Example research essay topic: Emergent Literacy In A Classroom - 583 words

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Emergent Literacy in a Classroom Literacy development begins in the very early stages of childhood, even though the activities of young children may not seem related to reading and writing. Early behaviors such as "reading" from pictures and "writing" with scribbles are examples of emergent literacy and are an important part of children's literacy development. With the support of parents, caregivers, early childhood educators, and teachers, as well as exposure to a literacy-rich environment, children successfully progress from emergent to conventional reading. From 3 through 4 years of age, children show rapid growth in literacy. They begin to "read" their favorite books by themselves, focusing mostly on reenacting the story from the pictures. Eventually, they progress from telling about each picture individually to weaving a story from picture to picture using language that sounds like reading or written language.

Around age 5, children enter school and begin receiving formal literacy instruction. Most children at the kindergarten level are considered to be emergent readers. They continue to make rapid growth in literacy skills if they are exposed to literacy-rich environments. Children at this age continue to "read" from books they have heard repeatedly. Gradually, these readings demonstrate the intonation patterns of the adult reader and language used in the book.

Emergent readers are just beginning to control early reading strategies such as directionality, word-by-word matching, and concepts of print. They use pictures to support reading and rely heavily on their knowledge of language. At some point during the kindergarten or first grade year, most children move from emergent literacy into conventional literacy. This process is gradual.

Although all aspects of conventional literacy are developing during the emergent period, they become recognizable in conventional literacy. Educators working with young children must keep in mind that there is no prescribed grade level for reaching conventional literacy. As children are moving into conventional literacy, they pass through different periods of development in their efforts to become successful readers, just as they did at the emergent level. Many traditional researchers use the terms early reader, transitional reader, and fluent reader to describe these periods of literacy growth.

Researchers found that the classroom environment as well as the attitudes and behaviors of teachers affected implementation of the Interactive Technology Literacy Curriculum (ITLC) and impacted children's emerging literacy skills. Effective classrooms offered children a literacy-rich environment which included materials for drawing, writing, making books, and reading. Print was found in many places in the classroom, including commercially-printed poems hung on the walls, stories dictated by children and hand written by teachers on poster paper, children's names, and labels for centers and various objects found in the classroom. The typical variation in literacy backgrounds that children bring to reading can make teaching more difficult.

Often a teacher has to choose between focusing on the learning needs of a few students at the expense of the group, or focusing on the group at the risk of leaving some students behind academically. This situation is particularly critical for children with gaps in their literacy knowledge who may be at risk in subsequent grades for becoming "diverse learners. " Emergent literacy knowledge provides a necessary and important (but not sufficient) foundation on which to build. There are varying opinions on the strategies for teaching young children to read and write. Some educators believe that instruction in conventional literacy should be based on early, explicit, and intensive instruction in sound-letter relationships to develop children's comprehension and decoding skills. Others emphasize immersion in language and literature.

Research essay sample on Emergent Literacy In A Classroom