The Education of Children in Primary Grades

Contents: Preface. 1. The Social heritage and every child. 2. Every child and his school. 3. Before formal schooling: a period of transition. 4. Curriculum and method. 5. Reading: the pre-primer period. 6. Reading: the beginning of books. 7. Reading: the period of rapid progress. 8. Handwriting and spelling: general principles. 9. Handwriting and spelling: the first school year. 10. Handwriting and spelling: period of auto-matization. 11. Number: laying the basis for computation. 12. Number: introducing the four operations with whole numbers. 13. Speech--informal communication. 14. Speech--formal expression. 15. Music. 16. Art--principles underlying instruction. 17. Art--instructional procedures. 18. The non-skill objectives. 19. Training for character. 20. Training for health. 21. Introducing the child to his social and natural environment. 22. About our profession. Index.

"The groundbreaking new series will question the current dominant discourses surrounding early childhood, and offers instead original narratives of an area that is now made up of a multitude of perspectives and debates.

The series examines the possibilities and risks arising from the accelerated development of early childhood services and policies, and illustrates how it has become increasingly steeped in regulation and control. Insightfully, this collection of books will each show how early childhood services can in fact contribute to ethical and democratic practices.

In examining child development and early educational intervention strategies from cross cultural perspectives, these works bring together several theoretical insights, the results of empirical research, and experiences of the learned authors. Its purpose is to constructively examine current strategies of early education and literacy for children." (jacket)