LEA teaches beginning reading by connecting students' personal life experiences with written words; four steps to implementing with early childhood groups. Which approach is this?

LEA teaches beginning reading by connecting students' personal life experiences with written words; four steps to implementing with early childhood groups. Which approach is this?

• A. Language Experience Approach
• B. Basal Reader Approach
• C. Direct Instruction
• D. Whole Language Approach

Answer: (A)

This approach centers literacy on what students say and know from their own lives, using their spoken language as the starting point for reading and writing. In the Language Experience Approach, the teacher records a student’s or group’s oral recounts exactly as spoken and turns them into a written text that mirrors their language. The four steps you’d typically use with young children are: first, begin with a familiar experience from the children’s lives; second, capture the language in print by dictating it and making a written text; third, read the text together, pointing to each word to show how print matches speech; fourth, have students reread the text and then write or dictate new sentences based on similar experiences. This makes reading meaningful and concrete, supports print awareness, and helps children see themselves in print. Other approaches rely more on prepared texts or teacher-directed drills, whereas this one centers students’ own experiences and language as the bridge to literacy.

This approach centers literacy on what students say and know from their own lives, using their spoken language as the starting point for reading and writing. In the Language Experience Approach, the teacher records a student’s or group’s oral recounts exactly as spoken and turns them into a written text that mirrors their language. The four steps you’d typically use with young children are: first, begin with a familiar experience from the children’s lives; second, capture the language in print by dictating it and making a written text; third, read the text together, pointing to each word to show how print matches speech; fourth, have students reread the text and then write or dictate new sentences based on similar experiences. This makes reading meaningful and concrete, supports print awareness, and helps children see themselves in print. Other approaches rely more on prepared texts or teacher-directed drills, whereas this one centers students’ own experiences and language as the bridge to literacy.