Improve Early Literacy Development With Hands-On Activities and Using of Materials

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: Privileging Interactivity and Creativity in the Classroom

Abstract

Research shows that children learn better when they are engaged in hands-on activities. This study explores how early literacy development is affected by the hands-on activities and smart using of materials. Latour’s Actor Network Theory was used to frame a discussion about how the hands-on activities and teaching materials influence teachers’ practices, students’ literacy learning, and the interaction between them. Many lessons the teachers reflected on were undermined by difficulties they ran into with the materials they employed in the classroom. The uncertain and unpredictable characteristics of classrooms require the teachers to develop the ability to make quick decisions, allocating attention to multiple tasks, designing attractive activities, smart using of manipulatives, and adjusting quickly to the changing circumstances.

Author

• Bing Xiao, Austin Peay State University