Examples of the awareness of young children of printed information they have gained informally are used to demonstrate some of the important knowledge that children bring to beginning reading and writing. Teachers need to encourage exploratory reading and writing experiences. (Author/DB)

Argues that the language experience approach to the teaching of beginning reading not only makes use of the valuable resource of children's speaking, but also cultivates their metalinguistic ability and eases their transition between two very different forms of language. (FL)

Provides ideas for implementing the language experience approach with first-grade students. (FL)

Asserts that the language experience approach and invented spelling can be used to teach writing and reading in kindergarten. Notes that this approach takes advantage of children's enthusiasm for sharing stories, and individualizes literacy development. (MM)

This paper surveys methods for teaching reading and writing in kindergarten. The paper stresses the importance of accepting a child's own efforts, including invented spelling, and providing an atmosphere that encourages experimentation. Chapter 1 introduces the topic; chapter 2 provides a historical overview. The current state of the art is…

Teaching practices in Italy, where teachers combine three different methods for teaching reading, may provide insight into ways to improve methodologies in the United States. The first method is the natural method, which, unlike American methods, teaches reading and writing simultaneously with the emphasis on writing. The teacher writes as…

Children can acquire written language skills and abilities through the natural process by which they acquire oral language. If as infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, children are exposed to rich print environments, they transfer assumptions from experiences with oral dialogue to the more focused situations of print. Discrepancies in the ease with…

Describes a six-step technique that capitalizes on children's experiences and interests while providing structure and redundancy within a creative framework to maximize sight word acquisition. (FL)

The use of the language experience approach to teach readiness and beginning reading and writing skills in preschool programs is explored. The value of this holistic approach is illustrated with a case study of a preschool child with a severe expressive language delay and phonological disorder. (DB)

One of the greatest advantages of teaching first graders to read and write using a whole literacy approach is the flexibility the method provides for meeting the needs of each individual learner. Children use their dictated language as the text and work within small groups. Children can join any group working at an appropriate level or work…

Intended to provide the Portland Public Schools Curriculum Department documentation of the second-year kindergarten implementation and to provide kindergarten teachers data to support the development of a readiness continuum and placement criteria, this report furnishes a detailed explanation and survey of the Writing to Read program, an…

A rationale and procedures for teaching limited and non-English speaking children to read and write English by using the language experience approach are presented in this paper. The paper suggests that the language experience approach combined with a strong program in oral English development will provide such children with the opportunity to…

Beginning braille readers may benefit from an integrated-literacy curriculum which reflects the interrelationships of oral language, reading, and writing, and stresses the pleasurable and purposeful aspects of literacy. Integrating braille materials into daily curriculum activities can assist students to make the read/write connection and to begin…

Arguing that reading and writing in school should be natural and enjoyable for children, this book is based on the Piagetian theory that knowledge is constructed by each individual and the psycholinguistic view that learning takes place best when viewed as holistic and when instructional materials for children are authentic and purposeful. The…

The 38 essays in this book look back at language experience as an educational approach, provide practical classroom applications, and reconceptualize language experience as an overarching education process. Classroom teachers and reading specialists describe strategies in use in a variety of classroom settings and describe ways to integrate…