Literacy Playshop: New Literacies, Popular Media, and Play in the Early Childhood Classroom

by Karen E. Wohlwend

Overview

Building on her award-winning research (featured in Playing Their Way into Literacies) which emphasizes that play is an early literacy, Wohlwend has developed a curricular framework for children ages 3 to 8. The Literacy Playshop curriculum engages children in creating their own multimedia productions, positioning them as media makers rather than passive recipients of media messages. The goal is to teach young children to critically interpret the daily messages they receive in popular entertainment that increasingly blur toys, stories, and advertising.

The first half of this practical resource features case studies that show how six early childhood teachers working together in teacher study groups developed and implemented play-based literacy learning and media production. The second half of the book provides a Literacy Playshop framework with professional development and classroom activities, discussion questions, and “technology try-it” sections. This user-friendly book will inspire and support teachers in designing their own Literacy Playshops.

Karen E. Wohlwend is an assistant professor in literacy, culture, and language education in the School of Education at Indiana University. She is the author of Playing Their Way into Literacies: Reading, Writing, and Belonging in the Early Childhood Classroom.

“Not since Vygotsky have we had a stronger advocate for play than Karen Wohlwend. Having argued that ‘children play their way into literacy’ and that ‘play is the earliest form of inquiry,’ I compliment the authors of this volume on not only proving these points, but demonstrating how technology, popular culture, and critical literacy might be woven seamlessly into the early childhood curriculum.”
—Jerome Harste, University of Indiana

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807771969
Publisher:	Teachers College Press
Publication date:	03/11/2014
Series:	Language and Literacy Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Karen E. Wohlwend is an assistant professor in the Literacy, Culture, and Language Education Department in the School of Education at Indiana University. She is the author of Playing Their Way into Literacies: Reading, Writing, and Belonging in the Early Childhood Classroom.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Time for Literacy Play vii

Overview of the Research Project viii

About This Book x

Acknowledgments xi

Chapter 1 Playing with and Living in Popular Media 1

From Markets to Playrooms 1

From Playrooms to Classrooms 2

Introducing Literacy Playshop 3

Conclusion 6

Chapter 2 Media Processes in a K/1 Playshop Beth A. Buchholz Linda Skidmore Coggin 7

An Emergent Literacy Play Curriculum 8

Critical Conversations around Gender and Popular Media 9

Play: Positioning Children as Storytellers 11

Storying: Representing Film on Paper with Storyboards 12

Production: Exploring New Ways to Make Meaning 18

Collaboration: Transforming Meanings Together 21

Four Processes: Playing, Storying, Collaborating, and Producing 22

A Film Festival Focused on Process 24

Conclusion 25

Chapter 3 Mediation Levels in a Preschool Playshop Christy Wessel Powell Nicholas E. Husbye Guided 26

Engagements: Teacher Mediation in a Sea of Fluid Meanings 27

Meaning Mediators: Supports for Media Production 29

Explorations at the Moviemaking Center 38

Multiplying Ways into Classroom Communities 40

Conclusion 42

Chapter 4 The Literacy Playshop Framework 43

Levels of Mediation 43

Processes of Meaning-Making with Media 46

Valuing Children's Developing Literacies and Teachers' Expertise 50

Conclusion 51

Literacy Playshop Components 53

Component 1 Teacher Inquiry Activities 55

PLAY: Playwatching and Popular Media Audits 57

STORYING: Critically Reading Toys as Texts 60

COLLABORATION: Building Support for Play 62

PRODUCTION: Analyzing Film Meanings 64

Component 2 Guided Engagements 67

PLAY: Playing Action Scripts with Puppets 69

STORYING: Mapping Story in Film Shorts with Storyboards 71

COLLABORATION: Negotiating Meaning with Popular Media Toys 74

PRODUCTION: Editing Film and Creating Sound Effects 76

Component 3 Meaning Mediators 79

PLAY: Puppets and More 81

STORYING: Meaning Anchors 83

COLLABORATION: Time for Playing Together 86

PRODUCTION: Digital Cameras, Tablets, and Apps 88

Component 4 Explorations 89

PLAY: Made Fresh Daily 91

STORYING: Respecting Storying as an Exploratory Process 93

COLLABORATION: Exploring Ways to Collaborate 95

PRODUCTION: Bubbles of Filmmaking 97

References 99

Index 103

About the Authors 114

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Literacy Playshop demonstrates how technology, popular culture, and critical literacy might be woven seamlessly into the early childhood curriculum.”
—Jerome C. Harste, Indiana University