The Early Years Learning Framework For Australia

Learning provision for literacy development is important for pupils for several reasons. When pupils are developing their language skills they are learning to communicate with others in a variety of ways through speaking reading and writing. The three areas of language interact with each other to promote the child’s self expression and imagination. Children need to be given opportunity’s to use and extend their language in all subject areas so they can develop higher level thinking. [ Louise burnham, Brenda Baker,2010,pg206]

“The more you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” This is how Dr. Seuss thought of reading, and I think of it in much the same way. Literacy is everywhere and influences us every day, therefore, it plays a major part in each of our lives. I believe that reading is an interactive activity in which learning happens, or as Clay (2001) defines it, “…a message-getting, problem-solving activity” (p. 1). Reading is the process through which one reads information and from doing so, constructs meaning about the material. The more exposure and practice one has with reading, the more knowledge one gains. In this paper, I will begin by discussing my own personal educational philosophy, then continue by stating and explaining four of my beliefs about the reading process and the research that is found to support each of them before sharing the remaining questions I have about literacy. I am an existentialist, and a strong supporter of a balanced literacy approach. My beliefs about literacy come from these foundations and perspectives that I embrace. For students to be successful in their literacy development, I believe that identity acceptance in the classroom is crucial, instruction for all students must be differentiated, direct and explicit instruction is at times necessary, and vocabulary is a significant component in the ‘Big Five’ of children’s literacy development.

Learning to read and write as a child is an experience that all can relate to. The average child learns to read and write at the early ages of three and four. Developing literacy at an early age is crucial to academic development as well as to performance in life. Early development can be just what a child needs to stimulate their minds, which in turn is assisting in the evolution of their future. The early and latter stages of development in a child’s literacy journey are the makings for their reading and writing skills. It also plays part in their analysis of obstacles as well as their developed or problematic literacy future. A child

It is agreed that educator’s philosophy, pedagogical practices and believe about topics such as gender and sexuality, socio-cultural factors and cultural diversity will influence how the Australian Curriculum and Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) is reflected in the classroom. For example, cultural competence which is one of the eight main practices that EYLF focuses on to support children’s learning.

Competence and confidence in literacy, including competence in the three major areas, reading, writing, speaking and listening, are essential for progress in all areas of the curriculum. To broaden and enhance children’s literacy skills, opportunities need to be given by providing them with a wide range of different contexts in which to use and practice there skills. With reference to the aims of the Primary Framework for Literacy ‘To support and

The aims and importance of learning provisions for literacy development is to give children the opportunities and possibilities open to them and benefit from more effective teaching of reading and to marrow the achievement gap between disadvantaged students and their peers. The importance of reading is at the heart of this insight as pupils that can read are more likely to have a more positive future. They will be more likely to do well in school and get good qualifications and have a rewarding career later on. Compared to those who are constantly at a disadvantage.

It is essential that educators create safe, welcoming environments that promote learning for all students in a classroom and to do this they must acknowledge issues of diversity and difference and know how to approach these issues. There are two key documents that guide educators in their planning and implementation of curriculum; The Australian Curriculum and The Early Years Learning Framework. Using these two documents to create learning programs, educators must enact an inclusive curriculum that empowers all students, regardless of differences. For educators to understand and address issues of diversity and differences such as socio-economic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, language barriers and stereotypes around gender and sexuality, they must look at their own philosophy, values and beliefs around these issues.

In society today, people are judged by their level of education. Education is the key in society today. According to begintoread.com, today in the United States 1 out of 4 children grow up without learning how to read. Also at early stage of life the brain start developing and adjusting to the environment that they were raised in. In addition, books and education helps develop the brain especially in early age. According to the National Center for Education, Statistics shows that the majority of people who don’t complete high school have basic or below-basic literacy skills. 26% of prison inmates nationwide had parents who had not completed high school, and 37% of inmates had not completed high school themselves. Literacy is powerful in times of development because it leads to success in life and helps with solving a problem.

The Early Years Learning Framework’s Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contributed to their world, provides strategies educators can use to help children respond to diversity with respect. Educators can promote this by:

However, diversity first began with Indigenous communities such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. In today’s society, Indigenous communities are becoming more recognised and are developing a strong focus on the future of Australian culture. Because of this Indigenous students are also catered for within Inclusion and The Australian Curriculum, especially within Early Childhood Education. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children attending mainstream early learning and child care services. This trend is positive and will help to continually develop and deliver culturally appropriate programs within mainstream services, and contribute to a positive start for these children. While not all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families are vulnerable, high numbers of Indigenous people are represented in vulnerable groups. Historically, vulnerabilities of Indigenous children have been compounded by the difficulty in accessing necessary services.

Reading is a skill often taken for granted but it is essential in order to progress in life. For a child being able to read well helps them learn new things, give ideas and enables use of imagination. National literacy trust (2015) suggests that children’s early language skills can have a major impact on a child’s development of literacy skills. Five-year olds with poor language and literacy have a higher risk of underachieving at age seven and beyond. Reading skills encourage more opportunities in life and it can affect a child’s wellbeing if they do not achieve this effectively (Finnegan,2015).

Literacy pedagogies have a developing and complex history in education, intertwined with social and cultural change and evolution. Each change has paved a new path for more significant approaches and strategies, which cater to diverse learners allowing them to create meaning and communicate more effectively. These literacy pedagogies brought out by the changes in education have both strengths and weaknesses. As such, educators need to explore and understand the four knowledge processes portrayed by Kalantzis, Cope, Chan and Dalley-Trim; didactic, authentic, functional, and critical literacy approach (2016), to be able to consider how they can influence teaching and learning so they are able to make informed decisions with regards to their students’ literacy learning. Teaching is becoming increasingly complex; this is particularly evident in the area of literacy. This paper will explore the four literacy pedagogies, their limitations and their strengths, and how they have impacted literacy learning within the Australian educational context.

Not only do children have to be able to read words they also have to understand what they are reading, which is known as comprehension. Therefore, gaining an understanding in Literacy is important for children in terms of being able to decode certain information. By doing so, children can apply their increasing fluency to other subject areas mentioned in the National Curriculum. In this assignment an understanding of what an effective school reading policy is and ways it could be implemented so that children make progress and develop in reading will be shown. Aims and principles of key documentation such as the Primary Framework for Literacy, National Curriculum for English and the Simple View of Reading (SVR) will be explored to show the

Despite the higher living standards of Australia, comparatively on a global basis, today almost half of the population of Australia is facing difficulties and challenges with basic literacy, interpreting and evaluating texts, paraphrasing and engaging with lengthy texts. (ABS, 2012)

Throughout the last century literacy and the definition of being literate has changed and evolved. No longer are teachers at an advantage by creating curriculums based on traditional lessons of ‘reading and ‘writing’. One must now incorporate every day language, and cultural influences, including technology to enhance the learning experience (Callow, 2011). Within the classroom, context and it’s various forms are highlighted (McDonald, 2013), and children are benefiting greatly from the allowance of multiple modes of learning, including visual and text used together as well as separately (Christie, 2005). Introducing a standard set of guidelines for the Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2009) a definition of literacy can be set and built upon. Gee (2009), places emphasis on the need to understand ‘acquisition’ and ‘learning’, to greater understand how children learn. The following texts highlight the various valuable and relevant information needed when determining what literacy actually means, with particular highlights on context in its various meanings, and how the educator can best teach literacy and literature in an evolving environment.