Đây là 1 bài trong tạp chí Early Childhood Education Journal. Học sinh nhỏ tuổi học tiếng Anh thường có nguy cơ bị chậm giao tiếp và ngôn ngữ . Các nghiên cứu đã chỉ ra rằng trẻ em mẫu giáo tham gia vào các vở kịch, các trò chơi phù hợp sẽ có thể phát triển ngôn ngữ, giao tiếp đồng thời nâng cao khả năng ngoại ngữ. Tài liệu này hướng dẫn chúng ta chơi với trẻ, hướng dẫn đóng vai, giúp trẻ thích nghi môi trường. Hướng dẫn giáo viên và phụ huynh cách can thiệp có thể sử dụng trong các lớp học mẫu giáo để tạo điều kiện khuyến khích trẻ chơi, đồng thời nâng cao các kỹ năng học chữ từ nhỏ.
Trang 1Supporting Sociodramatic Play in Preschools to Promote
Language and Literacy Skills of English Language Learners
Rashida Banerjee1•Amani Alsalman1•Shehana Alqafari1
Published online: 4 June 2015
Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015
Abstract English language learners are often at risk for
communication and language delays—crucial elements in
the foundation of early literacy skills Studies have shown
that preschool children involved in sociodramatic play
demonstrate greater proficiency and interest in language
development and reading The manuscript shares
evidence-based strategies to support early literacy skills for English
language learners during sociodramatic play during center
times in a preschool routine Specific environmental
adaptations and adult interventions that teachers can use in
their preschool classrooms to facilitate play that
encour-ages early literacy skills are described
Keywords Play Sociodramatic play Early literacy
Early language Preschool
Researchers have emphasized the importance of teaching
literacy skills to young children (e.g Fadool2009; Moon
and Reifel 2008; Myck-Wayne 2010; Tsao 2008)
How-ever, English language learners (ELLs) consistently
underperform on academic achievement tests when
com-pared to native English speakers; not only is the overall
achievement level for ELLs significantly lower, but the gap
also widens over time (Fry2007) Though this gap shows
up in all academic areas, the area of literacy is critically
significant because so much of teaching occurs in English
In order to close the glaring gap, researchers, practitioners,
and policy makers advocate for strategic intervention in
emergent literacy beginning in preschool
Learning through play is a common teaching and learning approach in early childhood settings (Bodrova
2008; Frost et al.2001; Hyvonen 2011) Play is a natural and healthy activity that children are involved in every day Combining learning and play is a smart method to encourage children to learn in an easy, fast, and interesting manner Hyvonen (2011) stated that play is a valuable and significant tool in early childhood education, and suggested that all pre-service teacher training programs should include, in their education programs, strategies to design effective playful learning processes and to create an enjoyable learning environment The purpose of this practitioner focused article is to (a) discuss issues and considerations in early literacy development for young children who are ELLs, and (b) share recommendations for supporting early literacy development through sociodramatic play, especially during center time The discussion is grounded in evidence-based, recommended practices (for example see Kohnert et al 2005; Neuman and Roskos 2005; Roskos et al 2003; Tabors 2008) and position papers of national professional organizations in early childhood [e.g Division for Early Childhood (DEC)
2010, 2014; National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)2009)
Gaps in Literacy Competency for English Language Learners
One of the specific achievement gaps that is of grave concern is the literacy gap between ELLs and native English speakers According to the 2013 National Assess-ment of Educational Progress data, ELLs in fourth grade scored 25 points lower than their peers in the section that measured reading By eighth grade, the point difference
& Rashida Banerjee
rashida.banerjee@unco.edu
1 University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO, USA
DOI 10.1007/s10643-015-0715-4
Trang 2was 41 points (National Center for Education Statistics
2013) For both these grade levels, this achievement gap
represents a 2–3 year deficit from other students at the
same grade level This growing trend of the achievement
gap as students progress through upper grade levels
illus-trates the lack of adequate and appropriate instruction in
spite of much legislation intended to narrow this
achieve-ment gap (Drummond2007)
One interesting fact related to this gap is not just the
limited language proficiency students demonstrate upon
entering school, but often a dual deficiency in both native
and second language (Gersten et al.2007) Many beginning
ELLs in kindergarten or first grade actually have
inade-quate literacy experiences in both languages (Espinosa
2013; Garcia 2000) Abedi and Ga´ndara (2006) point out
that when these young ELLs first begin public school they
are already significantly behind their peers and much extra
time and specialized instruction is necessary to help them
catch up Studies have shown that ELLs with no English
skills need between 5 and 7 years to achieve sufficient
mastery of academic English to match their
English-speaking peers (Hakuta et al.2000) While these ELLs are
attempting to overcome this challenge of continuing to
increase their English skills at the same time as trying to
