Increasing the literacy behaviors of preschool children through environmental modification and teacher mediation

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2007

Abstract

Emergent literacy research states that young children learn about readingand writing through experiences with oral and written language. The purposeof this study was to examine the frequency with which individual preschool childrenvoluntarily engaged in literacy behaviors during free choice in the classroom. Thesample consisted of nine preschool children from low-income families enrolled inthree classrooms in an urban preschool program. The classroom environment wasassessed using the Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO;Smith, Dickinson, Sangeorge, &Anastasopoulos, 2002), which provides informationon how well the classroom environment supports early literacy development.Literacy behaviors were measured during center time, a period when childrenare allowed to choose their activities. Intervention consisted of 1) adding literacyprops to centers based on the needs identified by the ELLCO and 2) a teachermediation intervention. Results were consistent with previous studies in that theaddition of literacy props, paired with teacher mediation, led to an increase inliteracy behaviors among preschool children. © 2007 by the Association for Childhood Education International.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Journal of Research in Childhood Education

First Page

5

Last Page

16

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