The LeapFrog LeapReader allows children from ages four to eight to have an interactive reading experience. The LeapReader teaches kids to read by touching pages or words with a specialized pen to hear them read aloud. It improves children’s vocabulary and comprehension skills by introducing them to new words in the endless interactive books available. Children can also learn to write by getting stroke-by-stroke guidance while tracing numbers, letters, and words. Children are able to develop their fine motor skills by using a pen-like device to trace the shapes. According to Jean Piaget, the Pre-operational Stage of cognitive development best describes the early childhood phase that the LeapReader is targeting. The Pre-operational Stage of symbolic play (or pretend play) is developed as the children read fictitious books that allow them to imagine a different world while drawing parallels to this world. A scene of two frogs playing might spark a child’s imagination. This elicits creativity in the children. As …show more content…
Guilt and Industry vs. Inferiority. The LeapReader may help develop initiative in a child if the child’s parent is involved in the learning experience of this toy. If the parent expresses interest in what the child is learning and encourages the child by asking prompting questions and answering the questions the child may have, the child will feel assured and will benefit greatly from this toy. If a parent gives the LeapReader to a child in effort to have their child not be bothersome, the child will feel a burden when asking questions and thus feel guilt for doing so. Children will also benefit from this toy by gaining knowledge about reading. The knowledge that the child is acquiring outside of school should prompt their teachers and peers to encourage and compliment them on their competence and thus increasing the child’s industry and
Elkind was asked to do a psychological evaluation on a girl named Jeannie. Jeannie was a thirteen year old girl and was not fully developed. She could not speak, could not walk right, and could not chew. Jeannie was locked in small room most of her life. “Jeannie had spent her day learning the way infants and young children do, through self-initiated exploration and discovery” (Elkind, 90). The time he spent with Jeannie made him think about how eager schools are to teach children today. They want them to learn to read before they know the alphabet. Parents are assuming they know how their children learn. This is causing the
Dr. Alison Gopnik’s drew the following truth that “children are intellectually more skilled and far more sophisticated in their thinking then we ever imagined”(Gopnik2009). Gopnik also stated preschoolers are extremely well designed for learning. They are naturally curious. They learn through exploring and playing. “The value of play” was also presented in Gopnik’s research. He clarified that when children engage in pretend play, they will have imaginary characters and explore other world. They are learning peoples’ nature, how people think, do, and work. This helps them understand themselves and other people, to improve their social traits or in balancing school, and to increase their social competences in life. Gopnik demonstrated the idea
...ildren that seem helpful and educational. Learning systems such as leap frog or educational television programs are also a hot topic when it comes to giving your child a boost in the education department. Being that it is still “media”, the question is; how helpful are they really and how much is too much? (Garrison & Christakis, 2005) Many researchers suggest that there are no negative effects of these educational programs. However it may not be the education department that these children will be lacking in. It is found that more children that are preoccupied with media, even educational, are more likely to become obese, lack in social skills, and be less creative. There are pros and cons to every situation that occurs in life. When it comes to the development of a child, balance is ultimately what needs to be achieved to be able to obtain a healthy lifestyle.
Even if a parent reads to his or her child often, the child’s cognitive development is likely to be affected by his or her teacher. If the teacher does not succeed in inspiring the child, then it is likely that the rate of cognitive development will be lower than a child with a successfully inspiring teacher, regardless of parent to child reading rate.
"Reading." The Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence. Ed. Jerome Kagan and Susan B. Gall. Online Edition. Detroit: Gale, 2007.
Moreover, in elementary school, there was a program “Book It,” which was a reading program to encourage children to read more often. We received special buttons that...
