Integrated whole Language Curriculum (Early childhood curriculum in the 1990s)
The whole language approach is a philosophy about how children become literate. Sawyer & Sawyer (1993) characterized this approach as using whole texts and literature for literacy learning and facilitating a child-centered atmosphere, cooperative learning and parent involvement in learning. Based on the body of research called emergent literacy, proponents of whole language instruction believe that
Language learning is self-generated and creative (think of people worldwide, who have developed their own language systems).
Language learning is holistic (we learn to speak by listening and we learn to read through our own writings or those of others).
Language learning is social and collaborative. Language is learned by children through observing and interacting with parents and other literate persona.
Learning language is functional and integrative (learn to read by reading, to write by writing and the ways language is used is related to other meaningful aspects of life).
Language learning is variable (not all children learn to read in first grade-some learn earlier, some later).
Language learning begins very early in life for most children living in literate societies (children come to school knowing a great deal about literacy – how to turn pages in a book, what words are and so forth).
Children learn language through active engagement, constructing their understanding of how language works (reading, writing, speaking and listening experiences allow children to explore and understand and the written and spoken word.)
This approach has received considerable attention and effort on the part of ECE teachers.
Shared reading experiences: This approach to reading aloud, developed by teachers in New Zealand was inspired by the bed time story ritual (Holdaway, 1979). A good deal of discussion precedes the reading of the story – teachers ask children to predict the plot of the story and other questions. For emergent (beginning) readers, it is often helpful to use a book with predictable language (repetitive phrases, rhyming patterns of language) so that the children join in the reading of the text as soon as they are familiar with it. Repeated and varied readings of the text (using motions, singing or dramatizations) provide children with opportunities to develop fluency in “reading” the book, and enable them to view themselves as readers.
Writing Opportunities: Many opportunities are provided for children in Whole Language classrooms like Daily writing and drawing activities for beginners. Writing activities related to learning centers in the room (ex: Writing letter to teacher for leave). Daily class chart letters enabling children to pick up sentence patterns they may begin to use in their own writing (Ex: It is Monday) .
Integrated Curriculum: Acquiring skills enables to acquire information in other subject areas. Relating literacy instruction to science, mathematics, social studies and the art gives a ‘wholeness’ to the curriculum and purpose to reading instruction (‘we read to learn’ rather than ‘we learn to read’). It is also important to keep all areas of development in mind when integrating curriculum. Developing a whole language/child curriculum that integrates many subject areas and development domains is an exciting and rewarding process.
Participants