learn new material, one can reasonably postulate that the
learning rate of children who are ELLs may not match
those of the native English population of students (Abedi
and Ga´ndara2006)
The development of literacy is a process that begins at
birth, and occurs throughout very early childhood, long
before children start attending public school; this literacy
development is intricate and complex, representing many
different skills and experiences (August and Shanahan
2006) Well before formal reading instruction begins, the
literacy process rests on developing oral language skills
such as vocabulary and conversation Research has
demonstrated that developing speaking and listening skills
is most effective when play based, interactive strategies
and activities are used to promote language and
commu-nication, such as intentional adult-child dialogues, or peer
conversations (Solomon and Rhodes 1995; Florida State
Department of Education2003; NCREL2003)
Importance of Play to Support Literacy
Development
The relationship between play and literacy has long
inter-ested scholars (e.g., Christensen and Kelly 2003; Fadool
2009; Moon and Reifel 2008; Myck-Wayne 2010;
Pelli-grini and Galda 1998) A number of studies have been
conducted that link play and literacy development in early
1992 and 2000, Roskos and Christie (2004) found strong evidence that well designed, literacy-promoting play environments provide for language experiences that lead young children to build connections between oral and written modes of expression and thus support their later formal literacy learning
Moon and Reifel (2008) confirm the findings of previous studies regarding the importance of play and creating appropriate play environments to enhance literacy learning among children The authors demonstrate that using dif-ferent types of play improves literacy learning among children from different language backgrounds Providing appropriate literacy materials in play environments has also been shown to promote literacy learning (Fadool 2009; Tsao 2008) For example, providing popular story books, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Carle et al.1989) or The Cat in the Hat (Seuss1985) during center time allows children from different language backgrounds to connect these familiar stories with their experiences or read them in their native language (Moon and Reifel 2008) Children often use words during play center to convey their thinking, feelings, and ideas, all of which support the growth of young children’s language skills Furthermore, creating effective play environments for children encourages chil-dren to collaborate, expand their vocabulary, and enjoy reading and writing in an environment that encourages the development of language skills Thus, well-structured play environments provide each child with opportunities to learn and meet his/her needs (Fadool2009)
Using literacy materials during play time, especially during dramatic play, helps to increase children’s under-standing of the processes of reading and writing Myck-Wayne (2010) found that the dramatic and block play areas provide many opportunities to enhance the communica-tions and social interaccommunica-tions between young children Make-believe acts and role play are aspects of dramatic play that enhance learning, especially of verbal language, because children are motivated to produce explicit and thoughtful language for their play (Frost et al.2001; Tsao
2008) Conflict resolution, cooperative work, accepting of others’ viewpoints, and recognizing real and pretend dif-ferences are play aspects that the young children learn during play center
Play intervention is a critical component to assist and effectively improve children’s literacy and language (Roskos et al 2003) The adults should ensure that the relationship between play and literacy has a meaningful connection by directing, observing, and participating with children during play time Scaffolding dramatic play can positively affect the improvement of the early academic skills (Bodrova2008) Effective play time can contribute to improve cognitive skills and to get more confidence and
Trang 3those young children to investigate their environments and
seek to use higher level thinking, talking, and playing skills
(Tabors1998)
Strategies to Promote Play for English Language
Learners
Building on the mounting evidence for relationship
between children’s language and emerging literacy
abili-ties, below we present some strategies to support
sociodramatic play to enhance language and literacy
development in young children Sociodramatic play
occurs most frequently during the preschool years and
accounts for a significant portion of children’s behavior
during this period (Banerjee and Horn 2013)
Sociodramatic play involves six characteristics
(Smilan-sky1968): (1) make-believing using objects; (2) assuming
a make-believe role; (3) make-believing about a situation
or action; (4) persisting or being able to continue the play
in face of challenges; (5) using language to communicate
the context of play; and (6) interacting socially while
playing The last two characteristics of play that involve
interaction and communication are critical to
sociodra-matic play and distinguish it from simple drasociodra-matic play
This type of play fosters development in all domains
including social-emotional, cognitive, language, and
physical development, and allows children to function at
