Conventional Literacy Skills Research Articles

Recipes as Invitations to Read, Write, and Play in Preschool

AbstractThis article describes how preschool‐age children can engage with recipes as a genre for reading, writing, and play. This formative/design study was conducted by a teacher researcher partnership in a linguistically and socioeconomically diverse public early learning center. Through home engagements, the research team identified cooking as a site of everyday literacies in students' homes, and designed a curricular innovation which built on these everyday literacy practices. This curricular innovation included reading, writing, and cooking recipes together, as well as incorporating related materials into the kitchen play area. Students took up these invitations to incorporate literacy into their imaginative play related to cooking. Students also played with the idea of recipes as a genre, adding silly ingredients like pizza into a salad recipe, or inventing a recipe for a race car cake. Finally, for some students, these recipe‐related activities also served to develop conventional literacy skills such as letter formation and name‐writing.

Reimagining Assessment of Literacy Skills for Adolescents With Intellectual Disabilities: A Tutorial for an Individualized Approach

Purpose: Reading and writing are foundational skills that provide access to educational, vocational, and social experiences. However, while the gap widens between the literacy skills of individuals with intellectual disability (ID) and those with typical development as they grow into adolescence, little is known about meeting the comprehensive literacy needs of adolescents with ID. This tutorial reimagines the assessment of literacy-specific skills for adolescents with ID as an individualized approach that will reveal a profile of strengths and challenges so they can receive targeted intervention. Method: Extant research investigating literacy achievement for individuals with ID is reviewed, followed by a discussion of emergent to conventional literacy skills and a conceptual framework within which to organize the skills. Then, an individualized assessment approach is presented that addresses considerations for the selection of complementary formal and informal measures and strategic analysis of the results. Results: A clinical case study depicting a literacy assessment of an adolescent diagnosed with ID is utilized to demonstrate the process for determining individual strengths and challenges in emergent and conventional literacy skills. Detailed discussion of assessment results and error analysis provide insight into her level of emergent and conventional reading and writing skills, which is then linked to intervention goal suggestions. Conclusion: Comprehensive individualized assessment batteries enable practitioners to align literacy interventions with each adolescent's needs in order to promote conventional reading and writing development.

Determining a Zulu core vocabulary for children who use augmentative and alternative communication

Vocabulary selection is an important aspect to consider when designing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems for children who have not yet developed conventional literacy skills. AAC team members have used core vocabulary lists (representing words most commonly and frequently used by speakers of a natural language) as a resource to assist in this process. To date, there are no core vocabulary lists for Zulu. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the vocabulary most frequently and commonly used by Zulu-speaking preschool children, in order to inform vocabulary selection for peers who use AAC. Communication samples from 6 Zulu-speaking participants without disabilities were collected during regular preschool activities. Analyses were conducted both by orthographic words and by morphological analysis of formatives. Due to the linguistic and orthographic structure of Zulu, an analysis by formatives was found to be more useful to determine a core vocabulary. The number of different formatives used, frequency of use, and commonality of use among the participants were identified. A total of 213 core formatives were identified; core formatives related to language structure were used more frequently than those that related to lexical content. The characteristics of this Zulu core vocabulary were consistent with those of core vocabularies established in other languages. Implications for the design of Zulu AAC systems are discussed.

A Conceptual Framework for Emergent Digital Literacy

As we progress in the 21st century, children learn to become proficient readers and writers of both digital and non-digital texts. Knowledge, skills, and understandings of literacy emerge through sociocultural interactions with non-digital tools (e.g., paper-printed books) and digital tools (e.g., touch screen tablets). However, debate is ongoing over the role that digital experiences play in emergent literacy development. Researchers have voiced the need to conceptualise a common framework for literacy development that considers the emergence of digital literacy skills alongside conventional literacy skills and how these skills might interact during development. This is particularly important in light of the increasing use of digital texts used by young children, such as E-books and digital games. Therefore, this paper proposes a framework that might guide research and practice by examining the relationships between emergent literacy skills, emergent digital literacy skills, and proficiency in reading and writing.

