When future early childhood educators understand all the social, environmental, and cultural factors that affect literacy, they'll enter the classroom better prepared to teach young children. That big-picture view of emergent literacy is just what they'll get with the second edition of this easy-to-read text. Pre-service teachers of children from birth to age 8 will examine the complex, multifaceted process of literacy learning, exploring the intersecting influences of social identities such as gender, language, race, and class; technology such as computers and television; and partnerships between the many teachers in a child's life. Firmly grounded in practice and reliable research, this fully updated edition is filled with timely revisions that reflect the needs and experiences of today's teachers: a balanced discussion of phonics more on multilingualism new chapters on emergent literacy, pedagogy, transitions, and children as communicators broader age range—more on infants and toddlers and children in the early years of school the role of children's literature in teaching and learning early scribble and drawing as part of emergent writing Enhanced with student-friendly features such as "reflection and follow-up" questions, short summaries of each chapter, transcripts of teacher–child communication, and dozens of photos and samples of children's early writing, this essential textbook will help future educators teach literacy skills with confidence in today's diverse classrooms. - from Amzon