their highest level of competence (Vygotsky1977)
Morrow and Rand (1991) investigated the impact of
environmental changes in preschool classrooms and, in
addition, examined patterns of teacher guidance on
chil-dren’s literacy behavior They found that not only was the
environment important but also that the teacher’s role was
extremely important in guiding and modeling literacy
behavior Active adult participation in child-initiated play
in the sociodramatic play center enriches and elaborates
the play, contributes to the creation of potential
develop-ment, and supports the self-regulation growth of the
children (Keles¸ and Kalıpc¸ı-So¨yler 2013) Thus, there is
evidence for supporting two types of strategies for
enhancing language and literacy development in sociodramatic play: (1) adults as mediators/facilitators, and (2) enhancing ‘‘language richness’’ of the environ-ment Below we describe how teachers can support these two interventions in order to enhance language and liter-acy skills for young ELLs in their classrooms Since most preschools include center time when children work in small groups independently or with peers under adult supervision or under direct adult directions, these strate-gies are specifically targeted at providing interventions during center time
Environmental Interventions
Environmental interventions include changes to the phys-ical, social, or temporal environment to promote partici-pation, engagement, and learning during center time (Sandall et al 2008) Specifically, in this context, ronmental supports refer to changes to the physical envi-ronment to promote language and literacy skills among preschool children Below we provide some strategies for early childhood practitioners that have shown evidence in improving language and literacy skills for young children who are ELLs during center times (Banerjee 2012, Table1)
Increase Classroom Dramatic Play Time
Having extended time for child-directed dramatic play built into the daily routine of a preschool classroom is important for children to sustain engagement in play activities (Christie1990; Hemmeter et al 2008) Typically, at least
1 hour (i.e approximately 25 % time) per morning or afternoon session of predictable and structured sociodramatic play time is necessary for young children to become engaged in and sustain activities independently or with peers (Banerjee 2012) Furthermore, expect children to spend at least 15 min per sociodramatic play area or center
to provide uninterrupted blocks of time during play This extended time allows children to enter and maintain
Table 1 Environmental interventions to support children’s language and literacy development during center times
Increase/maintain classroom dramatic play time to at least 1 hour per AM/PM session
Minimize the number of dramatic centers available to children at a time to 4–5 centers (have at least 2–3 centers that are ‘‘sociodramatic’’ play centers; restrict the number of centers that encourage solitary play)
Provide focused centers with enhanced reading and writing materials
Bring in the cultural aspects within each of the centers
Make sure your props and environment closely resemble ‘‘real life’’ scenarios Children’s familiarity with the themes and props are very important
Provide uninterrupted blocks of time during play Expect children to spend 10–15 min per area
Trang 4interests, engagement and learning and elaborate their play
through language, peer interactions, and problem solving in
an activity that interests them This also allows teachers
adequate time to observe or support play for the children in
the classroom (Leong and Bodrova2012)
Prepare Children Before the Start of the Center
Time
Transitions between activities may be challenging for
many children (Banerjee and Horn2013; Hemmeter et al
2008) It is critical that children who are ELLs get adequate
time to prepare for the next activity For example, after the
large group session, and before sending children off for
center time, Ms Hart, a preschool teacher, prepares the
children with information about each center, including
which centers are open and what specific expectations
teachers have of the children at each of the centers Ms
Hart points to the Block Area and says, ‘‘Remember you
heard about the floods and that the bridge and roads are
broken in our city? Today we will construct new bridges
for our city You have the tools you need in that area I also
have some books for you to read on how bridges are made
There are note pads for you to write your measurements in
or make notes Three children can go and play in that
area’’ Then she points to the Home Area and says, ‘‘Our
friend Julie’s birthday is coming up next week Can we get
ready for her party? There are some materials you will need
to bake a cake for her The recipe books explain how you
can bake the cake Pick the one you like best There are
cards and some markers on the table for you to invite
friends.’’ These simple, predictable instructions provide
children a focus for what the theme for each of the center is
and what expectations teacher have of them
Limit the Number of Centers Available to Children
at a Time
By minimizing the number of dramatic centers to about four
or five, the children are encouraged to work with one
another, even if briefly, and engage in peer interaction and
thus exchange language to share their needs, ideas, or to
problem solve (Christie 1990) Banerjee (2012) observed
