Playful Literacy Practices in Early Childhood: Discoveries in Storytelling and Story-Acting Through Teacher Research

• In Event: 56.079 - Voices of Teachers: Inquiry in the Early Childhood Setting

Abstract

This practitioner inquiry examines the implementation of an oral storytelling and story-acting curriculum, based on the work of Vivian Paley, in a toddler classroom. Findings reveal that this play-based curriculum supported the children’s language and emergent literacy development in multiple ways. Through storytelling and story-acting the children drew on their oral language skills, made connections between their stories and other texts, negotiated multiple languages, and engaged in collaborative authoring practices. These aspects of language and literacy learning took place within the context of two overarching themes, Expressions of identity and Fostering community, which provided a rich context for culturally and linguistically relevant language and literacy learning grounded in the children’s strengths and interests.

Author

• Tara Lencl, Teachers College, Columbia University