Chabot College
Fall 2006
Replaced Fall 2011
Course Outline for Early Childhood Development 59
LITERACY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
Catalog Description:
59 - Literacy in Early Childhood
3 units
Enhance the early literacy outcomes of young children by improving teachers’ knowledge of early
literacy development and their skills in teaching early literacy to young children from birth through
school age. Strongly recommended ECD 51. 3 hours.
[Typical contact hours: 52.5]
Prerequisite Skills:
None.
Expected Outcomes for Students:
Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
define literacy and emergent/early literacy;
describe the developmental continuum of reading and writing;
assess children’s language development and literacy skills;
describe the teacher’s role in promoting language and literacy;
create literacy environments for children;
plan engaging curriculum to support language and literacy;
describe ways to involve families in supporting language and literacy in young children;
analyze and support appropriate literature and other learning materials for diverse
learners;
respond to individual, cultural and linguistic variations among children.
Course Content:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Early Literacy of Young Children
a.
Literacy experiences during early years lay foundation of reading and writing
b.
Teacher’s role in promoting language and early literacy development
c.
Developing experiences, which motivate children to become readers
d.
Analyze cultural influences on language and literacy development
e.
Implement routines, materials, and activities that foster and support early literacy
for children with exceptional needs
Appropriate Assessment of Children’s Literacy Development
a.
Developmental continuum of reading and writing across the age group birth
through 5 years of age
b.
Authentic assessment of young children’s literacy learning
c.
Assessing children’s literacy learning; using observation, informal, and more
formal strategies
d.
Adapting teaching and learning experiences to children’s individual needs
e.
Cultural and linguistic diversity in assessing young children’s learning
f.
Involving families and other professionals in assessing children’s learning and
development
Teacher’s Role in Promoting Early Literacy
a.
Developing a literacy-rich environment
b.
Design literacy-rich environments for different age groups
c.
Developing ways to infuse literacy across the curriculum
d.
Effective teaching strategies, which support children’s literacy
e.
Integrating technology in the literacy-rich environment
f.
Developing strategies to adapt for individual and cultural differences
Promote Children’s Language Development
a.
Language, receptive and expressive language of young children
Chabot College
Course Outline for ECD 59, Page 2
Fall 2006
b.
c.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Development of second language
Supporting vocabulary and language development through an enriching
curriculum
d.
Analyzing and designing strategies to promote children’s language earning, both
expressive and receptive
Engage Children in Literacy-Enhanced Play
a.
Play that supports the acquisition of literacy skills using talking, reading, writing,
and learning the code
b.
Designing environment and materials that incorporate literacy learning through
play
c.
Variety of teaching strategies to support literacy learning through play
d.
Roles for teachers in facilitating children’s participation in literacy-enriched play
Engage Children in Reading
a.
Developmentally appropriate expectations and goals for children’s reading birth
through age eight
b.
Variety of effective strategies to promote vocabulary development, phonemic and
print awareness, and background knowledge
c.
Strategies to integrate children’s interest, culture and special needs in early
literacy program
d.
Strategies for engaging children with a variety of books and texts
e.
Criteria for selecting high quality, developmentally and culturally appropriate
books and materials
f.
Engaging families in talking, storytelling and reading with children
Engage Children in Writing
a.
Developmentally appropriate expectations for children’s writing development
b.
Interrelationship between writing and reading
c.
Variety of writing strategies to support children’s learning of phonemic
awareness, alphabetic knowledge, concept of word
d.
Planning a variety of opportunities for children to engage in writing to support
language, reading, and code learning
e.
Strategies to engage children in different forms of writing and various functions of
writing
f.
Developmentally appropriate computer software to promote writing
Engage Children in Learning the Code
a.
Basic elements of written language code
b.
Phonological awareness and its relationship to phonemic awareness and phonics
c.
Learning the code underlying the English language system of reading and writing
d.
Strategies to address the differences between the home and school language
and culture
e.
Variety of appropriate learning experiences and teaching strategies to promote
children’s phonological awareness
f.
Adapting for individual and cultural differences, including second language
learners
Methods of Presentation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Lecture
Class discussion
Readings
Small groups
Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
1.
Typical Assignments
a.
Analyze cultural influences on language and literacy development.
b.
Develop strategies to incorporate early literacy into their classroom environment.
c.
Describe effective teaching strategies to support English language development
and early literacy for second language learners.
Chabot College
Course Outline for ECD 59, Page 3
Fall 2006
d.
2.
Assess the literacy developmental level of children in their classroom and
develop individual literacy goals.
Methods of Evaluating Progress
a.
Midterm and final examination
b.
Class participation
c.
Individual and group projects
Textbooks (typical):
Learning Language and Loving It, Elaine Weitzman and Janice Greenberg, Hanen Centre, 2002.
Special Student Materials:
None.
Tf:/Word/ECD59.doc
New 10/12/05
Revised: 11-1-05