GDECE 103 Language and Literacy in the Early Years: Assessment 2 explores innovative methods to support early literacy development, and students often seek an Assignment Helper UK for Students to ensure top-quality guidance. This assignment sample outlines four evidence-based recommendations—interactive storytelling, print-awareness activities, play-based phonemic games, and music-and-movement exercises—that cultivate vocabulary, comprehension, and phonological skills in young learners.
GDECE 103 Language and Literacy in the Early Years: Assessment 2 demonstrates that interactive storytelling boosts young children’s vocabulary and comprehension. Paradigmatic of this is the ability to increase young children’s vocabulary and comprehension when used in interactive storytelling. So with storytelling, children learn new words, new ideas, and new ways of constructing sentences, all of which go to build their language kingdom. Vygotsky pointed out that knowledge is constructed through the interactions of the learners with other people who possess the intended knowledge; this theory is called the social constructivism theory (Kouicem Khadidja, 2020). It is in storytelling that such interactions are most natural since children can learn and practice new words and patterns of language and narrative. On the same note, Girmen and Kaya (2019) postulated that through storytelling, children can better organize their thinking and as such assist in cognitive growth.
As cited by Yang et al. (2020), parents and teachers can introduce such methods as performing the tales and inviting the kids into the play during the storytelling. For example, while reading a narrative like "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak, the adult can ask questions such as, "What do you think Max will do next?" or "Why do you think the wild things are roaring?" Not only does it involve children but it also encourages them to be analytical and increases their reserve of words by discussing the story.
To increase a child’s global comprehension, he or she should be encouraged to narrate the content of the story and then try to retell the story in their own words, or to dramatize the event, which would only solidify a child’s knowledge of the content (Maureen et al. 2020). Moreover, it is appropriate to use storytelling for the development of comprehensiveness, which is reached using debates regarding the character’s feelings, purposes, and behaviors. For example, teachers can pose questions, such as ‘How do you think Max felt when his father decided to send him to his room’ or ‘What would I do if I were in Max’s place?’ Such types of talk activate children’s prior knowledge and make them see the emotions of the characters in the story and feel about themselves (Maureen et al. 2020).
For other children who may be English language learners (ELLs), or children with different learning needs, the telling of a story can be drawn with pictures, storyboards, and the like to enhance understanding (Kouicem Khadidja, 2020). Home language books or dual language stories can also be used to repeat the words in both two languages as well. Also, there are such non-verbal means as gestures, facial expressions, and even the tone of voice that may help educators to make meaning more distinct and to hold children’s attention.
As cited by Maureen et al. (2020), interactive storytelling could also be defined as an effective strategy for teaching young children because it enhances vocabulary, understanding, and participation. This practice can be very easily modified to accommodate individual differences among the children thus adopting it can be very useful in early childhood education.
GDECE 103 Language and Literacy in the Early Years: Assessment 2 emphasizes that print-awareness activities cultivate essential print knowledge. Print awareness involves print knowledge, which is important in early literacy learning since the children get to learn that print has a meaning and has a connection with speech. Simpson et al. (2019) defined print awareness as the knowledge of the direction of print, awareness that print can be read from left to right, top to bottom, and that print is made up of words which are made up of letters and that there are symbols such as letters and other signs of punctuation. This skill is very important for the child as he or she starts reading and writing. Lindfors (2019) shows that children, who use print in their activities, are likely to be good readers since they are introduced to the written language and its function.
Print awareness is therefore fostered through various strategies whereby educators, as well as caregivers, have an opportunity to highlight the use of print during normal undertakings (NKEBE, 2020). For instance, while reading a book, an adult organises a finger indicating the relationship between the written word and the spoken word. Also, an important aspect is naming the letters and words and indicating them in the environment, for instance, on the signs, labels, or packaging. For example, as cited by Cronan (2019), when walking in the park you, a caregiver, could point at the sign and ask: “Look at this! This is the sign: Playground! P-L-A-Y-G-R-O-U-N-D!
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As cited by Baron (2021), another workable activity is to encourage a print environment within the classroom and home setting. This may involve writing the names of some of the objects in the room such as ‘table’, ‘chair’, and ‘door’ in large fonts clearly on the objects in the house. These labeling activities can be easily implemented where children are involved in making and putting the labels. As cited by Evans (2020), also as mentioned having in the classroom books, magazines, and posters encourages children to explore print on their own. Such materials enable children to learn how print functions and also create in them a desire to read.
Print awareness activities can therefore be modified to suit other students who may have part or full visual impairment, or learning disabilities (Cronan, 2019). As for the child with visual impairments, there are books with the used letters being created in the form of a texture that can be felt by the hands, or books written in braille. In the case of ELLs, bilingual labels and books can be used to assist the children in relating words in their home language to words in English (Peets et al. 2019). Also, reading big letters as well as contrasting between black and white is good for children suffering from a visual impairment that affects the ability to focus on small letters.
Reading and other simple print awareness activities give the children an understanding of what they require to be readers (Peets et al. 2019). These activities help children learn early literacy and thus when made part of the daily routine and modified to accommodate children with different abilities, educators and caregivers will be able to assist all children.
