Sparking Joyful Learning - by Tori K Flint (Paperback)

About the Book

Sparking Joyful Learning: A Teacher's Guide to Connecting Play and Reader Response explains the connections between play and literacy and provides teachers with resources for building upon children's playful reading responses in the PK-3 classroom

Book Synopsis

Grounded in research and theory, Sparking Joyful Learning: A Teacher's Guide to Connecting Play and Reader Response highlights the connections between play and literacy and provides teachers with resources for building upon children's playful reading responses in the PK-3 classroom. Readers will find guidance on using diverse children's literature and ways to connect responsive play to literacy instruction, standards, and assessments. The approaches outlined in this book aim to spark imaginative learning with literacy instruction that is creative, joyful, and meaningful.

Review Quotes

"Educators and scholars have always known that play is vital to children's learning, but starting points for connecting play with reading may seem elusive. In Sparking Joyful Learning: A Teacher's Guide to Connecting Play and Reader Response, Tori Flint invites us to facilitate responsive play?a perfect description for the joyful interactions with stories, language, and peers that young readers thrive on. Her expert knowledge and clear explanations guide readers through the practices and related observations and assessments that will bring children's play and literary experiences to the forefront of classroom life." --Patricia Enciso, PhD, professor, Ohio State University

"Dr. Flint provides teachers with practical guidance and research-based rationales for making book-related play a regular part of the elementary literacy curriculum. Responsive play gives children a reason to read and motivates the integration and application of the important literacy skills they are learning. Especially in this era of high-stakes testing, children need more opportunities for the kind of joyful, child-centered play described in Sparking Joyful Learning." --Deborah Wells Rowe, PhD, Carolyn M. Evertson professor in teacher education, Vanderbilt University

About the Author

Tori K. Flint is an associate professor of literacy and early childhood education at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the co-director of the Louisiana Center for Research and Education on Languages and Literacies. She believes that education should be joyful and that we should listen to and learn from the brilliance of children.