Reflection Journal

What is the Role of Play in Helping Our Children Learn to Develop Oral Language, Reading and Writing? Play is essential to developing children’s oral language, reading, and writing skills. With the help of playful activities and meaningful interaction, kids can easily gain and practice the language and literacy skills vital for their development. The course materials and the class activities have taught me the significance of play for children’s language and cognitive growth.  Culturally sustaining books are an excellent tool in education as they give a glimpse into other cultures and experiences. Dalton (2019) asserts that pedagogy should “support young people in sustaining the cultural and linguistic competence of their communities while simultaneously offering access to dominant cultural competence” (p. 19). With culturally sustaining pedagogy, educators can utilize literature to generate classrooms where different cultures are celebrated and respected. Interacting with these books can help kids learn to read, write, and speak, being culturally relevant. Pupils could use “A Chair for My Mother” by Vera B.  Williams as a basis for role-plays, which would help them improve their oral language skills through speaking and listening. This play that involves the children in the action helps in language development, comprehension, and empathy as they see through the eyes of the characters. Incorporating books like “Grandfather’s Journey” by Allen Say into dramatic storytelling classes would allow the kids to speak about the text, show their emotions, and enhance their narrative abilities. Kids can develop their vocabulary, storytelling, and oral language fluency by using the book’s content of migration and belonging. Reading culturally relevant novels like S.  D.  Nelson’s “G...