between 10 and 17 centers in classrooms with sometimes as
many or fewer children More centers are likely to encourage
isolated play and thus reduce opportunities for child–child
interactions throughout the school day that are not adult
directed Teachers may choose to consolidate some centers
based on themes to minimize the number of centers For
examples, instead of a separate sensory center, Ms Hart
placed the water table in the ‘house area’ and encouraged
children to wash fruits and vegetables before preparing
to textures e.g children use wood chopping boards, differ-ent types of beans and other non-perishable food items for cooking, stainless steel pans, and plastic silverware
Provide Focused Centers with Reading and Writing Materials
In an attempt to encourage meaningful use of reading and writing materials, teachers may consider adding appropri-ate and relevant literacy mappropri-aterials in the dramatic play area (Morrow and Rand1991; Neuman and Roskos2005) The use of reading and writing materials and activities during their daily routines encourage children to engage with the functional language and literacy It is important that a wide variety of reading and writing tools are available for chil-dren to meet their play needs across different contexts For example, instead of a separate reading corner, Mr Eduardo includes recipe books and writing materials where children write grocery lists in the house area Similarly, in the doctor’s office, children have magazines and a clip board available to them, where the ‘‘patients’’ can sign in or where the ‘‘nurse’’ or the ‘‘doctor’’ can write notes They have audio books to listen to while they are waiting for their turn
Bring in the Cultural Aspects Within Each Center
Ensuring that the props and play environment closely resemble ‘‘real life’’ scenarios builds familiarity for chil-dren, especially more so for those who are ELLs (Kohnert
et al 2005) Teachers may seek parents’ help to identity materials that are familiar and attractive to the child and keep the child’s interest in a particular center for longer duration For example, by adding some empty cans of different beans used at home in the kitchen area and a few articles of clothing from a child’s home may encourage children to participate more actively in the area that might have otherwise been of little interest to them Similarly, instead of assuming the child’s routines at home, it is important that teachers seek parents’ help in identifying the routines that are familiar to the child and use them to guide interactions at the centers For example, if the child is used
to eating with grandma on the floor, the teacher [or another adults] can play the role of grandma at a dining room center to encourage a usually reticent child to interact It is recommended that adults learn the names of items and few conversational phrases in the child’s dominant language to support the dialogue
Construct a Picture Dictionary
During the sociodramatic play, children are likely to
Trang 5peers and adults Teachers may develop one or more
pic-ture dictionaries in which common words in English are
translated into another language or languages (Tabors
2008) Teachers write each word and definition on a piece
of paper that can be placed alphabetically in a three ring
binder Teachers leave room for the child to illustrate the
entry as they continue to build the dictionary throughout
the year and enlist the help of parents in this ongoing
activity While the child may not have the literacy skills to
be able to read these words, the child builds a connection
with the word and this provides an excellent resource to
develop sight vocabulary and patterns in written language
Adult Interventions
Adult interventions, the second type of interventions to
support language and early literacy development, refer to
strategies undertaken by adults to support children’s
sociodramatic play as well as their language and literacy
development during play Adults may play multiple roles
during the sociodramatic play as delineated below
(Isen-berg and Jalongo2013; Van Hoorn et al.2014, Table2)
Adult as an Observer
Standing back and taking the time to observe in a preschool
classroom is often a luxury Further, accurate observation
takes time and practice The purpose of this observation is
for the teachers to assess each child’s engagement with
peers, to identify children’s strengths and needs in all areas
and determine the areas where the adult might need to
intervene (Bodrova2008) It gives the teacher an insight
into each of the following roles
Adult as a Stage Manager
As the stage manager, the teacher or other adults in the
room set the stage for the informal drama to occur during
the center time (Bodrova2008; Isenberg and Jalongo2013;
Van Hoorn et al.2014) They prepare the environment by
providing props, arranging materials, tidying and rear-ranging as needed, clarifying and defining space, ensuring enough space, providing background experience to chil-dren as necessary For example, Mr Eduardo provides the clothes in the home area that are appropriate for the play theme as well as the right size for the children Depending
on the needs and exposure of the children in his class, Mr Eduardo sometimes chooses to start the center activity with fewer props to avoid overwhelming the children He may add more props later to encourage variety and language use
