Date Approved
8-9-2024
Graduate Degree Type
Project
Degree Name
Education-Literacy Studies: Reading (M.Ed.)
Degree Program
Literacy, Educational Foundations, & Technology
First Advisor
Dr. Elizabeth Stolle
Academic Year
2023/2024
Abstract
The loss of play in the classroom has had a significant impact on children’s foundational literacy skills. It has hindered children’s language development by reducing their verbal skills and language comprehension and decreasing vocabulary. Child development has not changed, and yet we continue to put more academic pressure on our youngest students. This project addresses the need for play in early education classrooms. It then provides research why play is important in developing foundational literacy skills, such as oral language and vocabulary, comprehension and recall and higher-level thinking, and possible classroom applications. The project concludes with a presentation for administrators, with the intention of administrators advocating for mandated play built into the curriculum.
ScholarWorks Citation
VanderJagt, Molli, "Developing Literacy Through Play" (2024). Culminating Experience Projects. 510.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/gradprojects/510
Included in
Early Childhood Education Commons, Elementary Education Commons, Language and Literacy Education Commons
