Describe how the Early Years practitioner provides opportunities for sustained shared thinking to support children’s emergent literacy

Qualification: Level 3 Diploma for the Early Years Educator
Unit: Unit 3.5: Develop emergent literacy skills of children
Learning outcome: 4 Understand strategies which support emergent literacy
Assessment criteria: 4.3 Describe how the Early Years practitioner provides opportunities for sustained shared thinking to support children’s emergent literacy

• Definition from EPPE project (2004): “Sustained shared thinking’ occurs when two or more individuals ‘work together’ in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate an activity, extend a narrative etc. Both parties must contribute to the thinking and it must develop and extend the understanding.“
• It describes a two-way exchange of information or discussion between a child and a practitioner or peer as method of learning
• Ways that pratitioners canprovide opportunities for sustained shared thinking in relation to supporting a child’s emergent literacy include:
  • Ensuring the environment is calm, free from distractions and the practitioner has enough time with the child
  • Reading and discussing a story
  • Discussion of an idea or a concept
  • Mark-making/writing together
  • Asking questions