Publication: Play and Literacy In Early Childhood : Research from Multiple Perspectives

• Roskos, Kathleen
• Christie, James

LCCN: 99-47474

This volume brings together studies, research syntheses,
and critical commentaries that examine play-literacy
relationships from cognitive, ecological, and cultural
perspectives. The cognitive view focuses on mental
processes that appear to link play and literacy activities;
the ecological stance examines opportunities to engage in
literacy-related play in specific environments; and the
social-cultural position stresses the interface between the
literacy and play cultures of home, community, and the
school. Examining play from these diverse perspectives
provides a multidimensional view that deepens understanding
and opens up new avenues for research and educational
practice.

Each set of chapters is followed by a critical review by a
distinguished play scholar. These commentaries' focus is to
hold research on play and literacy up to scrutiny in terms
of scientific significance, methodology, and utility for
practice. A Foreword by Margaret Meek situates these
studies in the context of current trends in literacy
learning and instruction.

Earlier studies on the role of play in early literacy
acquisition provided considerable information about the
types of reading and writing activities that children
engage in during play and how this literacy play is
affected by variables such as props, peers, and adults.
However, they did not deal extensively, as this book does,
with the functional significance of play in the literacy
development of individual children. This volume pushes the
study of play and literacy into new areas. It is
indispensable reading for researchers and graduate students
in the fields of early childhood education and early
literacy development.

Contents:  Bringing books to life : the role of
book-related dramatic play in young children's literacy
learning /; Deborah Wells Rowe --; Narrative connection :
stories and literacy /; Greta G. Fein, Alicia E.
Ardila-Rey, and Lois A. Groth --; Symbolic play,
phonological awareness, and literacy skills at three age
levels /; Doris Bergen and Daria Mauer --; Commentary--
cognitive development, play, and literacy : issues of
definition and developmental function /; A.D. Pellegrini
and Lee Galda --; Incorporating literacy resources into the
play curriculum of two Icelandic preschools /; Johanna
Einarsdottir --; Supporting literacy in early childhood
programs : a challenge for the future /; Loraine Dunn, Sara
Ann Beach, and Susan Kontos --; Reading is a source of
entertainment : the importance of the home perspective for
children's literacy development /; Susan Sonnenschein ...
[et al.] --; Through the bioecological lens : some
observations of literacy in play as a proximal process --;
Kathleen A. Roskos --; Commentary-- play, literacy, and
ecology : implications for early educational research and
practice /; James E. Johnson --; Social contexts for
literacy development : a family literacy program /; Susan
B. Neuman --; "It would be as good as Snow White." : play
and prosody /; N. Amanda Branscombe and Janet B. Taylor --;
Literacy, play, and authentic experience /; Nigel Hall --;
Sociocultural contexts of dramatic play : implications for
early education /; Jaipaul L. Roopnarine ... [et al.] --;
Commentary-- constructing sociocultural approaches to
literacy education /; Artin Göncü and Eleni Katsarou.