Teaching Language and Literacy: Preschool Through the Elementary Grades (3rd Edition)

The unique focus of this book integrates constructivist learning, diversity, and instruction-based assessment, and helps translate principles into practice.

Unlike any other book on the market, this book integrates a constructivist/emergent literacy perspective with “science-based” instructional practices that have proved successful in supporting children’s reading, writing, and speaking development.

This Third Edition begins with a brief overview of the recent key national policies and initiatives that have had a significant impact on the teaching of reading and writing at the preschool and elementary levels.  Respected authors Jim Christie, Billie Enz, and Carol Vukelich describe a continuum of approaches to reading instruction, ranging from emergent literacy to Science-Based Reading Research. Unique to this book is the authors’ vision of a “blended’ approach to teaching literacy that includes the best elements of diverging views and ends with a set of principles that guide the authors’ view of the effective teaching of literacy in preschool and elementary classrooms.

At the preschool and kindergarten levels, the authors advocate a combination of meaningful engagements with print and age-appropriate instruction on core literacy skills.  At the elementary grade level, the authors support a balanced approach to reading instruction that focuses on both decoding and comprehension.  The writing workshop is the authors’ preferred mode of elementary-grade writing instruction. The book also has extensive coverage of working with children from diverse background, family literacy, and assessment strategies that can be used to inform instruction. The Third Edition has a strong emphasis on scientifically-based reading research (SBRR)throughout, blending SBRR with other perspectives to create a ‘value added’ approach to language and literacy teaching and learning.

“This text does an exemplary job of presenting current early literacy research and methods in a manner that can be understood and respected. Also, its emphasis upon workshop-based instruction is very appealing to me as a long-time advocate for this approach to literacy.”

–Scott A. L. Beck, GeorgiaSouthern University

The third edition of Teaching Language and Literacy: Preschool Through the Elementary Grades integrates a constructivist/emergent literacy perspective with science-based instructional practices. This unique focus on theories and techniques that have proven to be successful helps pre-service and in-service teachers translate principles into classroom practice.

Perfect for any course with a focus on language, the book covers the development and teaching of both oral and written language in preschool through elementary grades. Its emphasis on diversity includes special features that describe how teachers can adjust instruction to meet the needs of second-language and bilingual learners. In addition, the third edition focuses on scientifically-based reading research (SBRR) throughout, blending these findings with other perspectives in a “value added” approach to language and literacy teaching and learning.

New features include:

• Emphasis on a blended approach to language and literacy instruction, including both authentic learning linked to activities and developmentally-appropriate teaching.
• Activities such as “Linking Knowledge to Practice” help students connect theory to practices they observe in preschool and kindergarten classrooms.
• In-depth coverage of new federal and state literacy initiatives, standardized literacy assessments, and latest practices in ongoing literacy assessment.