Building Blocks of Preschool Success

Katherine A. Beauchat, EdD, is Associate Professor at Middle Georgia State University, where she teaches graduate classes in literacy education and dyslexia. Her educational career includes teaching in Head Start, PreK, and kindergarten. She has served as a PreK-3 reading specialist, a middle school reading coach, and an Early Reading First Head Start coach. Her research interests include professional development in literacy and language instruction for early childhood educators, in the context of the science of reading, and effective strategies to bolster at-risk young children’s oral language and vocabulary development. Katrin L. Blamey, PhD, is Associate Dean of the School of Education at DeSales University in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, where she teaches courses in the Elementary Education certification program. Her research interests include implementing effective vocabulary instruction in the early childhood classroom and working with preservice and inservice teachers to provide effective literacy instruction for all students. Sharon Walpole, PhD, is Professor in the School of Education at the University of Delaware. She has extensive school-based experience designing and implementing tiered instructional programs. Dr. Walpole has also been involved in federally funded and other schoolwide reform projects. Her current work involves the design and effects of schoolwide reforms. She has coauthored or coedited several books, including How to Plan Differentiated Reading Instruction, Second Edition: Resources for Grades K-3; The Literacy Coach’s Handbook, Second Edition; and Organizing the Early Literacy Classroom. Dr. Walpole is also Series Editor, with Michael C. McKenna, of The Essential Library of PreK-2 Literacy. She is a recipient of the Early Career Award for Significant Contributions to Literacy Research and Education from the Literacy Research Association and the Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of Delaware.

This book presents practical ideas for teaching the essential components of a high-quality early childhood program: oral language and vocabulary, phonological awareness, emergent writing, and print and alphabet awareness. It also addresses assessment and the challenges of meeting individual needs. The vignettes from authentic classrooms are especially useful and engaging. The beauty of the book is that the content is relevant across different early childhood contexts; preschool teachers in either public or private settings will find it of great value. It would be an excellent choice for professional development study groups.--Michelle Picard, EdD, early childhood supervisor, Arlington Public Schools, Virginia Readers will find a blueprint for infusing preschool classrooms with literacy awareness, intentional instruction, and language play. The book systematically describes the building blocks of preschool literacy and provides valuable, classroom-based examples of what each component looks like. The writing style is extremely teacher friendly, making this the perfect text for preservice teachers as well as those already working in a variety of early childhood contexts. A 'must have' for preschool educators.--April Whatley Bedford, PhD, Chair, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of New Orleans The authors do an excellent job of integrating literacy throughout the preschool curriculum. They invite teachers to peer into the windows of diverse classrooms to view the way the techniques and strategies are implemented. I am a seasoned mentor teacher who has been in the field of child development for more than 20 years, and this book will become part of my personal resource library. I also recommend it for new preschool teachers who are setting up and planning their first classrooms.--Darla L. Pulliam, early childhood teacher, Culver City Unified School District, California -

• 1. The Realities of Preschool2. A Focus on Oral Language and Vocabulary Development3. Comprehension4. Phonological Awareness5. Print and Alphabet Awareness6. Emergent Writing7. Tracking Children's Progress: The Role of Assessment in Preschool Classrooms8. Making It Work for Adults and Children