New Books
Neumann-Hinds, C. 2007. Picture Science: Using Digital Photography to Teach Young Children. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf. 112 pp. ISBN 9781933653235. $29.95.
Vivid photographs taken by three- to six-year-old children and their teacher illustrate the use of digital cameras to help children collect and analyze data in science investigations in the classroom, on the playground, and on field trips. The author shows ways teachers can use photography to make the inquiry process visible, to support children’s understanding of science concepts, and to promote language.
Photos capture children’s experiences and observations and make the past come alive. They can be stored on a computer and examined at a later time. For example, photographing a leaf on a walk when its color is most brilliant or a frog at different times in its development allows children to revisit a stage after it has passed, make comparisons, and look for relationships between events. Children’s images spark conversations as the teacher helps the children reflect on their investigations and draw conclusions. In a study of the changes in weather over time, for instance, their photographic record helped children conclude that the color of the sky can predict rainstorms.
The author demonstrates how to use photographs to create learning materials, such as charts, posters, graphs, and books. Photographic displays can tell the story of a project, highlight children’s skill development, or enhance presentations during school open houses, parent meetings, or staff development sessions. The appendices address technical questions about photography, such as steps in taking successful pictures and teaching young children to use a camera.
Murray, C.G. 2007. Simple Signing with Young Children: A Guide for Infant, Toddler, and Preschool Teachers. Beltsville, MD: Gryphon House.
192 pp. ISBN 9780876590331. $24.95.
This guidebook is designed to help teachers develop a meaningful vocabulary in American Sign Language to use in their teaching practice with hearing children. Murray shows techniques for embedding sign language in daily routines and in the curriculum as a natural form of communication alongside the spoken word. Teaching babies the signs for caregiving rituals can enhance successful communication and help them bridge the gap between understanding words and speaking them. For example, the signs for More or All done! can help create peaceful, smooth transitions for babies at mealtimes.
The author illustrates signs that can help toddlers and preschoolers practice emerging social skills, including the sign for share, and express their feelings, with signs for sad and angry. Sign language helps teachers reach children with special needs and creates a common classroom language for English language learners. The signs are easy to learn, with photos of an adult or young child demonstrating each sign and showing the importance of facial expression. Each photo is accompanied by an explanation that graphically describes the movement, such as in the sign for Thank you: hand starts at lips and moves outward as if blowing a kiss.
Tunks, K.W., & R.M. Giles. 2007. Write Now! Publishing with Young Authors, PreK–Grade 2. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. 98 pp. ISBN 9780325009117. $14.00.
This book is based on the premise that the recognition children receive as authors when their writing is published serves as a catalyst for further writing and development. Tunks and Giles define publishing broadly as “making what is known by the author accessible to others through writing.” This can include any form of child-produced text. For example, first-grader Brittany participates in the act of publishing by writing her observation of a collection of rocks—“Some are ruff”—on a chart that can be read by her peers and the teacher.
The authors describe how children’s writing skills progress and four ways teachers can publish young writers, beginning with taking oral dictation of children’s anecdotal stories. Taking dictation introduces children to the speech-text connection and serves as a model for the conventions of print. The next two strategies are translating children’s spontaneous writing (drawing, scribbling, letterlike forms, letter strings, conventional and invented spellings, and environmental printing) and helping children create, revise, and publish meaningful text as a group. In the last chapter Tunks and Giles describe the support strategies needed for children who are ready to write and publish on their own.
Strickland, D.S., & S. Riley-Ayers. 2007. Literacy Leadership in Early Childhood: The Essential Guide. New York: Teachers College Press.
128 pp. ISBN 9780807747728. $18.95.
Literacy is the linchpin of education and increasingly so for the preschool years. This guide is designed as a resource for administrators, curriculum supervisors, coaches, teacher leaders, and teacher educators to help them address the current challenges in literacy education. The authors describe today’s increased expectations for children, teachers, and leaders in the field and summarize the key components of becoming literate. The text highlights the latest thinking about such topics as developing and using early literacy standards, curriculum and teaching, professional development, and assessment and accountability.
Aside from the easy access to the ideas offered by the short, succinct summaries, the most important contribution of this book is the focus on implications for practice and practical steps leaders can take to address the issues. For example, the authors offer guidelines to help programs develop a shared vision of literacy education in the school or center and assess the school’s literacy environment, and they identify tools for helping administrators observe interactive reading or shared writing. The book presents principles for planning a sound assessment program and effective professional development and offers benchmarks to launch a candid discussion about the school’s approach to addressing the needs of linguistically and culturally diverse children and families.
Titles are selected from the many new books received by NAEYC. Educator Gail Perry writes the brief annotations. The books are available from the publishers listed, your local bookstore, or online retailers.
Copyright © 2007 by the National Association for the Education
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