Literacy and the Youngest Learner: Best Practices for Educators of Children from Birth to 5 (Teaching Resources)

Teacher-tested ideas for putting infants, toddlers, and preschoolers on the road to literacy.

Research shows that literacy―the ability to listen, speak, read, and write - begins developing long before children enter elementary school. This book helps early childhood educators nurture that development. It begins with an argument for offering children literacy-rich activities and creating an environment for carrying out those activities. It then focuses on enjoyable and effective ways to build essential skills, such as oral language and phonemic awareness, and create dramatic play areas, book nooks, writing centers, and other literacy-rich spaces. Includes photographs, student work, and straight talk about kids and learning, Literacy and the Youngest Learner is destined to become a classic. For use with Grades PreK-K.

Nell K. Duke, Ed.D., is a professor in literacy, language, and culture and in the combined program in education and psychology at the University of Michigan. Dr. Duke’s award-winning research focuses on early literacy development. Her areas of expertise include development of informational reading and writing in young children, comprehension development and instruction in early schooling, and issues of equity in literacy education. Dr. Duke is the co-author of Literacy and the Youngest Learner (Scholastic), and author of Inside Information and Information in Action (Scholastic).