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Reading, Writing, and Running: Literacy Learning on the Playground
Author(s) -
Giles Rebecca McMahon,
Wellhousen Karyn
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
the reading teacher
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.642
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1936-2714
pISSN - 0034-0561
DOI - 10.1598/rt.59.3.9
Subject(s) - reading (process) , creativity , literacy , psychology , emergent literacy , pedagogy , learning to read , mathematics education , early literacy , linguistics , social psychology , philosophy
Although providing print‐related props in early childhood learning centers is a well‐established practice for increasing young children's literacy experiences, providing opportunities for literacy development during outdoor play is not as common. Teachers can quickly address this missed opportunity with a few simple additions to their outdoor play area. These practical and economical outdoor activities described in this article require negligible or no expense, minimal preparation, and little clean‐up. In contrast, they provide abundant motivation and continuous inspiration for reading and writing. These suggestions, which are accompanied by a list of books for outdoor reading, are meant to serve as a springboard for other original ideas. Because the only boundaries are one's own resourcefulness and creativity, there is no limit to the number of possibilities for taking literacy learning outdoors.