Bennett-Armistead, V. Susan; Duke, Nell K. & Moses, Annie M. (2005). Literacy and the Youngest Learner: Best Practices for Educators of Children from Birth to 5. New York: Scholastic.

Literacy and the Youngest Learner is the second book that V. Susan Bennett-Armistead and Nell Duke have written together. Their first book, Reading and writing informational text in the primary grades: Research-based practices (2003) addressed learning with informational texts and this book provides teacher-tested ideas for literacy learning from birth to age five. As with their first book, this excellent text is written in a conversational style that is accessible for teachers, parents, child-care providers, early childhood educators, administrators, and curriculum developers. There is also advice for groups on how to begin a professional book club with some hints on how to get started, how to create a diverse group with shared goals, how to make connections to practice and hear from everyone, and how to provide a meaningful time for reflecting on instructional practice with others in the group.

Topics in this text include having a literacy-rich environment and activities for young children, developing oral language through reading aloud and through building phonological awareness, creative ideas for dramatic play and writing, finding space beyond the classroom to include outdoor play and field trips, and finding literacy in unexpected places like mealtime and times of transition in the classroom. There are photographs and classroom examples to illustrate the best practices for many of the ideas in the book. Many of the ideas have step-by-step help to demonstrate how the examples can be used with children. For example, there are three variations of "The Name Game" to provide practice for moving sounds around in a fun way.

Resources for putting the ideas into practice are woven throughout the text. There are book lists for various types of reading such as great read aloud books, fabulous alphabet books, books for building phonological awareness, and great books to support early pretending. The book nook is "like having a library" and there are helpful guidelines on how to create a book nook and what to put in the space such as a cozy chair, blanket, pillows, and other items to invite young children to enjoy their time with a book. Displays, storage, nonbook materials to use in the book nook and flannel boards can also be a part of the book nook. Word games are another resource found in the text to help children learn phonological awareness through familiar songs and rhymes. Examples include Mother Goose nursery rhymes, songs like "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Old Macdonald Had a Farm", and rhyming poems such as "Little Miss Muffet". Tongue twisters and stretching words to learn to slow down and emphasize the sounds in words are also noted resources.

Many writing instruction ideas are shown which includes a movable writing center and tips on how to develop, create and stock a writing center. Scaffolded process writing with the teacher or parent working with the child to promote drawing and writing is explained as moving through stages. Writing begins with scribbling from ages 2 to 4 and continues to grow through several stages of writing with invented spelling and finally into conventional spelling. There are examples and pictures of actual student writing for each stage of progress for children. Research based ideas on whether to correct or not correct student writing, and in particular student spelling, is discussed. The authors provide suggestions for how to help children learn to write their names and to encourage children to write from left to right.

Literacy and the Youngest Learner is a great book for all types of instructors who want to better learn how to teach young children to listen, speak, read, write, and think. The ideas in this book help educators support, nurture, and promote literacy development. This text draws on existing research based strategies for language and literacy learning to engage and motivate young children as they are having fun. Goals for cultivating literacy in young children are stated as developed by the International Reading Association, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and the National Research Council. This book will help everyone interested in literacy and helping our youngest learners to be successful in school.

References

Duke, Nell K, & Bennett-Armistead, V. Susan (2003) Reading & writing informational text in the primary grades. New York: Scholastic Teaching Resources.

Pages: 240     Price: $21.99 U.S. / $28.99 CAN     ISBN: 0-439-71447-8

Reviewed by Bette J. Shellhorn, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Eastern Michigan University