NATURAL LITERACY - THEORY AND PRACTICE FOR PRESCHOOL INTERVENTION PROGRAMS

This article suggests that preschool intervention classrooms are ideal settings for providing young children with rich early literacy experi ences. Because contemporary research indicates that children acquire f undamental literacy knowledge during the preschool years, it is impera tive that all young learners be provided opportunities to engage in pr int and literacy-related activities. A natural literacy perspective is offered, wherein literacy experiences are embedded in the context of natural, meaningful classroom events. Natural literacy blends aspects of existing approaches to early literacy facilitation, emphasizes the role of adults and peers in promoting learning, and offers children an active role in interactions designed to enhance their emerging litera cy competencies. This article provides both rationale and method for t he implementation of the natural literacy perspective with preschooler s with language disabilities.