Page 109 - Reading Nest - The Supportive Literacy Environment Handbook

Various research outcomes place value on the acquisition of literacy through

playing. For example, Susan Neuman and Kathy Roskos analysed the use of
writing materials in creative games (post office, restaurant) with young children.

Children frequently helped each other at writing, used writing in their games (e.g.
wrote a bill in the restaurant), arranged and used writing for reminders (in writing,
who follows whom in a queue).

Nigel Hall and Anne Robinson have studied texts created by children in role plays

and established that it has been underestimated. For years play and writing have
been looked at as two separate items - play is play and writing is study. The authors
emphasise that play is not something extracurricular or a time filler between

learning activities, play actually has an important role for the achievement of
academic objectives.

In the French language education in Belgium Serge Terwagne, a researcher and
educationalist presents a didactic approach of picture books in his “Lire, jouer,
raconter des histoires,” (2008) (To read, play and tell stories). Different methods

can be used with a book or story from reading aloud to dramatisation and coming
up with a new end to the story. Sometimes it takes 2-3 weeks to work with a book.

Children choose books according to teacher’s recommendations. When reading
the book aloud the first time, the teacher has four glove puppets. Puppets are
called “Butterfly of stories’, ‘Why?’, ‘Me instead of him’, and ‘I have experienced it’.

After hearing the story children can choose a puppet to ask questions, tell what
they would have done instead of the main character or share a similar personal
story. The butterfly of stories introduces and presents the story. Next time after

reading aloud the teacher and children play the story on a flannelgraph, with glove
puppets or in another way. The storytelling is guided by children who recall events
in the story together. At the third stage children form groups of three or four and

each group plays one situation from the story. The rest try and guess which part it
is. At the fourth stage sound is added to the picture by clapping, patting or using

rhythm instruments. Usage of the book or story may be concluded by group work
where children create a new ending and present it to others (Terwagne and
Vanesse, 2008). This way all the senses are involved and the vocabulary,

discussion skills, self-expression, performance skills, thinking, creativity, social
skills and so on are all developed.