as children learn to engage actively with the available props As the stage manager, Mr Eduardo considers chil-dren’s learning goals and child’s home and culture when presenting props
Adult as a Player
One of the most commonly used roles of adults is that of player in the drama that the child initiates The adults may serve as a parallel player in which the adult plays alongside the child without actually interacting with the child or children in the play (Saracho2004; Van Hoorn et al.2014) The purpose of parallel play is to subtly demonstrate or model extended use of materials and language to young children without stifling children’s own creativity The adult may choose to serve as a co-player in the dramatic play with the child As a co-player, the adult may take on a more assertive role with less skilled player However, adults are cautioned against overusing this role as it can interfere with the child’s natural creativity
Adult as a Mediator
In a preschool classroom, conflict between the children is a frequent occurrence During a conflict situation, the adult may help children resolve conflict by suggesting alterna-tives while also allowing children to implement solution on their own (Davidson 1996; Van Hoorn et al 2014) For example, instead of saying ‘‘fighting is not allowed in school’’ or ‘‘that’s not nice’’, the adult would instead say,
‘‘it looks like there is a problem.’’ Thus, the role of
Table 2 Adult interventions to support children’s language and literacy development during center times
Prepare children before the start of the center time as to what centers are open—and what specific expectations you have from them in each of the centers
Remember adult roles during the play
Player: actor in children’s play
Observer: observer where the children may need support for language/literacy development
Stage manager: plan themes ahead and provide the material to support these themes
Mediator: help children problem solve
Interpreter: help children interpret each other’s and their own emotions or thoughts
Trang 6mediator is a balance between teaching children skills of
conflict resolution (sharing toys, using words, taking turns),
offering children the opportunity to develop problem
solving skills by using language, while keeping the conflict
at a manageable level The use of language enhances the
child’s capacity to problem solve and think creatively—
both important skills for literacy development
Adult as an Interpreter
Three and four year old preschool children are egocentric
and often do not realize that things can be viewed from
more than one perspective In their role of interpreter
(Davidson 1996; Saracho 2004; Van Hoorn et al 2014),
adults can interpret or describe children’s actions to make
them aware of other children and teach children social
competence During clean up, when Fernando makes a
fuss, Ms Hart gets down to his level and says, ‘‘Fernando,
it’s hard to clean up I can tell you’re worried about leaving
your bridge.’’ She then goes on to problem solve with
him—‘‘What do you think we should do?’’ When Fernando
has trouble offering solutions, Ms Hart offers a couple of
solutions of her own, ‘‘Perhaps, you can come back and
clean up after snack time?’’ or ‘‘Perhaps we can take a
picture and you can keep that before you clean up.’’ By
labeling emotion and finding a solution, Ms Hart is able to
help Fernando enhance his vocabulary and language skills
Adult as a Social Director
Finally, one of the other important roles of the adults is to
find a role appropriate for and interesting to the child, and
draw other children into the play when needed Davidson
(1996) emphasis two functions of the adults in this role As
the ‘‘guardian of the gate’’, the adult can help children to
enter play As the ‘‘Matchmaker’’, the adult can help
children to find peers for needed roles For example, as the
matchmaker, Ms Hart calls out to Joshua (a master player)
to help Lisa (a ‘‘less confident’’ player) and says, ‘‘Joshua,
do you think you can play with Lisa? She needs extra help
in getting ready for Julie’s party’’ As the guardian of the
gate, Ms Hart ensures that there is a balance of skills,
language or social competency, and gender in each center
Conclusion
Certainly, there need to be significant improvements in
enriching and enhancing the language base for literacy in
English for ELLs (Gersten et al.2007) Sociodramatic play
activities have been shown to stimulate social, emotional,
and intellectual development in the child, all of which are
Smith 2013) Frequent, naturalistic and informal interac-tion during play provide an important learning tool for young children; and teachers must capitalize on this tool to maximize young children’s learning while also gathering information regarding children’s needs Teachers have the power to contribute to the development of children’s lan-guage and literacy skills by initiating and sustaining the interaction among children during sociodramatic playtime For children who are ELLs, these are critical skills which will equip them to be successful learners in kindergarten and beyond Collaborative efforts between researchers and practitioners may continue to lead to unique and innovative practices that address the literacy gap of ELLs at all edu-cation levels
References
Abedi, J., & Ga´ndara, P (2006) Performance of English language learners as a subgroup in large-scale assessment: Interaction of research and policy Educational Measurement Issues and Practice, 25(4), 36–46.
