1. Student-Initiated Play and
Literacy Development
Play for young children is not recreation
activity,... It is not leisure-time activity nor
escape activity.... Play is thinking time for
young children. It is language time. Problem-
solving time. It is memory time, planning time,
investigating time. It is organization-of-ideas
time, when the young child uses his mind and
body and his social skills and all his powers in
response to the stimuli he has met.
--James L. Hymes, Jr., child development specialist, author
2. Oral Language
• Oral Language is a crucial part part of literacy
development
• Research shows that vocabulary and oral
language skills are a bigger predictor of later
success in reading and writing than phonics
and alphabet knowledge
http://www.allianceforchildhood.org/sites/alli
anceforchildhood.org/files/file/kindergarten_r
eport.pdf
3. Think of oral language as the base
of literacy. Reading and writing
cannot exist without it.
Reading Writing
Oral
Language
4. • Research shows that children who engage in
complex forms of socio-dramatic play have
greater language skills than non-players,
better social skills, more empathy, more
imagination and more of the subtle capacity
to know what others mean.
http://www.allianceforchildhood.org/sites/allianceforchildhood.org
/files/file/kindergarten_report.pdf
5. Looking ahead without pushing ahead means
introducing books, the alphabet, and other
elements of literacy in playful ways, without
the burden of long hours of drill and testing to
meet inappropriate standards.
12. Speak to your child a lot
• Explain what you are doing
• Think aloud
• Model good language structure and critical thinking
skills
• Involve your child- ask opinions, have child participate
as much as possible
• Use a variety of vocabulary- the more vocabulary a
child knows, the easier it will be to figure out unfamiliar
words when they start learning to read
13. Encourage the use of writing and drawing during
play- play restaurant and make menus, make
signs for pretend shows, make money and tickets
to sell, or open a lemonade stand!
14. Make books together
• Have your child illustrate and dictate the story, or have your
child use developmental spelling to write the story. Treasure
these books and read them again and again!
