'Subject Areas/Keywords: classrooms, content areas, curriculum, developmental psychology, early childhood education, early intervention, early literacy, educational psychology, families,
family, instructional methods, knowledge acquisition, parents, pedagogy, play, preschool, teaching, texts, vocabulary, young children DESCRIPTION Synthesizing cutting-edge research from
multiple disciplines, this book explores how young children acquire knowledge in the 'real world' and describes practical applications for early childhood classrooms. The breadth and depth of a
child's knowledge base are important predictors of later literacy development and academic achievement. Leading scholars describe the processes by which preschoolers and primary-grade students
acquire knowledge through firsthand experiences, play, interactions with parents and teachers, storybooks, and a range of media. Chapters on exemplary instructional strategies vividly show what
teachers can do to build children's content knowledge while also promoting core literacy skills'--
