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 Reviewed By:
Jackie Igafo-Te'o
Review Date: October 28, 2004; April 11, 2005
Authors: Sherrie West and Amy
Cox
ISBN: 0-87659-292-2
Price: $19.95
Description: Children love to pretend, and dramatic play is the
perfect environment for practicing and applying literacy concepts. Whether
they decide to be firefighters, to open a pet store, or to have a tea
party, children will increase their vocabulary, communicate with their
friends, and learn to recognize environmental print - all important skills
for pre-readers. Literacy Play is chock-full of creative dramatic play
activities that teach important pre-reading skills while bringing
children's imaginations to life! (256
pages; 2004)
Jackie's
Review: What a great way to promote early literacy! Teaching
pre-reading skills in a child's natural environment is a wonderful way to
reinforce learning. This book contains over 300 activities to choose
from - each relating to real-life scenarios - which are organized into 8
sections: Occupations, Home, Nature, Science, Stories, Transportation,
Performers, and Reading, Writing, & Talking. Activities such as
House, Pizza Parlor, Camping, and Beach, allow children
to take a hands-on role in the literacy learning process. Within each
chapter, there are a variety of sections that focus on different dramatic
play areas. Each dramatic play area is broken down into the
following components: literacy application, literacy objectives, spotlight
words, materials, props, setting up, open-ended questions, making books,
extension activities, and literacy resources. Through the use of visual
cues, sight word recognition, and repetitive word use, in combination with
song, poetry and play, children will become excited as learning takes
shape. Each activity gives the instructor the option of going
farther by providing lists of additional activities, related books and
resources. I would recommend this book to pre-school teachers, day care
providers (both home-based and center-based) and to parents who are ready
to take an active role in their child's literacy learning.
Meeghan’s
Review: This book is set up in very organized way. It is broken down
in to themes that are regularly used in preschool classrooms, for example,
transportation, home, nature, and occupations. Under these themes are
specific dramatic play categories, for example, airplanes, car wash,
beach, and detective. Each category is broken down into the following
pieces, literacy application, literacy objectives, spotlight words,
materials, props, setting up, open-ended questions, making books,
extension activities, songs, poems, and fingerplays, and book list. All of
the dramatic play categories are broken down in this way. The organization
of this book makes it very functional and easy to implement in a
classroom. Working with special needs children, I found these activities
to be versatile and can be used at whatever level the children are at.
For More Information: You can find out more about this book and
other Gryphon House publications at
http://www.ghbooks.com or call 1-800-638-0928.
Order this book at
http://www.ghbooks.com/showbook.cfm?code=17548.
Another Gryphon House release related to the promotion of early
literacy:
Do You Know The Muffin Man? Literacy Activities Using Favorite Rhymes and
Songs: An Essential Preschool Literacy Resource
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