2. The participant is aged 2 years and 1 month.
Sample collected on the 10/12/13.
The child was observed at the family day care centre he
attends two days a week.
For the purpose of the analysis the child will be referred
to as “John”.
3. The male participant is aged 4 years.
Sample collected on the 12/12/13.
The child was observed at his home with his Father present.
For the purpose of the analysis the child will be referred to as
“Jackson”.
During this sample Jackson builds a Lego house with his
father.
4. The participant is aged 2 years.
Samples were collected on 10/12/13.
The child was observed in a family day care setting which the
child attends 4 days per week.
“John” experiments with
different colours.
“John” states that he has
drawn a cat with fur.
5. The participant is female and aged 3 years.
Sample collected on the 15/12/13.
The child was observed at the family home with the mother
present.
For the purpose of the analysis the child will be referred to as
“Lacy”.
“Lacy” draws
Santa's sleigh
Lacy writes “I want a
Dolls house for
Christmas”.
6. The participant is aged 2 years.
Sample collected on the 10/12/13.
The child was observed at the family day care centre he attends two days a
week.
For the purpose of the analysis the child will be referred to as “John”.
“John” imitates and
repeats spoken words
such as “sheep”
“John” attempts new
words and connects their
meaning to the text by
pointing and finding the
correct page.
7. The male participant is aged 4 years.
Sample collected on the 17/12/13.
The child was observed at his home with his mother and auntie present.
For the purpose of the analysis the child will be referred to as “Jackson”.
“Jackson describes
illustrations and makes
predictions”
“Jackson expresses
himself with increasingly
complex sentences to
describe the events in the
story”
8.
9. References
Baby reading [Image]. (2013). Retrieved from:
https://encryptedtbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQgbP-MBffBBde2
dPHUBTbOLazmNMNnA5GoosRQmrMZHuO98FBarratt-Pugh, C. (2006). Weaving literacy resources throughout the early childhood centre. (5), 50-60.
Retrieved from: http://link.library.curtin.edu.au/p?cur_aleph000773816
Barratt-Pugh, C., Rohl, M. (2000). Literacy learning in the early years. 1-46. Retrieved from:
http://link.library.curtin.edu.au/p?cur_aleph000774098
Birckmayer, J., Kennedy, A., & Stonehouse, A. (2008). From lullabies to literature: Stories in the lives of
infants and toddlers. Washington DC: NAEYC. Castle Hill, NSW: Pademelon Press.
Bradford, H. (2009). Communication, language and literacy in the early years foundation stage.
Retrieved from: http://link.library.curtin.edu.au/p?cur_aleph001070839
Byrnes, P & Wasik, B. (2009). Language and literacy development : what educators need to know
Retrieved from: http://link.library.curtin.edu.au/p?cur_aleph000901706
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations [DEEWR]. (2009). Belonging, being
and becoming: The early years learning framwork. Canberra, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia.
retrieved from: http://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/eylf_in_action__educators_stories_and_models_for_practice.pdf
Makin, L., Jones Diaz, C., & McLachlan, C. (Eds.) (2007). Literacies in childhood: Changing views,
challenging practice (2nd ed.). Chatswood, NSW: Elsevier Australia
Rolton, G. (2001). Read to me. Retrieved from: http://link.library.curtin.edu.au/p?cur_aleph000768686
Shea, M. (2011). Parallel learning of reading and writing in early childhood. Retrieved from:
http://link.library.curtin.edu.au/p?cur_aleph000901224
Editor's Notes
John is a 2 year old male participant who lives with both parents and one younger sibling.During the sample collection John demonstrated an eagerness to communicate, listen and follow direction. The verbal interaction taking place between John and his carer shows that he is attempting to make sense of instruction and responds by locating objects he has been asked to find (Shea, 2011). John presents with evidence of experiencing early stages of speaking which is an attempt to sound words, communicate using body language and also a rapid rate of new vocabulary (Shea, 2011).According to Bradford (p. 37, 2009) from the ages of 16 to 36 months children begin to understand simple sentences, use single words and two word utterances to convey both simple and more complex messages. This is also a time of great vocabulary development and John exhibits this by imitating and copying questions asked for example, when John is asked to “find a ball” he responds “ball” in order to determine what is actually being asked. In order to further support Johns speaking and listening development it would be beneficial for John to continue to participate in language learning activities such as creative discussion, child literature and role play (Department of education, employment and workplace relations, 2009). Throughout the observation John presented as an active and engaged learner. Johns speaking and listening development is consistent with a child aged two years and it can be said that John’s literacy development will rapidly advance over the coming months and years.
Jackson is a four year old male participant who was observed at his home with his father present. During the observation Jackson and his father worked with Lego to construct a house together. Jackson’s verbal development is becoming increasingly more complex and the interaction taking place between Jackson and his father shows Jackson is using correct sentence structure and word pronunciation (Byrnes & Wasik, 2009). At the age of four years children typically know around 1500 words but they understand many more that are spoken to them (Byrnes & Wasik, 2009). Jackson is able to ask simple questions such as “have you seen this Lego before?” and also to express his opinions clearly. When Jackson sees his father building in an area he does not like he expresses “You did it wrong” but struggles to expand on why it should not be built there. In order to further develop Jacksons speaking and listening development it would be beneficial to engage in communication about experiences and build upon Jackson existing language skills (Department of education, employment and workplace relations, 2009).
