Abstract
For children, hands are the critical conduit for learning the world and constructing mental models of its size and shape. Such embodied cognition (EC) is mediated through language in the social environment. In this paper we review the literature and develop the conceptual underpinnings for a framework for play-based pedagogy that integrates sensorimotor, cognitive, and linguistic systems that lay the foundations for early literacy experiences expected in the kindergarten and Grade 1 year. We provide suggestions for incorporating games and tasks in a play-based program that will promote EC.
Highlights
Mounting research evidence suggests today’s youngsters arrive at school insufficiently prepared for the early and more formal demands of their first educational experiences
The detrimental, distal impact of these indicators on children’s early literacy development, especially written literacy, at the end of Grade 2 is only beginning to be understood—largely through research evolving from the neurosciences (Dinehart & Manfra, 2013; James & Atwood, 2009)
Achievement data in early literacy learning (Alberta Education, 2014; Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000, 2007) indicate two concerning trends: overall, general slippage in early literacy development outcomes and, secondly, a persistent and growing achievement gap over time in the shift to academic literacy development among linguistically vulnerable populations of children including those raised in poverty or of language minority background
Summary
Mounting research evidence suggests today’s youngsters arrive at school insufficiently prepared for the early and more formal demands of their first educational experiences. Data indicate 27% of Canada’s five-year-olds are vulnerable on at least one of the five domains assessed. Achievement data in early literacy learning (Alberta Education, 2014; Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000, 2007) indicate two concerning trends: overall, general slippage in early literacy development outcomes and, secondly, a persistent and growing achievement gap over time in the shift to academic literacy development among linguistically vulnerable populations of children including those raised in poverty or of language minority background. Emergent research findings suggest the etiological underpinnings to these trends may be found in children’s control over fine motor skills and their influence on language learning as these are the major drivers of literacy development over time (Suggate & Stoeger, 2014)
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