Developing Literacy in Preschool

"In this book, you will find strategies, organizational tips, management techniques, and realistic examples, which can easily be adapted to individual classrooms. I will definitely take many of these ideas and use them with my current pre-K class!" - Angela Yeaman, prekindergarten teacher, Connaught School, North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada "Morrow's ability to help readers really see classroom practice is outstanding. The book is comprehensive, covering all topics essential to a literacy- and language-rich preschool classroom. Most importantly, the text is filled with realistic and interesting teaching activities that will help classroom teachers succeed in enhancing their practice with young children." - Billie Enz, College of Education, Arizona State University, USA 'Preschoolers are intentional learners, so their teachers have to be intentional too. This authoritative and engaging guide helps new teachers gain the knowledge and skills needed to foster language and literacy development in the prekindergarten years. The book provides current and useful information on all relevant areas of language and literacy instruction, including the crucial topics of inclusion and English-language learners. Thoughtful and balanced, it emphasizes the importance of play as a context for the blossoming of young children's skills in speaking, listening, writing, and reading." - Jim Johnson, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, Penn State University, USA "This book will strengthen your existing early literacy practices by providing ways to expand on classroom activities. You will find valuable teaching strategies to help children with early reading skills such as letter recognition. The suggestions for exposing children to early literacy - using rhymes, play, conversations, participation, interaction, and sight vocabulary - could easily become part of your daily routine. Morrow also provides helpful examples of quality early childhood literature and a variety of enjoyable ways to introduce these books into your classroom." - Jeanine Graham, teacher, Weinstein JCC Preschool, Richmond, Virginia , USA "Developing Literacy in Preschool by Lesley Mandel Morrow is a recent and excellent addition to the Guilford Press Tools for Teaching Literacy series... Three groups of people will find the book to be immensely helpful: pre-service teachers;newly qualified teachers; and experienced classroom teachers who are re-assigned for their first early years teaching. If the quality of this text reflects that of the whole series, head teachers and principals would be well advised to purchase the series for their in-school professional libraries." - Deborah Berrill, Educational Review, August 2009

Lesley Mandel Morrow, PhD, Department of Learning and Teaching, Graduate School of Education, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA

A Literacy-Rich Preschool Classroom. Research about Preschool That Informs Good Practice. Organizing and Managing a Literacy-Rich Preschool Environment. Organizing and Managing Instruction in Preschool. Oral Language Development in Preschool. Knowledge about Print. Comprehending and Enjoying Children's Literature. Writing in the Preschool Classroom. Afterword. Appendices: Fazzi, A. Glossary. Worobey, B. Integrated Language Arts Thematic Unit. Fazzi, Aguroso, C. Children's Literature. Batsiyan, D. Magazines for Preschoolers. Dunston, E. Professional Associations, Related Publications, and Websites Dealing with Early Literacy.