ARTICLES : Literacy Activities in a Play Environment

The literacy activities in a kindergarten play environment were examined. Five-year-old children in three kindergarten classrooms were interviewed about their concepts about reading and their activities were videotaped during their free choice play. The interviews and videotaped observations focused on Literacy activities that promote reading and writing during the children s play. The teachers in the kindergarten classrooms provided a literate environment including writing centers, writing activities, and print labels. A qualitative analysis indicated that the children viewed reading as writing because they could read their own marks on the page. The observations showed a wide range of language or literacy components in activities, some directly taught by the teacher, others the result of careful planning and provisioning.