They have begun to develop sound-symbol understanding to speak the written words (Reading map of development, 2013), this is demonstrated by their ability to point at the word they are reading. The child is beginning to understand the book and its meaning, however fluency is not yet developed and several semantic mistakes were made. They display a good understanding of a graphonic cue and can do this mostly without prompt from the parent. Visual/pictorial cue can be achieved with prompt from the parent, the child is beginning to gain an understanding of how the pictures can match the text and this with more prompting should become an automatic cue. Vocabulary is still limited however it is expanding through their continued reading (Reading map of development, 2013). They know and understand that books are read from left to right and top to bottom. They also know how to ask for assistance when they get stuck on difficult
Piaget stated that children function in a concrete world and therefore are unable to use language in an abstract way until about eleven years old. Consequently language does not afford young children the structure for appropriate self-expression. Piaget believed that children design symbols to communicate their wishes, ideas and emotions. This system of symbols characterises symbolic play (Piaget & Inhelder,
In doing so I had chosen two activities based on the learning domain literacy, the first resource exposes the child to blocks and the second was an alphabetic sensory table, both of theses resources provided the basic understanding of how literacy can develop from play based learning. Blocks can be placed in any part of the early childhood setting either indoors or outdoor play spaces, however the sensory table can be used in any indoor play space area. As educators we all know that the first few years of any child’s life is essential to their learning, development and growth, and with theses activities we can give new meaning to the interactions young children have towards language, communication and their
The types of games that children play change dramatically compared to early childhood. In addition to the activities that they already play, they start to strive for a challenge. Middle childhood is the time when children acquire skills such as reading and arithmetic. During this time children start to play games that are complicated and rule oriented. Because of these changes, children begin to play games based on strategy such as playing cards and other games that test their mind. They play games such as Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh. These card games require children to count, remember, and plan strategies. By playing these games, children begin to plan consciously, coordinate actions, evaluate their progress, and modify their plans and strategies based on reflection and evaluation.
Jean Piaget’s influence on this developmental area allows us to better understand preoperational thought, egocentrism, and conservation. According to Piaget, preoperational thought is when a child is now able to understand symbolic play and have the ability to imagine something even if it is not physically there. Having these thoughts and abilities can encourage a child to use language to describe their play (Piaget, 1951). Another great example is using art to convey this growth. When a child draws, they are using their memories, mental representations of people, and things around them to put it down on paper! Being able to describe their surroundings is largely made possible by hearing people talk around them. Vygotsky believed children are able to build on cognitive structures by hearing social speech around them. Equally as important as social speech, is a child’s private speech. In early childhood, a child’s private speech will not only help them practice using the newly acquired language, but also learn to internalize dialog for mental activity (Vygotsky, 1962). A great way to improve upon these skills is to ask a child open ended questions to encourage them to use their words. Language will flourish and children will now have the ability to have conversations and tell stories about the things they imagine. While children are learning how to use their words during symbolic
As an emerging teacher, it has come to my concern the potential benefits and or harm technology has on young children. By the end of the 1980’s one out of every 4 preschool rooms had a computer, today almost every preschool is equipped with at least one computer. Children over the age of 3 are within Piaget’s preoperational stage. This states that they are concrete learners that are interest in and pick up on newly learned symbolic representation easily (Wardle, 2008). However children at this age ne...
“Who am I? I’ve got light. Ten WIDE tires. No A.C., not me. I’ve got doubles: steering wheels, gas pedals, brakes. I’m totally DUAL OP. Know what I do at night while you’re asleep?” Many a times, I heard these words from the soft, comforting voice of my mother. Sitting on the couch, laying in bed, and even lounging on bean bags in the toy room, were all some of my favorite places to read my favorite book, I Stink. I stink was a children’s book about a garbage truck, and all the things he did at night while we were sleeping. Knowing how much of a messy kid I was, Mom always had more than one copy lying around. I can still feel the cheap, paperback book in my hands as a flip from one page to the next. By learning to read with this book, which
During this stage, children begin to use language as a way of communication and their memory and imagination develop. They also engage in role play and in symbols which allows flexibility and planning in their problem solving skills. During this stage, children think that all people view the world as they see. They begin to remember past events and even imagine future events.
Reading and the ability to comprehend has become a phenomenon that has attracted professionals throughout the globe. It is fascinating that humans have the ability to integrate the information perceived through one’s senses with previously acquired knowledge. The attainment of information through reading is extensive, however, researchers are exploring whether reading at a rapid speed will result in decreased comprehension. Using the McLelland and Rumelhart model (1981), this essay will discuss whether one is able to learn to read at a faster speed and whilst still understand and remembering what has been read. Furthermore, this essay will explore the validity of increasing comprehension when reading at a faster rate as well as the positive