ECE 2007 Emerging Literacy 0 to 6 Years

STAFFING:

RATIONALE:

Language is part of literacy, which incorporates listening, speaking, reading, writing and viewing, all embedded in the social context. Because young children may spend a great deal of their early years in Early Childhood Centres, the nurturing and enhancement of emergent literacy become the responsibility of early educators. It is important to take account of those experiences children encounter through their mother tongue; their culture; their play; their early experiences in speech and stories, as well as in songs and books, from which they construct knowledge contributing to their ability to emerge as readers and writers.

SYNOPSIS:

This course revolves around five principles which research suggests enhance the emergent literacy of children. These are that: emerging literacy is embedded in a social context; play is an ideal setting which allows young children to practise, elaborate and extend emergent literacy; children require frequent experiences in listening and sharing stories to demonstrate the facilitating power of language; children require frequent story book readings both as active listeners and independent readers; the modification of play environments can have an important impact on the literacy behaviour of children. These principles will be explored to illustrate the way in which effective strategies can be developed by early educators to enhance the emerging literacy of young children.

OBJECTIVES:

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1. demonstrate their ability to design and implement emergent literacy programs
2. show an understanding of importance of the cultural context of emerging literacy
3. reflect on and analyse the way literacy develops through play
4. select and reflect on the qualities of stories and their role in enhancing emerging literacy
5. consolidate and create ideas for creating an environments that enhance emerging literacy

TOPICS:

TEXT and MATERIALS required to be PURCHASED or accessed:

ALL textbooks and materials are available for purchase from USQ BOOKSHOP (unless otherwise stated). Orders may be placed via secure internet, free fax 1800642453, phone 07 46312742 (within Australia), or mail. Overseas students should fax +61 7 46311743, or phone +61 7 46312742. For costs, further details, and internet ordering, use the 'Textbook Search' facility at http://bookshop.usq.edu.au click 'Semester', then enter your 'Course Code' (no spaces).

REFERENCE MATERIALS:

STUDENT WORKLOAD REQUIREMENTS:

ASSESSMENT DETAILS:

IMPORTANT ASSESSMENT INFORMATION

1. Attendance requirements:
   (a) There are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students' responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.
2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
   (a) To complete each of the assessment items satisfactorily, students must obtain at least 50% of the marks available for each assessment item.
3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
   (b) If students submit assignments after the due date without prior approval then a penalty of 10% of the total marks gained by the student for the assignment will apply for each working day late.
4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
   (d) To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must submit all of the summative assessment items and achieve at least 50% of the available weighted marks for those items.
5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
   (a) The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the weighted aggregate of the marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.
6. Examination information:
   (e) There is no examination in this course.
7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
   (d) There will be no Deferred or Supplementary examinations in this course.
8. University Regulations:
   Students should read USQ Regulations 5.1 Definitions, 5.6. Assessment, and 5.10 Academic Misconduct for further information and to avoid actions which might contravene University Regulations. These regulations can be found at the URL http://www.usq.edu.au/corporateservices/calendar/part5.htm or in the current USQ Handbook.