Books and Play

Currently, we have two space design workshops. "Designing Uncommon Spaces" and "The Elements of Space Design." Each workshop includes a conversation about the role of books in classroom design.

How do educators incorporate books into children's play spaces?

Books are a large part of childcare programs. Teachers utilize books in childcare settings in different ways. In some programs, teachers read books to children daily because storytime is an essential part of the program. In other programs, books are a resource for children to use as they search for answers. Books are entertainment, inspiration, comfort, and create joy. Our relationship with language and books begins at birth.

From birth, babies listen and watch adults as they learn the essence of language. Janet Werker and Ellen Gallinsky, in the book Mind in the Making, share that infants pull out properties like consonants, vowels, and other parts of language to learn words and syntax to comprehend and speak. Children from birth try to make sense of spoken language.

In the book, The Importance of Being Little, Erika Christakis shares that "Infants as young as six months can distinguish between a person speaking a foreign language and the language they hear every day around them." Young children are open to acquiring language and want to join the conversation and share their ideas with others. The transformation from understanding language to participation flows through holistic literacy practices.

Reading is one part of literacy. Reading mastery is a challenging cognitive task that requires many different skills. The essential components of reading ask the learner to gain strength in many areas of learning, like sound awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency. According to Ellen Gallinsky in "Mind in the Making, there are nine ways to encourage literacy in early childhood. The first five are understanding-not drills, surrounding the process with enjoyment, connecting visually with verbal, and the concept of printed words. The last four are to talk, listen, discuss, and imagine, encourage children to talk about their ideas, make it fun to crack the code, and promote expression.

Teachers can encourage literacy through four actions in the classroom, following children's interests, discussion and communication, writing, and print-rich environments. Activities that support children's learning and create a bridge to the enjoyment of books.

Children in the classroom enjoy following their interests by choosing what they work on each day. For children, choosing work is the launch pad for learning. Children's language skills develop as they communicate with others during work and play. Language needs to connect to a positive environment, and work children care about, then learning language and words becomes a natural part of the play experience.

Discussion and communication with peers and adults are essential to early learning. Children need to experience and work with the tools of language to connect with books. Conversation with others helps children learn to comprehend, speak, and read words. Talking with others helps children begin to master communication. As teachers, we can support children by engaging in rich, meaningful discussions about their work in the classroom. As teachers, we often engage in short conversations with the children as we move from one task to another. To encourage literacy and the development of communication skills, children need time to have extended conversations with peers and teachers. As children talk with adults, they learn new challenging words and practice expressing themselves through their work.

As children work in the classroom, they are on a learning journey. Many teachers record the learning journey through observation and write documentation to share with others. In the classroom, we can encourage literacy through writing. Successful literacy programs offer children continual access to writing materials. Paper, pens, pencils, crayons, and markers fill every space in the classroom. Writing is a crucial component of learning to read. Writing invites children to play with words and to express what they experience in work and play. Writing helps children place their thoughts and feelings about an experience into an active form that makes words memorable.

A print-rich environment promotes literacy in the classroom. Books connected to an activity or a question provide a basis for further investigation, conversation, and learning. Books share information with children about a subject or topic of interest and help them find answers to their questions about the world. Books introduce young children to words in a formal way. Books show children the order of language and how to use language to communicate. A print-rich environment is a foundation for future reading and writing. Books are an excellent complement to all project work in the classroom.

The four actions that promote literacy help a learning community grow together. These practices encourage children to lead their learning and invite the teacher to engage in conversation with the children. Access to writing and a print-rich environment support the children's learning journey. Literacy is a journey for young children that begins at birth and spans a lifetime of learning. Practices promoting literacy are the foundation for future reading and enjoyment of books.