In this two-part Assignment, you are challenged to synthesize all you have been exploring about child development related to language acquisition, language development, and literacy. Specifically, you create a fictional story of one child’s language and literacy development journey, from the prenatal stage through age 8.

To complete your Assignment, you have the option to create either a paper of 28 to 32 pages or a podcast series. If you opt to create a podcast series, you are required to record 9 podcasts totaling approximately 90 minutes in length.

To begin your Assignment, review the high-level details provided below as well as the document titled A Language and Literacy Development Journey Outline in this module’s Learning Resources. It is highly recommended that you take note of due dates for which you will submit sections of your Assignment to your Instructor for grading.

Part 1: Conceptualizing Your Child (a paper of 20 to 25 pages

Spans Weeks 3 to 6

Part 2: Supporting Your Child’s Language and Literacy Development Journey (a paper of 8 to 12 pages

Weeks 3–6: A Language and Literacy Development Journey Part 1: Conceptualizing Your Child

For Part 1 of your Assignment, you will use the document titled A Language and Literacy Development Journey Outline to conceptualize a child you would like to write about. Is the child a girl or a boy? Based on what you know about child development as well as language and literacy development, how could you meld your interests related to language development and literacy to create a realistic story that explains your child’s language development journey from the prenatal stage through third grade? What will your child’s strengths be? What will his or her challenges be related to language and literacy development?

Before you begin, consider your child’s context—that is, who your child is from conception onward, including details about your child’s life in the womb and early childhood years, and his or her home life, family, community life/culture(s), and home language(s). Your child’s language development journey should include not only his or her context and the way that context has influenced, and will continue to influence, language acquisition, language development, and literacy, but also how your child’s language and literacy developed over time. You will need to include information and examples related to your child’s language/literacy milestones, developmental stages, and overlap of developmental domains, including specific factors that supported and, as applicable, inhibited your child’s language acquisition, language development, and literacy. In addition, you will want to detail familial and cultural influences on your child’s language and literacy development. Remember, you are creating a story with details, examples, and situations that make your child who he or she is as a unique individual. At the same time, the language development journey you create must be grounded in research-based information.

Just as this module is split into four distinct developmental stages (prenatal and infancy, toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners), so too is Part 1 of your Assignment. As you study the material in each week, consider how you will build each developmental stage of your child’s language development journey. You will complete the sections as follows:

Section 1: Week 3: Introducing Your Child: Home Life, Family, Community, and Culture (4 pages)

Section 2: Week 3: Prenatal and Infancy (about age 1) (4 pages)

Section 3: Week 4: Toddlers (about 1 to 3 years old) (4 pages)

Section 4: Week 5: Preschoolers (about 3 to 5 years old) (4 pages)

Section 5: Week 6: Kindergarteners and Primary School-Age Children (about 5 to 8 years old) (4 pages)

To prepare

· Think of a child you may know or a type of child to whom you may feel drawn.

· Review the resource from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (n.d.). Take your time reviewing the milestones and suggested activities for each stage.