Based on an analysis of three literacy events in nursery schools, this article focuses on how literacy forms part of children's social practices and co-creates the language environment in the nursery and how place, affect and materiality play a key role in children's multimodal and embodied meaning-making around literacy. The analysis is based on…

We describe the rationale for- and content of- a freely available, novel, theoretically driven and evidence-based approach to improving the teaching of word reading in reception classrooms called 'Flexible Phonics'. Flexible Phonics (FP) adds measurable value to-, rather than wholly replacing, existing synthetic phonics programmes. The rationale…

It has been suggested that culturally relevant literature can be beneficial to elementary school students' learning. Yet, less research has focused on African American students' perspectives of that literature, including aspects of that engagement that may benefit their learning. Therefore, the main goal centred on US elementary school students'…

While digital multimodal composing, underpinned by a critical literacies approach, provides opportunities for students to make informed semiotic choices and voice concerns about social issues, there is limited research exploring how digital multimodal composing is employed to interrogate and challenge the entanglements of language, immigration…

High quality teaching and learning materials (TLM) are essential for early literacy learning. The purpose of this study was to determine if the TLM used in schools in Kano State, Nigeria, were culturally appropriate, gender balanced and relevant to the Nigeria Universal Basic Education Curriculum, with particular emphasis on primary reading. Using…

This paper complicates oracy by attending to moments of vibrancy and stillness in a public school classroom, where children were expected to follow particular rules that governed their bodily movement and language use. I argue that children's talk in classrooms cannot be separated from the making of meaning at the intersection of human bodies,…

This study investigates the ways in which first graders utilised a variety of semiotic resources when authoring nonfiction compositions during a nonfiction genre writing unit of study. Grounded in social semiotics and multimodality theories, the study uses a case study approach to explore the text, image and design resources used in students'…

Instruction with primary sources promotes learner engagement and behavioural objectives. The school museum is a suitable resource for information literacy instruction in early childhood education. In this paper, we question conventional information literacy instruction. Drawing on a review of the scientific literature on information literacy and a…

Research indicates a powerful correlation between students' reading enjoyment, motivation and achievement. This Australian case study investigates how reading for pleasure (RfP) approaches are demonstrated in the teaching of reading in a Stage 1 (6-year-old to 7-year-old students) classroom. The methodology was designed to mirror aspects of…

Early childhood educators are encouraged to read with infants, yet little is known about the educator-infant book-focused interactions that occur in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) centres. This study provides a systematic linguistic analysis of the naturally occurring interactions between one focal child Charlie (aged 21 months and…

Education policy in England requires student teachers to demonstrate effective teaching of early reading, including systematic synthetic phonics, in order to qualify to teach. Although there is a range of literature about initial teacher education, little is documented about how pre-service or 'student' teachers develop specific knowledge and…

Autistic learners master visual and spatial abilities; they use visual language to organise, understand and give meaning to the world. Although they might struggle with verbal skills, they have an associative way of thinking. Taking into consideration the characteristics of seven autistic pupils, the aim of this paper was to identify the potential…

In this article, we "think with" theories of affect and transmedial storytelling to explore the cruel optimism that standardised reading pedagogies (e.g. read alouds; leveled readers/independent reading) can produce for readers. We draw on particular moments in a first grade classroom to argue that such pedagogies transmit…

A pedagogical perspective for rendering ways of knowing, being and being known, "making" and the larger maker movement are shaping contemporary educational places, practices and discourses. Despite these advances, its intersection with early literacy and childhood education are nascent. Thinking with theories of multiliteracies and…

Since the early 2000s, literacy education has become an area of intense focus in Australian education policy, positioned to have a role in Australia's pursuit of enhanced international competitiveness in the "global knowledge economy". Policy called for improvements in literacy outcomes, monitored by mandated annual assessments, and…