These papers deal with issues related to continuous entry to school, teaching reading to five-year-olds, cross-cultural comparisons, multilingual subgroups, the prevention of reading difficulties, an early intervention program, and the inservice training of teachers.

"Dr. Clay's research method has been one of careful observation over time in natural school settings. She attempts to capture the ways in which children change during the course of a reading programme. Her focus is on the issues of prevention and the ways in which problems may be overcome before they are firmly established."--GBP.

This is a guide to observation techniques for all those working with children under 8 years. It looks at why child-care workers need to observe children and then gives clear instructions on how to carry out their observations.

In the Sixth Edition of their classic text, the authors reiterate the critical importance of observing and recording the behaviour of young children, especially in the current atmosphere of accountability and testing. In addition, because children with special needs are now widely included in a majority of early childhood classrooms, they have completely rewritten a chapter to focus more broadly on observing behaviours that may be viewed as disquieting. Designed to help teachers better understand children's behaviour, the book outlines methods for recordkeeping that provide a realistic picture of each child's interactions and experiences in the classroom. Numerous examples of teachers' observations of children from birth to age 8 enrich this work and make it accessible, practical, and enjoyable to read. With over 130,000 copies in print, this valuable resource for pre- and inservice educators features: fresh information about how children think and learn, how their language develops, and how their families, their culture, and their environment influence and help to shape them; observations that reflect the increasingly diverse population in contemporary early childhood classrooms; and the imperative for teachers to widen their lens in order to meet the needs of young children with a range of developmental capacities, abilities, and behaviours.

This updated edition aims to teach students how to observe, record and evaluate the social, motor and cognitive development of children from infancy to eight years of age. aides.

Grade level: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, e, p, i, t.