During this sample the participant John drew a picture of a cat. It can be seen that John is holding the pencil with his whole hand and has not progressed to gripping the pencil using his fingers for control. This type of grip is consistent with John’s development as a two year old where early writing skills are developing and experimentation of tools is taking place (Shea, 2011). Shea contends that young children typically use “scribble” when first presented with a writing tool and it is only when they realise that their print can be used to convey messages that they become more aware of the use of print around them (Shea, p.25, 2011). In alignment with the early years learning framework (DEEWR, 2009) the next step in John’s written development would be to experiment using different mediums and tools to expand his literacy experience. It is also a recommendation that letter and number recognition be introduced at this age and “John” would benefit from tracing or copying the shapes of printed letters (DEEWR, 2009). To conclude, John’s written development is consistent with his developmental age of two years, it is clear that John is beginning to experiment with writing tools and uses colour to express images and creates original pictures based on his own ideas.
During the sample collection Lacy created a picture of “Santa’s sleigh” and showed early stages of text construction. The sample collected shows evidence of early letter formation where Lacy has attempted to write “I want a dolls house for Christmas”. Early letter formation is in the form of shapes and lines which she uses to communicate her ideas (Makin, Diaz & McLachlan, 2007). It can be seen from the sample that Lacy uses the tripod grasping technique to hold and control her pencil movements (Shea, 2011). Children typically begin to use the tripod grasp from the ages of three and it is a significant motor development from the whole hand grasp that is commonly used by toddlers (Shea, 2011). It can also be seen from the sample that Lacy uses colour to enhance her drawing and has used several colours to represent parts of her picture. Lacy’s development can be further developed by various scaffolding techniques. The practices of modelling text and jointly constructing text with Lacy would greatly improve her existing written skills (Makin et al., 2007). In addition, Lacy’s future development could also be supported through the use of sensory techniques such as chalk drawing, markers, crayon, sand or paints (Department of education, employment and workplace relations, 2009). To conclude it can be said that Lacy’s writing development has progressed from what is commonly seen in of the ages of one and two years old. Lacy has begun to use the tripod gripping technique when she uses a writing tool and shows evidence of early letter representation.
The sample shows John and a carer interacting through viewing a children’s book. At two years of age children imitate and repeat spoken language and this can be seen from the sample video where “John” imitates simple words such as “sheep” and “car” shown in the book (Rolton, 2001). Rolton (p. 14, 2001) also contend that children of this age are naturally curios about the people and objects in their world and this translates into a curiosity for literature that picture animals, family and home environments. Such curiosity can be seen as John points to the illustrations that capture his interest and attempts to sound the words. John also turns the pages of the book in logical order and in search for what will happen next. It is clear that John shows an awareness of pictures in the book and that the print holds meaning and although he cannot read he imitates his carer (Birckmayer, Kennedy & Stonehouse, 2008). Overall John presents as a curious and engaged reader who imitates language and makes connections with the illustrations of the book and their meaning.
The sample shows “Jackson” and his auntie reading a children’s book together. Throughout the book Jackson accurately describes the illustrations and makes predictions about what will happen next. He uses familiar language to express his ideas such as “the cat is with its person” instead of “the cat is with its owner”. In comparison to a two or three year old Jackson has developed a broad vocabulary and is able to form more complex sentences to express his opinions (Rolton, 2001). According to Birckmayer, Kennedy and Stonehouse (p.45, 2008) the early stages of emerging literacy can be seen when children learn that pictures and words are symbols that can be interpreted and this can be seen from the video where Jackson uses the illustrations to narrate the story. Jackson also exhibits an awareness of print where he attempts to read the text from left to right and interprets text meaning from illustrations (Makin, Diaz & McLachlan, 2007).
“What is a socio-cultural approach to literacy?”By definition a socio-cultural approach to literacy identifies learning as a social construction influenced by history, culture and political factors (Makin, Diaz & McLachlan, 2007). To be literate is much more than simply having the ability to read and write it is the foundation for communication and incorporates elements such as speech, listening, responding, and critiquing another's response in relation to our own views (Makin et al, 2007). Participant one “John” is two years old lives with his parents, older sibling and also his grandparents. John is exposed to text on a daily basis and is read to most nights before bed, he is well socialised and his speech is clear. Participant two Jackson is four years old and lives with his parents and three siblings. Jackson’s mother is a primary school teacher and he has been exposed to literature, literacy software programs and spoken expression from an early age. Participant three, Lacy is aged three years and lives with her parents and four older siblings. Although Lacy is not read to by her parents she is exposed to a busy and talkative household and her speech is well developed with correct sentence structure and a varied vocabulary evident. The home experiences of the participants can be valued by early childhood settings by working with families to extend literacy experiences (Department of education, employment and workplace relations, 2009). Children’s literacy development is influenced by cultural, historical and life practices and educators must take this into account when teaching in the early childhood setting.
