Oral Language and Comprehension in Preschool: Teaching the Essentials

Before children are readers and writers, they are speakers and listeners. This book provides creative, hands-on strategies for developing preschoolers' speaking, listening, and oral comprehension skills, within a literacy-rich classroom environment. Each chapter features helpful classroom vignettes; a section called Preschool in Practice, with step-by-step lesson ideas; and Ideas for Discussion, Reflection, and Action. The book addresses the needs of English language learners and describes ways to support students' literacy development at home. The final chapter pulls it all together through a portrait of an exemplary day of preschool teaching and learning. Reproducible forms and checklists can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

Lesley Mandel Morrow, PhD, is Distinguished Professor of Literacy and Director of the Center for Literacy Development at the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Her research, which she conducts with children and families from diverse backgrounds, deals with early literacy development and the organization and management of language arts programs and literacy-rich environments. Dr. Morrow has published more than 300 journal articles, chapters, and books. Her work has been recognized with awards including the Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading Award and the William S. Gray Citation of Merit, both from the International Reading Association (IRA; now International Literacy Association), and the Oscar S. Causey Award from the Literacy Research Association (LRA) for outstanding contributions to reading research. Dr. Morrow is past president of the IRA and is a member and past president of the Reading Hall of Fame.

Kathleen A. Roskos, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Education and School Psychology at John Carroll University, where she teaches courses in reading assessment and intervention. Formerly an elementary classroom teacher, Dr. Roskos has served in a variety of educational roles, including as director of federal programs in the public schools, department chair in higher education, director of the Ohio Literacy Initiative at the Ohio Department of Education, and a coprincipal investigator of several Early Reading First federal projects. Dr. Roskos studies early literacy development, teacher learning, and the instructional design of professional development for educators, and has published research articles, chapters, and books on these topics.

Linda B. Gambrell, PhD, is Distinguished Professor in the Eugene T. Moore School of Education at Clemson University. Her major research interests are in the areas of reading comprehension, literacy motivation, and the role of discussion in teaching and learning. She has published numerous books and articles on reading instruction, comprehension strategy instruction, and literacy motivation. She is a recipient of the Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading Award from the IRA, the Albert J. Kingston Award from the LRA, the Laureate Award from the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER), and most recently, the Oscar S. Causey Award from the LRA. She is past president of the IRA, LRA, and ALER, and a member of the Reading Hall of Fame.