By
Tracy J. Miranowski
B.A. Minnesota State Mankato, 2004
A Starred Paper
Submitted to the Graduate Facility of St. Cloud State University
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Page
Introduction 3
Historical Perspectives ...............4-6
Current Emergent Literacy Approaches .6-8
Focus of the Paper . 8
Importance of Review ....9
Definitions ..10
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
During the last 3 decades, increased attention has been focused upon the effects of home literacy environment and children 's later knowledge (Roberts, Jurgens, & Burchinal, 2005). It was once believed that children learned to read and write only when they entered elementary school and received specific instruction. However, most research now indicates that the home environment is critical in the development of a variety of cognitive and linguistic skills and that it is an important factor in early literacy development (Levy, Gong, Hessels, Evans, & Jared, 2006; Rashia, Morris, & Sevick, 2005; Weigel, Martin, & Bennett, 2006). Research has shown that home experiences need to be developmentally appropriate and should emphasize the natural unfolding of skills through the enjoyment of books, positive interactions between young children and adults, and literacy-rich activities (Roberts et al., 2005). Probably no area of education has seen as much controversy over teaching methodology as beginning reading instruction (Teale, 1995). Two phases of reading development are typically discussed in the literature. The first is the preschool period, which signifies the time before formal instruction begins. The preschool phase of reading is typically associated with home, childcare or preschool settings, and with adults who are parents or child-care providers (Teale, 1995). The second, the
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