I already know how to read.: Literacy through the eyes and mind of a child

Abstract

Sarah's literacy from ages 2-5 is documented through this longitudinal interpretative case study. The researcher, Sarah's mother, employed ethnographic techniques and methodologies of data analysis and data collection, including interviews, writing samples, audiotapes, observations, and field notes, to accomplish the research goals and purposes. The initial research goals were twofold: (a) to observe and describe Sarah's literacy in natural settings, particularly at home, beginning formally at age 2; and (b) to analyze, understand, and explain her literacy learning process. The model of literacy learning presented, the generative learning cycle, is grounded and rooted in both the data and the theory and research of others, notably Ken Goodman, Yetta Goodman, and Kathy Short. The data demonstrate that Sarah's learning is continuous and not hierarchically ordered as developmental stages propose. While the qualities of her literacy artifacts, or products, change, the quality of her thinking, strategies, and learning process do not. She perceives, questions, and invents sophisticated solutions to her inquiries concerning literacy, continually utilizing all she knows to outgrow herself and learn what she does not know.