The Effect of Play on Early Literacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Effect of Play on Early Literacy - Essay Example Research on the relationship between play and literacy emerged as early as 1974, and increased with new insights into the foundations of literacy in the preschool years. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of play in preschool children on early literacy. Further, the theoretical framework provided by Vygotsky and Piaget, and the importance of symbolic play, free play and guided play reinforced by reading from resources rich in vocabulary will be examined. Theoretical Framework for the Play-Literacy Relationship The classic theories of developmental psychologists Piaget and Vygotsky provide strong theoretical frameworks for examining the relationship between play and literacy in early childhood. Piaget’s perspective emphasizes on the value of repeated social pretend play for the acquisition of broad cognitive skills such as symbolic representations and the initiation of literacy skills such as print awareness. Pellegrini and Van Ryzin (2007) state that this approach is based on interactions between individuals and the objects in the physical environment; and has led to the establishment of literacy-enriched play centers as an interventional strategy. Vygotsian theory is based on the role of adults and peers in the acquisition of social literacy practices through play activities. This theory argues that children form literacy concepts and skills through everyday experiences with others including pretend play and bedtime storybook reading. Thus, the young child’s acquisition of literacy is a social, constructive process that begins from early childhood. These classic theories identify behavioral categories apparently shared by play and literacy, including â€Å"pretend transformations, narrative thinking, meta-play talk, and social interaction† (Christie & Roskos, 2009, p.1). On the other hand, they do not explain the dynamics between play and literacy, or the means by which play activity impacts the develo pment of literacy. Learning Through Engagement in Play Activities From birth, children love to learn through play and exploration, which form their primary teachers. In early childhood, mental and physical actions support each other, and learning is a process which engages both the mind and body. It is essential for children to experience life kinesthetically, thereby learning through experiences that utilize all the senses (Dickinson & Tabors, 2001). According to Leong, Bodrova, Hensen & Henninger (1999), play promotes four major skills that are vital for the development of literacy. They include increased ability to learn deliberately with enhancement in cognitive skills, development of symbolic representation, improved oral language, and the introduction of content related literacy skills for play to prepare the way. A valuable aspect of early literacy development is pretend play, which provides extensive opportunities to develop language skills. The amount of time spent by child ren in pretend play corresponds to their performance on language and literacy assessments. Their conversations in the preschool classroom are based on several skills using oral language and print; and the development of these skills is evident by the end of kindergarten (Dickinson & Tabors, 2001). It is clear that play has a great potential for practicing and experimenting