Literacy on the edge : three to eight year-olds make meaning
Three to eight-year-old children's spontaneous and creative actions provide them with opportunities to call on their own stories and life experiences in their symbolic representations. Their symbolic representations offer a window onto their identities and their meanings, while providing the adults around them with an insight into their world by constructing meaning from the children's activities. These representations are frequently composed in the unofficial spaces that children inhabit, on the edges of the main literacy teaching and learning activities of the classroom, nursery playroom and home, and are indicative of the children's social worlds and literacy practices, made visible in their artefacts as they draw, model, make marks and role play. The study takes place in a small nursery and primary school, and consists of ethnographic case studies which allow for the scrutiny and analysis of the artefacts made by the children at home and at school. The data comprise images offifteen children's representations, supported by field notes and conversational interviews. The analysis of the data recognises the need for a respectful and ethical approach to the interpretation of children's meaning-making strategies.
Hattingh, Lone
Literacy on the edge : three to eight year-olds make meaning. Three to eight-year-old children's spontaneous and creative actions provide them with opportunities to call on their own stories and life experiences in their symbolic representations. Their symbolic representations offer a window onto their identities and their meanings, while providing the adults around them with an insight into their world by constructing meaning from the children's activities. These representations are frequently composed in the unofficial spaces that children inhabit, on the edges of the main literacy teaching and learning activities of the classroom, nursery playroom and home, and are indicative of the children's social worlds and literacy practices, made visible in their artefacts as they draw, model, make marks and role play. The study takes place in a small nursery and primary school, and consists of ethnographic case studies which allow for the scrutiny and analysis of the artefacts made by the children at home and at school. The data comprise images offifteen children's representations, supported by field notes and conversational interviews. The analysis of the data recognises the need for a respectful and ethical approach to the interpretation of children's meaning-making strategies.
literacy edge make meaning year_old child spontaneous creative action provide_opportunity call story life experience symbolic representation symbolic representation offer window_onto identity meaning provide adult around insight world construct mean child activity representation frequently compose unofficial space child inhabit edge main literacy teach_learning activity classroom nursery home indicative child social_world literacy_practice make visible artefact draw model make mark role_play study take_place small nursery primary_school consist ethnographic case study allow scrutiny analysis artefact make child home school data comprise image child representation support field_note conversational interview analysis_data recognises need ethical interpretation child meaning_making strategy