The Building Blocks of Preschool Success

by Beauchat, Katherine A.; Blamey, Katrin L.; Walpole, Sharon

• ISBN13: 9781606236932
• ISBN10: 1606236938
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-05-12
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

Written expressly for preschool teachers, this engaging book explains the "whats," "whys," and "how-tos" of implementing best practices for instruction in the preschool classroom.

Author Biography

Katherine A. Beauchat, EdD, is Assistant Professor at York College of Pennsylvania, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in literacy education. Her research interests include professional development for preschool educators in the area of literacy and language instruction and effective techniques and strategies to bolster oral language and vocabulary development for at-risk preschool children. 

Katrin L. Blamey, PhD, is an early childhood literacy coach at the Delaware Center for Teacher Education in Newark, Delaware, and also coaches preschool teachers at a Head Start center. Her research interests include finding effective, practical ways to implement professional development in the preschool setting and developing instructional techniques for building the language and literacy skills of preschool-age English language learners.

 

Sharon Walpole, PhD, is Associate Professor at the University of Delaware School of Education in Newark, Delaware, where she teaches in both the literacy and educational leadership programs. She provides professional development for schools engaged in extensive change efforts and studies the work of literacy coaches in preschools, elementary schools, and middle and high schools. She is a recipient of the National Reading Conference Early Career Achievement Award.

 

 

Table of Contents

The Realities of Preschool	p. 1
Meet Pam, a Public School-Based PREK Teacher	p. 2
Meet Elaina, a Head Start Center Teacher	p. 7
Meet Sarah, a Private Preschool Teacher	p. 12
Looking Ahead	p. 15
A Focus on Oral Language and Vocabulary Development	p. 16
What Is Oral Language and Vocabulary Development?	p. 16
Why Is Oral Language Important?	p. 17
What Does Language and Literacy Instruction Look Like?	p. 19
Implementation in Three Classrooms	p. 36
Where Can I Find More Information?	p. 39
Comprehension	p. 41
What Is Comprehension?	p. 41
Why Is Comprehension Instruction Important?	p. 42
What Does Comprehension Instruction Look Like?	p. 43
Implementation in Three Classrooms	p. 66
Where Can I Find More Information?	p. 69
Phonological Awareness	p. 71
What Is Phonological Awareness?	p. 71
Why Is Phonological Awareness Important?	p. 75
What Does Phonological Awareness Instruction Look Like?	p. 76
Implementation in Three Classrooms	p. 89
Where Can I Find More Information?	p. 92
Print and Alphabet Awareness	p. 94
What Is Print and Alphabet Awareness?	p. 94
Why Is Print and Alphabet Awareness Important?	p. 96
What Does Print and Alphabet Awareness Instruction Look Like?	p. 97
Implementation in Three Classrooms	p. 122
Where Can I Find More Information?	p. 127
Emergent Writing	p. 129
What Is Emergent Writing?	p. 129
Why Is Emergent Writing Important?	p. 131
What Does Emergent Writing Instruction Look Like?	p. 132
Implementation in Three Classrooms	p. 153
Where Can I Find More Information?	p. 157
Tracking Children's Progress: The Role of Assessment in Preschool Classrooms	p. 159
What Is Assessment?	p. 160
Why Is Ongoing Assessment Important?	p. 162
Assessments for Planning	p. 163
Assessments to Reflect on Instruction	p. 167
Assessments to Identify Children at High Levels of Risk	p. 173
How Do You Actually Plan and Implement an Assessment System?	p. 174
How Do I Share Assessment Information?	p. 175
Where Can I Find More Information?	p. 176
Making It Work for Adults and Children	p. 177
Gathering Materials	p. 177
Scheduling and Grouping	p. 179
Reflecting	p. 181
Collaborating	p. 182
Learning	p. 183
Children's Literature	p. 185
References	p. 189
Index	p. 194
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