GDECE 103 Language and Literacy in the Early Years: Assessment 2 highlights that play-based phonemic games are crucial for early literacy. Phonemic awareness, which is defined as the capacity to identify and play with sounds that are present in words, is indispensable to reading and spelling. Langenberg (2000) has found that phonemic awareness in the early years is a critical determinant of reading success. In young children, play endeavours are even more effective in fostering phonemic awareness because they indeed fit the learning-teaching model of young children that is mostly heuristic. By participating in play-related activities the children can acquire these skills in an easy over pressure making the process of learning a fun one (Raising Children, 2018).
According to Tipan (2023), phonemic awareness can be introduced into educators- and caregivers’ day through planned and non-planned play activities. One useful movement is the "I Spy" game with sounds, where an adult sounds, "I spy with my little eye something that starts with the /b/ sound," enabling children to recognize things around them that start with that sound (e.g., ball, book). Tipan (2023) also states that this game also helps children to develop a better perception in identifying and isolating the initial sounds in the words but also causes the child to become more conscious of the phonemes present in words in a fun manner.
According to Ayupova (2021), another good activity is the games on the matching of the sound with picture cards. One might encourage children to team up and bring four pictures that start with the same sound as an object for example; a cat and a car or sun and a sock. This activity assists in affirming that they can individually isolate and recognize different phonemes which is essential while reading when one is in the process of decoding words (Ayupova, 2021). In addition, rhyming games such as one in which a word is said and then the children have to say other words that can be derived from the word e. g., What rhymes with cat? enable the children to distinguish sounds (St Albans Childcare, 2024).
As cited by Rehfeld et al. (2022), phonemic awareness activities can be modified for different students particularly those in the disabled category, and those with speech or hearing impairments. Gesture-based items including pictures can be used to show sounds so that children may be able to relate to shapes or objects as they hard on the sounds. In the case of ELLs, one may take an activity and first present it in the child’s home language to establish confidence before translating it to English. Furthermore, it also established that when using speech, one can use a slow rate and repetitive sounds to cater to slow-processors children who have difficulties when it comes to the processing of auditory information (Rehfeld et al. 2022).
Using play-based phonemic awareness in the early education of literacy facilitates the development of important language skills jovially (St Albans Childcare, 2024). In this way, all required activities should be made available for learners with special needs and for all children to develop correct reading and spelling.
Using Music and Movement to Support Rhyming and Rhythm Awareness
GDECE 103 Language and Literacy in the Early Years: Assessment 2 asserts that music and movement activities strengthen phonological awareness through rhyme and rhythm. As cited by Patscheke et al. (2019), phonological awareness is made of Rhyming and rhythm, it is vital in early literacy and sound. Theory about rhyme and rhythm assists children in expecting word features, detecting syllables, and performing the sounds in words, abilities which are crucial in reading and composing (Zajacova, 2019). Music and movement activities entail the use of recurrent patterns of sound and, occasionally, language, making them very suitable for cementing such skills in young learners. As highlighted by Vidal et al., (2020), those children who participate in music activities have enhanced phonological awareness thus better literacy acquisition.
Lack of rhyming and rhythm in childcare should be tackled through game activities like songs, chants, and movement activities for young children to be taught by educators or caregivers. For instance, children can be encouraged to sing simple songs such as ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ or ‘Row Row Row Your Boat’ and this will familiarise the children with rhyming words. These rhymes can also be accompanied by physical actions, clapping hands, or tapping the feet in rhythm makes the children develop the forms of rhythms in language (Vidal et al., 2020).
Another create music and movement is rhyming games that can be greatly implemented in a class setting (Sweeney, 2019). For example, children can be made to march or dance in a circle as they sing a song with rhyming words. The adult can stop the music at a certain point and then tell the children to give him/her words that rhyme (for instance, ‘What Rhymes with cat?’). Apart from the focus on rhyming skills, this form of learning combines singing, dancing, and using the –ing words in a powerful way in that it appeals to the learners’ auditory, visual as well as kinesthetic learning modes.
Further, rhythmic exercises such as drumming or using percussion instruments can be used to highlight syllables and rhythm in words. For instance, as cited by Fitzgerald (2023), children can tap a drum once for a separate syllable in a word (e.g., tap-tap for "apple"). This exercise allows children to break down words into their constituent sounds, which is a crucial mastery for reading.
According to Subotnik et al. (2023), the incorporation of music and movement activities is quite malleable because lessons can be transduced to suit every child. For children with specific motor problems, one might change some movements or use different gestures for example, instead of marching one might tap with hands (Fitzgerald, 2023). According to Subotnik et al. (2023), when teaching songs and rhymes to ELLs, first use the child’s home language, and later on use the English language so that students feel more comfortable. Before that, sing the songs and explain the words to children; however, it is also effective to have picture cards and use them to explain the words as illustrations.
When music and movement are employed to teach rhyming and rhythm, kids are better place to learn rhyming and rhythm than when they are taught through speaking and writing alone (Sweeney, 2019). By including such activities in daily practice and using different approaches to develop language and rhythm in the context of different learners, educators, and caregivers can develop positive attitudes towards the use of language and rhythm in all children.
Conclusion
In GDECE 103 Language and Literacy in the Early Years: Assessment 2, integrating interactive storytelling, print-awareness tasks, phonemic play, and music-and-movement strategies creates a robust foundation for young learners’ literacy development. By tailoring these evidence-based approaches to individual needs, educators and caregivers can foster confident readers and lifelong language skills.
References
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