Learning outcomes

At the end of this module students should be able to:

• critically evaluate the development of literacy in young children within a given framework;
• acknowledge and assess the implications of literacy development for teaching and learning;
• examine and explain the reasons for a literature-based curriculum in infant schools.

Brief description

This module focuses on the centrality of the language and literacy process in its mediating role for the teacher and the young child. It examines the role of literacy in various cultures, with particular emphasis on literacy in the bilingual context, and considers the skills necessary for the development of language and literacy in young children.

Aims

• To offer a framework within which the development of literacy in young children is said to occur
• To consider how the acquisition of literacy has implications for teaching and learning
• To outline the various reasons put forward to justify a literature-based curriculum in infant schools

Content

Lectures are based on the following topics, while specific aspects of each topic will be considered in greater detail during seminar discussions:

• Introduction: Concepts of literacy
• Excursions into literacy: pre-school and early-years experiences
• Literacy and the school curriculum
• The nature of narrative: using literature in the classroom and the concept of the real reader
• The development of reading (1): Approaches and methods
• The development of reading (2): Reading materials
• Reading to learn - non-fiction and other information materials
• The beginnings of writing
• The development of writing
• Multimedia literacy - the Internet and beyond

Reading Lists