Reading to Play and Playing to Read: A Mediated Discourse Analysis of Early Literacy Apprenticeship

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Date
2007
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
National Reading Conference
Abstract
How does “playing school,” an ordinary childhood pastime, shape children’s reading abilities, classroom identities, and relative social positioning? In an ethnographic study of literacy play in one kindergarten classroom, I discovered that young children regularly combined reading and play practices to make the meanings of texts more accessible and to take up empowered identity positions in child-ruled spaces. Two examples, excerpted from the data, illustrate how reading a book while playing the teacher transformed a classroom meeting area into a pretend school space where children could assume identities as readers and leaders.
Description
Keywords
literacy play, reading
Citation
Wohlwend, K. E. (2007). Playing to read and reading to play: A mediated discourse analysis of early literacy apprenticeship. In D. W. Rowe, R. Jiménez, D. Compton, D. K. Dickinson, Y. Kim, K. M. Leander & V. J. Risko (Eds.), 57th yearbook of the National Reading Conference, (pp. 377-393). Oak Creek, WI: National Reading Conference.
DOI
Link(s) to data and video for this item
Relation
Rights
Type
Article