| About the Book | |
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As early childhood professionals, we have both the opportunity and the privilege to shape the progress young children make in acquiring the literacy skills, oral language skills, and background knowledge vital to their later success in learning to read and write. By engaging infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in experiences that foster oral language and content knowledge, literacy skills, and cognitive ability, we build a foundation for children’s later academic success.
Promoting children’s desire to read and write is as important as helping children develop the necessary understandings and skills essential for learning how to read and write. Without motivation, children will read and write relatively little and only what and when they must.
This book addresses four main points:
1. What children need to learn in these early years
2. The strategies that teachers can use to help children acquire these foundations
3. The features of emergent literacy and language understandings and skills
4. How to design the physical environment in early childhood classrooms to support language and literacy learning
This book will help early childhood professionals and families support young children in acquiring the understandings, knowledge, and skills needed for later success in learning to read and write.
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| About the Authors | |
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Judith A. Schickedanz, PhD (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), professor emerita at Boston University, taught courses in child development, early literacy,and curriculum and instruction; served as director of the laboratory preschool; coordinated the early childhood program; and helped launch the Jumpstart volunteer program. She taught preschool and has worked extensively with early childhood teachers on funded projects, including Early Reading First. Her current interests include the study and support of story comprehension in preschoolers.
Schickedanz has authored numerous articles, book chapters, and books, including “For Young Children, Pictures in Storybooks Are Rarely Worth a Thousand Words” (The Reading Teacher, 2012); Increasing the Power of Instruction (NAEYC, 2008); Writing in Preschool (International Reading Association, 2009); and Understanding Children and Adolescents (Allyn & Bacon, 2000).
Molly F. Collins, EdD (Boston University), a lecturer in the
Department of Teaching and Learning, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, has taught graduate and undergraduate
courses in cognitive development, language, and linguistics, and provided professional development on language and literacy for preschool teachers. She taught toddlers and preschoolers, and is past president of the Literacy Development in Young Children group within the International Reading Association. Current projects examine teachers’ conversations and support of preschoolers’ comprehension during storybook reading.
Collins’ articles include “ELL Preschoolers’ English Vocabulary Acquisition from Storybook Reading” (Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 2010); “Targeting Oral Language Development in High-Risk Preschoolers” (Head Start Research Journal, 2009); and “Sagacious, Sophisticated, and Sedulous: The Importance of Discussing 50-Cent Words with Young Children” (Young Children, 2012).
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| Reviews | |
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“This is a masterful must-read for anyone interested in the literacy development of young children. Research on language, reading, writing, and motivation is woven seamlessly together with precise instructional guidance. For teachers, this book offers a treasure trove of practical advice; for parents, literacy coaches, and university faculty, it provides a broad, accurate view of early literacy development and pedagogy.”
—David K. Dickinson, Professor, Vanderbilt University
“In their new edition, Schickedanz and Collins have continued the heart of their argument from the first edition of More than the ABCs: the foundations of literacy laid down during the early years involve considerably more than merely learning the alphabet and acquiring the alphabetic principle.”
—Lea M. McGee, Marie Clay Chair of Reading Recovery and Early Literacy, The Ohio State University
“So Much More than the ABCs is a must-read for parents and teachers of preschoolers. This outstanding book is based on research and the authors’ lifetime experiences devoted to the study of early literacy.”
— Lesley Mandel Morrow, Professor of Literacy, Rutgers University
“Drs. Schickedanz and Collins' text offers explicit guidance for teaching children not only decoding skills but also interesting strategies for teaching children how to interact with both narrative and expository text. A special feature is the chapter about reading with infants and toddlers, which is critically important for both parents and caregivers.”
— Billie J. Enz, Emeritus Professor, Arizona State University
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