Social competence and social communication development can be concurrently supported through intentional thought and planning on the part of the early childhood special educator. In this article, we present suggestions for how teachers can effectively plan for and implement interventions to support these two areas, all within the context of play.…

Teachers play an important role in expanding and supporting children's play and interactions with peers. This manuscript provides specific guidelines for interventions teachers can use to promote successful peer interactions in preschool settings. The strategies discussed include: (a) preparing the physical environment for play (e.g., toy…

A large percentage of young children entering preschool are English speakers who speak a language variety that often differs from the English dialect expected by educators within early childhood programs. While African American English (AAE) is one of the most widely recognized English dialects in the United States, the use of AAE in schools and…

A team of facilitators describe the process and content of portfolios they create for families attending weekly playgroup sessions based on the philosophy and practices of the Parents Interacting with Infants (PIWI) model. The parent-child portfolios are a form of authentic assessment and highlight children's development within the context of…

With the advent of Web 2.0, Vygotsky's traditional role of the more knowledgeable other (MKO) has been transformed. This transformation shifts the power of a facilitator of learning from an elite group of MKOs to all students. Such a transformation possesses significant value in the early childhood mathematics classroom where collaboration is…

Nonfiction stories of animal compassion were used in this literacy-social studies integrated lesson to address both efferent and aesthetic stances in transmediation of text from picture books to maps. Preservice early childhood and elementary teachers chose places from the nine recent children's stories, symbolizing them on a map while…

Combining home-school literacy bags with preschool family literature circles provided a strong foundation for family involvement at home and school during this year-long Reading Partners project, and helped parents become essential partners in their children's literacy development. Using home-school literacy bags, children and parents learned…

Visual arts, such as drawings, are attractive to most young children. Marks left on paper by young children contain meaning. Although it is known that children's oral language could be enhanced through communication with adults, rarely is there a series of dialogues between adults and young children about their drawings. Often heard instead…

e-Books share some key features with traditional printed picture books, but also include distinct features such as live animation, interactive components, and the operation of the technology that require new approaches to shared reading with young children. The purpose of this paper is to better inform adults working with young children (teachers,…

Speech language pathologists (SLPs) have developed specialized knowledge about oral language and its relationship to early literacy development that can be particularly useful to early childhood educators. The purpose of this article is to highlight ways in which an SLP can support early childhood teachers in a Response to Intervention role by…

Many children struggle with reading and are seldom engaged in this process when teachers assign them to read. Young learners may lack motivation to read an dislike this activity because they have had frequently have unpleasant experiences with reading. If educators fail to provide support for struggling readers, these pupils will likely experience…

Early literacy skill development is critical during the preschool years. Under that umbrella is emergent writing, a small but important component of overall literacy development. This article presents two writing strategies: (1) writers' workshop and (2) dictation within the context of storybook reading that preschool teachers can utilize to…

Fathers and paternal role models make a unique contribution to children's development. There is some research to suggest that the types of play males engage in with children is typically more active and thus offers unique possibilities for embedding activities for language and literacy development. In this article, we offer suggestions for how…

Teaching children in the primary grades the text structures and features used by authors of information text has been shown to improve comprehension of information texts and provide the scaffolding and support these children need in order to write their own information texts. As teachers implement the "English Language Arts Common Core State…

Children experience chronic stress in ways that can impair their brain functioning and overall development. This article articulates the unique needs of children experiencing chronic stress and discusses strategies that families and schools can use to support and strengthen children's development across the social, emotional, and cognitive domains.