August, D., & Shanahan, T (2006) Executive summary: Developing literacy in second-language learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on language-minority children and youth Center for Applied Linguistics Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Banerjee, R (2012) Effect of sociodramatic play on literacy skills of English language learners: A report Greeley, CO: Author Banerjee, R., & Horn, E (2013) Supporting classroom transitions between daily routines: Strategies and tips Young Exceptional Children, 16, 3–14 doi: 10.1177/1096250612446853
Bodrova, E (2008) Make-believe play versus academic skills: A Vygotskian approach to today’s dilemma of early childhood education European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 16(3), 357–369.
Carle, E., Rice, A., Peetoom, A., & Scholastic Inc (1989) The Very Hungry Caterpillar Jefferson City, MO: Scholastic.
Christensen, A., & Kelly, K (2003) No time for play: Throwing the baby out with the bath water The Reading Teacher, 56, 528–530 Christie, J (1990) Dramatic play: A context for meaningful play Reading Teacher, 43(8), 542–545.
Davidson, J I (1996) Emergent literacy and dramatic play in early education Boston, MA: Wadsworth Publishing Company Division for Early Childhood (2010) Position statement: Responsive-ness to all children, families, and professionals: Integrating cultural and linguistic diversity into policy and practice Missoula, MT: Author Retrieved from http://dec.membershipsoftware.org/files/ Position%20Statement%20and%20Papers/Position%20Statement_ Cultural%20and%20Linguistic%20Diversity.pdf
Division for Early Childhood (2014) DEC recommended practices
in early intervention/early childhood special education 2014 Retrieved from http://www.dec-sped.org/recommendedpractices Drummond, S (2007) Achievement gap 101 National Public Radio Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story php?storyId=7851275
Espinosa, L (2013) The academic achievement of children of immigrant families: A research review with implications for closing the achievement gap Retrieved from http://www.
Trang 7Fadool, M C (2009) ‘‘We don’t serve no ice cream!’’: Enhancing
children’s understanding and use of literacy through play events.
Journal of Reading Education, 34(3), 23–29.
Florida State Department of Education, Office of Multicultural
Student Language Education (2003) Language arts through
ESOL: A guide for teachers and administrators Tallahassee:
Florida State Department of Education.
Frost, J L., Wortham, S., & Reifel, S (2001) Play and child
development Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc.
Fry, R (2007) How far behind in math and reading are English
language learners? Report Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic
Center.
Garcia, G N (2000) Lessons from research: What is the length of
time it takes limited English proficient students to acquire
English and succeed in an all-English classroom? Washington,
DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education Issue Brief.
Gersten, R., Baker, S K., Shanahan, T., Linan-Thompson, S., Collins,
P., & Scarcella, R (2007) Effective literacy and English
language instruction for English learners in the elementary
grades: A practice guide (NCEE 2007-4011) Washington, DC:
National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional
Assis-tance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S Department of
Education Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/publica
tions/practiceguides
Hakuta, K., Butler, Y., & Witt, D (2000) How long does it take
English learners to attain proficiency? (Policy Report 2000-1).
Oakland: University of California, Linguistic Minor-ity
Research Institute.
