Language and Literacy Development: What Educators Need to Know

by James P. Byrnes, Barbara A. Wasik

Children's speaking, reading, and writing skills are closely connected, and this engaging text guides preservice and practicing teachers in choosing instructional strategies that promote the integrated development of these skills. The authors explore the foundations of language in the developing brain and show how language acquisition in early childhood influences later literacy and language use. Chapters cover phonological skills, vocabulary, grammatical knowledge, comprehension, and writing, as well as instructional techniques and programs. The book examines why some students struggle with particular language and literacy tasks and how motivation and sociocultural factors affect proficiency. Rich classroom vignettes and examples of effective teaching strategies are accompanied by accessible explanations of relevant research.

Genres: Nonfiction

432 pages, Paperback

First published October 29, 2008

About the author

James P. Byrnes, PhD, is Professor of Educational Psychology and Applied Developmental Science in the College of Education at Temple University. He was a Fellow of Division 15 (Educational Psychology) of the American Psychological Association between 2002 and 2018, has served as Vice President of the Jean Piaget Society, and was Associate Editor of the Journal of Cognition and Development. Dr. Byrnes has published over 100 books, chapters, and articles on areas of cognitive development, including language development, logical reasoning, and mathematical learning. His most recent work has focused primarily on developing and testing a comprehensive theoretical model of academic achievement (the opportunity–propensity model) in order to provide insight into ways to eliminate or substantially reduce gender, ethnic, and racial gaps in achievement. Dr. Byrnes has received awards for his teaching and mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students.

Reviews

[christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wouldn't advise reading this book cover-to-cover unless it's being used as a textbook, since its approach is methodological (in that concepts and methods are repeated ad nauseam). The book is not, as the author claims, holistic, and the focus on individual functions of brain development, phonology, etc, were not necessary for me to gain insight into effective classroom strategies. I suspect the low rating for this book is due to this failure to anticipate the audience than to the authors' own expertise on the subject.

I would recommend this book to instructors, absolutely, but would advise them to only read sections that are relevant to their specific goals.