Pre-School Literature Program
Children meet formal learning for the first time in pre-school. The approach used to introduce them to education should be according to their capabilities. The program design should include fun activities, games, interactive sessions, positive influence, and assessments. According to Lynn, “effective literacy instruction does not just happen by chance; it takes careful and thoughtful planning.” It is in this respect essential for careful planning of the program in order to lay down a good academic foundation for the children. This is important because children build on what they know in order to understand knowledge that is more advanced. They take everything their teacher tells them as the truth.
Children should first be under keen observation on a daily basis. The educators listen to their conversations in playing field, during class routines and leaning areas. This enables the teachers to assess the interests and capabilities of each child. They will come up with an appropriate way of educating by choosing books, pictures, and stories that enhance the topic of interest. Each lesson that a teacher engages the children should provide adequate opportunities for them to enhance their vocabulary, language skills, counting, sizes, shapes, and other relevant variations.
Social aspects such as behavior, attitudes towards one another, their interactions, and listening skills should also be a part of the program. Incorporation and better achievement of social knowledge is through play because it is an effective way of enhancing interactivity. Stories provide a better way of encouraging positive behavior. The stories used should include a moral teaching that the students should emulate.
The use of plays and drama with the use of authentic cosmetic attire provides new knowledge and increases their ability to be creative. Use of common items in their learning activities and play encourages the aspect of sharing and peaceful co-existence among them. Positive relationships tend to enhance the pupils academically and socially. It improves their communication skills and relational skills as well.
Good literature to children awakens their interest in reading and at the same time enhancing their intellectual capacity. According to Roskos, Tabor & Lenhart (2009), reading and language provide an academic foundation on which the children use throughout their lives. Frequent lessons and activities that entail and enhance reading increase their mastery of the language. Teachers should utilize skills and resources from a variety of sources for the children to understand better.
One should design the materials with colorful illustrations to arouse interest. Stories used should be easy to remember with simplified plot. The language used has to be simple and well outlined for them to grasp the flow and emotions that the teacher needs to put across. Exposure to good literature materials exposes the children to a good start to understanding language. They learn how to pronounce words and join them to make perfect sense in form of sentences.
A program will achieve development of children if it teaches reading, writing skills and concepts. The students gain more knowledge through reading along with other instructions and experience provided in the learning activities. The experiences exposed to the children should gear towards supporting their emerging literacy. Educators should include play to the learning process as it gives them a chance to express their knowledge and skill in a more practical manner. This is evidenced in the creativity they employ and how they manipulate the items they use in playing. Some Problem solving games used as part of teaching programs act as a challenge to the intellectual skills of the children. The activities engaged in acts as an initiative for self-initiated learning.
Children need to know how to read in order understand how to write better. Writing helps them to know how to read, and spoken language helps them in both fields. Cognitive development is achievable using the children thinking skills such as observation, arrangement, and comparison and information evaluation. For instance, the teacher can give drawings of various objects, which in real life have a particular color. The teachers then asks the children to color them. They will therefore choose a color that seems appropriate to them.
Physical development is essential in the leaning process of children. Practical lessons such as oral hygiene in which they learn how to wash their hands, clothes, and utensils will help in their growth. Playing also contributes to physical growth of children as they take part in sports. Their curriculum should involve sporting activities. This refreshes them for more mental activity and strengthens them health wise. Through observation, the teacher will select best games according to the interests of the children. The children should be able to engage in the activity and enjoy it.
The method employed to deliver knowledge to children deserves a careful consideration. The media used should attract the attention of the kids. Pictorial illustrations in this case play a major role. Colorful representations and stories with child friendly content helps to internalize the idea.
Continuous assessment carried out keeps track of the development process. It will be important because it will act as a pointer to how well the children are learning. If there is minimal or no improvement, the program should be varied or a different approach used. This will ensure that the weakness of each child receives immediate attention. At the end of the term, the students need evaluation in order to assess their overall development. These tests should offer them a challenge but at the same time, it should be achievable.
A program should base more importance upon experience as the main way in which children learn. It is upon what they hear, see, do, and think that they learn. More emphasis should be on the experience mode of learning. Teachers should receive training on how to provide appropriate and efficient experiences, coming up with creative plays and drama that encourages creative engagement of children and teach the children concepts and skills of print. The knowledge they gain offers them social, language, and cognitive skills. A good program with a proper delivery, rich content in literature along with appropriate experience is a gateway to gaining new ideas and building up on what they already know (David & Dickson, 2007).
In conclusion, a pre-school program with above-mentioned features will deliver teaching and instructions more effectively. The children will receive more attention at their developmental stage by ensuring that they acquire good mental skills. Their observational, communication, problem solving, Social and artistic skills will achieve a full measure of development. The teachers will have an easy time in delivering the content by following a carefully planned and laid out program. The teachers do need to receive training on a better understanding of the program and in the methods of delivering the teaching objectives of the program.
References
Chrisite, J. (1991). Play and Early Literacy Development. New York: State University of New York Press.
David K. & Dickinson, S. B. (2007). Handbook of early literacy research . New York London: Guilford.
Larson, J. &. (2005). Making literacy Real: theories and practices for learningand Teaching. . California:
Sage Publications Ltd.
Roskos, K., Tabors, P. O., & Lenhart, L. A. (2009). Oral Language and Early Literacy in Preschool. Newark:
Del : International Reading Association, ©2009.
