Incorporating Literacy Props in Preschool Play

Abstract

During my initial observations of my classroom where I will be conducting my six-week study, I noticed that my preschoolers could be participating in more literacy-related activities as they play in the different centers. It is clear that the preschoolers are engaging in oral language, yet there are many other opportunities for literacy-based play that could be occurring. My goal for this study is to incorporate developmentally appropriate literacy activities into center-based play. I plan to spend six weeks observing in my preschool classroom where I will gather data in the form of observations, field notes, and interviews of preschool teachers. Not only do I want to see how this study effects the development of preschoolers, but I also want to help my preschoolers in their acquisition of emergent literacy skills. Through their study in a preschool classroom, Morrow and Rand ( 1991) discovered that by incorporating literacy objects into play settings with adult guidance, students were more likely to demonstrate "literacy behaviors" (p. 400). Therefore through my study, I propose to introduce new literacy materials into the play-based centers of the preschool classroom. I will then observe how the children interact with these materials by recording their behaviors. By gaining more insight into the incorporation of literacy props into play settings, I believe that this study will help me to improve my practice as an educator. In addition, I will also refine my skills as a researcher by learning how to thoroughly analyze data and identify limitations within my study.