Hemmeter, M., Ostrosky, M., Artman, K., & Kinder, K (2008).
Moving right along… Planning transitions to prevent
challeng-ing behavior Young Children, 63(3), 18.
Hyvonen, P T (2011) Play in the school context? The perspectives
of Finnish teachers Australian Journal of Teacher Education,
36(8), 65–83.
Isenberg, J P., & Jalongo, M R (2013) Creative thinking and
arts-based learning: Preschool through fourth grade (6th ed.) New
Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.
Keles¸, S., & Kalıpc¸ı-So¨yler, S (2013) Embedded rules in sociodramatic
plays: To determine the approaches of preschool teacher candidates.
International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 5(2),
330–338.
Kohnert, K., Yim, D., Nett, K., Kan, P F., & Duran, L (2005).
Intervention with linguistically diverse preschool children: A
focus on developing home language(s) Language, Speech, and
Hearing Services in Schools, 36, 251–263.
Leong, D J., & Bodrova, E (2012) Assessing and scaffolding
make-believe play Young Children, 67, 28–34.
McGowan, A., & Smith, I (2013) Can you come out to play? An
examination of the use of technology to enhance sociodramatic
play among early childhood teachers Journal of Technology
Integration in the Classroom, 5(1), 29–33.
Moon, K., & Reifel, S (2008) Play and literacy learning in a diverse
language pre-kindergarten classroom Contemporary Issues in
Early Childhood, 9(1), 49–65.
Morrow, L M., & Rand, M (1991) Promoting literacy during play
by designing early childhood classroom environments The Reading Teacher, 44, 396–402.
Myck-Wayne, J (2010) In defense of play: Beginning the dialog about the power of play Young Exceptional Children, 13(4), 14–23 National Association for the Education of Young Children (2009) Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity Available from http://www.naeec.org
National Center for Education Statistics (2013) National Assessment
of Educational Progress [Data file] Retrieved from http://nces ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_222.10.asp
Neuman, S B., & Roskos, K (2005) Whatever happened to develop-mentally appropriate practices in literacy? Young Children, 60, 1–6 North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (2003) Critical issue: Addressing literacy needs in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms Napierville, IL: Author Retrieved from
http://www.ncrel.org Pelligrini, A., & Galda, L (1998) The development of school-based literacy: A social ecological perspective New York: Routledge Roskos, K., & Christie, J (2004) Examining the play-literacy interface: A critical review and future directions In E Zigler, D Singer, & S Bishop-Joseph (Eds.), Children’s play: The roots of reading (pp 21–38) Washington, DC: Zero to Three Press Roskos, K., Christie, J., & Richgels, D J (2003) The essentials of early literacy instruction Young Children, 58, 52–60.
Sandall, S., Schwartz, I S., Joseph, G E., Chou, H Y., Horn, E M., Lieber, J., et al (2008) Building blocks for teaching preschool-ers with special needs Baltimore, MD: Brookes.
Saracho, O N (2004) Supporting literacy-related play: Roles for teachers of young children Early Childhood Education Journal, 31(3), 201–206.
Seuss (1985) The Cat in the Hat New York, NY: Random House (Original work published 1957).
Smilansky, S (1968) The effects of sociodramatic play on disad-vantaged preschool children London: Wiley.
Solomon, J., & Rhodes, N (1995) Conceptualizing academic language Santa Cruz, CA: National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning.
Tabors, P (1998) What early childhood educators need to know: Developing effective programs for culturally and linguistically diverse families Young Children, 53(6), 20–26.
Tabors, P (2008) One child, two languages: A guide for early childhood educators of children learning English as a second language (2nd ed.) Baltimore: Paul H Brookes.
Tsao, Y (2008) Using guided play to enhance children’s conversa-tion, creativity and competence in literacy Educaconversa-tion, 128(3), 515–520.
Van Hoorn, J., Nourot, P M., Scales, B., & Alward, K R (2014) Play at the center of the curriculum (6th ed.) Upper Saddler River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
Vygotsky, L (1977) Play and its role in the mental development of the child In M Cole (Ed.), Soviet developmental psychology (pp 76–99) White Plains, NY: M E Sharpe.