in full sentences may require intervention. Most important, children who cannot communicate effectively with peers or adults may need special support.

Why we dont begin formal literacy learning at kindergarten Research says that Literacy is very much a developmental process and that early structured experiences have little impact and indeed take away valuable time from the kinds of experiences children need to be involved in before beginning formal learning. Hurrying children, expecting them to feel, think and act much older than they are stresses children. (David Elkind) Full pre literacy testing is a lengthy, involved process and is conducted at the beginning of the Prep year. This testing informs educators of exactly where a child is at in terms of their literacy skills. Just as the previous experience they have had with literacy varies, childrens abilities vary as they begin formal literacy learning. Testing allows teachers to individualise the educational program they will provide for children such as their reading level , ensuring they have the correct balance between success and challenge whilst maintaining comprehension. Many children have excellent prediction skills and they are able to memorise stories and read whole words however, if children cannot read words out of context or decode words by sounds they still have many concepts to learn before they are proficient readers and ready to begin home readers. Different children develop at different rates, a child who is reading early may also have spent a lot of time on reading type activities or come from a home that highly values reading, Some children read at the end of prep and others at the end of year 1 or 2. It is important that parents understand that independent reading takes many years to establish and reading later does not mean children will not do well throughout their education or are not intelligent. Please feel free to discuss this guide with your class teacher or with the Kindergarten Director

Early Years Learning and Development Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators
Children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes
This is evident, for example, when children:
engage in enjoyable reciprocal interactions using verbal and non-verbal language respond verbally and non-verbally to what they see, hear, touch, feel and taste use language and representations from play, music and art to share and project meaning contribute their ideas and experiences in play and small and large group discussion attend and give cultural cues that they are listening to and understanding what is said to them are independent communicators who initiate Standard Australian English and home language conversations, and demonstrate the ability to meet the listeners needs interact with others to explore ideas and concepts, clarify and challenge thinking, negotiate and share new understandings convey and construct messages with purpose and confidence, building on literacies of home and/or family and the broader community exchange ideas, feelings and understandings using language and representations in play demonstrate an increasing understanding of measurement and number using vocabulary to describe size, length, volume, capacity and names of numbers express ideas and feelings and understand and respect the perspectives of others use language to communicate thinking about quantities to describe attributes of objects and collections, and to explain mathematical ideas show increasing knowledge, understanding and skill in conveying meaning.

Children engage with a range of texts and get meaning from these texts
This is evident, for example, when children:
listen and respond to sounds and patterns in speech, stories and rhymes in context view and listen to printed, visual and multimedia texts and respond with relevant gestures, actions, comments and/or questions sing chant rhymes, jingles and songs take on roles of literacy and numeracy users in their play begin to understand key literacy and numeracy concepts and processes, such as the sounds of language, letter sound relationships, concepts of print and the ways that texts are structured explore texts from a range of different perspectives and begin to analyse the meanings actively use, engage with and share the enjoyment of language and texts in a range of ways recognise and engage with written and oral culturally constructed texts.

This develops, for example, when students in learning Standard Australian English:
recognise how sounds are represented alphabetically and identify some soundletter relationships, match print and spoken text use context and information about words, letters, combinations of letters and the sounds associated with them to make meaning, and use illustrations to extend meaning read printed texts from left to right with return sweep, and from top to bottom.

Children begin to understand how symbols and pattern systems work

This is evident, for example, when children:
use symbols in play to represent and make meaning begin to make connections between, and see patterns in, their feelings, ideas, words and actions, and those of others notice and predict the patterns of regular routines and the passing of time develop an understanding that symbols are a powerful means of communication and that ideas, thoughts and concepts can be represented through them begin to be aware of the relationships between oral, written and visual representations begin to recognise patterns and relationships and the connections between them begin to sort, categorise, order and compare collections and events and attributes of objects and materials in their social and natural worlds listen and respond to sounds and patterns in speech, stori es and rhyme draw on memory of a sequence to complete a task draw on their experiences in constructing meaning using symbols.