Creativity and Innovation: Assurance for Growth

Innovation is a decisive process for the well-being of an organization. The ever-changing economy and know-how will sway society, organizations, and managers according to Drucker (1992). In his view, the knowledge Society will require all its members to have basic computer skills as well as conventional literacy skills; political, social and historical knowledge as well as the skills of learning-to-learn. All giant corporate houses, he believes, will be information-based and in general encompass flatter organizations comprising knowledge specialists (Drucker, 1998). Now days we can observe that most of the organisations have started with Knowledge Training centre to improve the performance level of the employees. This is because knowledge is considered as the bottom of enterprise. Employees have the minds of specialists who do different work and direct themselves. In such an information-based organization, traditional departments will serve several roles: as guardians of standards, as centres for training and the assignment of specialists. Moreover, when a large business organizes around information, it leads to a reduced number of management levels. In his view there are three reasons why large organizations will have to become information based. First due to knowledge workers, who form a growing part of the workforce, are not responsive to common control methods. Secondly, the organization must decide what information it needs to operate otherwise it will be submerged in data. Thirdly is to ‘systematise innovation and entrepreneurship which is ideal knowledge work’.

Comparison of Name-Writing Rubrics

The purpose of this study was to compare name writing using six different rubrics with the aim of ascertaining whether any were better for evaluating preschoolers’ name-writing skills. In addition, we investigated the relation between name writing assessed using these six rubrics and children’s emergent and conventional literacy skills. Name-writing data were obtained from 346 preschoolers across four data sets and scored using six rubrics: five detailed rubrics and a simple rubric. Results indicated that the scores from these rubrics were highly correlated. Furthermore, the magnitude of the correlations between name-writing scores and children’s literacy skills were similar. Findings suggest that these rubrics provide an equivalent index of children’s name-writing skills at a single assessment point.

Facilitating Emergent Literacy: Efficacy of a Model That Partners Speech-Language Pathologists and Educators

This study examined the efficacy of a professional development program for early childhood educators that facilitated emergent literacy skills in preschoolers. The program, led by a speech-language pathologist, focused on teaching alphabet knowledge, print concepts, sound awareness, and decontextualized oral language within naturally occurring classroom interactions. Twenty educators were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Educators each recruited 3 to 4 children from their classrooms to participate. The experimental group participated in 18 hr of group training and 3 individual coaching sessions with a speech-language pathologist. The effects of intervention were examined in 30 min of videotaped interaction, including storybook reading and a post-story writing activity. At posttest, educators in the experimental group used a higher rate of utterances that included print/sound references and decontextualized language than the control group. Similarly, the children in the experimental group used a significantly higher rate of utterances that included print/sound references and decontextualized language compared to the control group. These findings suggest that professional development provided by a speech-language pathologist can yield short-term changes in the facilitation of emergent literacy skills in early childhood settings. Future research is needed to determine the impact of this program on the children's long-term development of conventional literacy skills.

Predicting kindergartners' end of year spelling ability from their reading, alphabetic, vocabulary, and phonological awareness skills, and prior literacy experiences.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of home literacy, parental education and demographic factors in addition to conventional literacy skills at the beginning and end of kindergarten in predicting end of kindergarten spelling achievement. The present study involved 9 schools and 29 classrooms serving an economically and ethnically diverse population (n = 288). Students spelled three types of words: sight words, decodable real words, and decodable pseudowords; conventional and invented spellings are reported. Results from a three step hierarchical regression indicated the variables accounted for 66% of the variance in spelling scores, and the single strongest spring predictor was a one-minute letter-sound fluency test. Implications for instruction and for identifying students at risk for future spelling and reading difficulties are discussed.

Relations of emergent literacy skill development with conventional literacy skill development in Korean

The present study investigated relative contributions of initial status and growth rates of emergent literacy skills (i.e., phonological awareness, letter-name knowledge, vocabulary, and rapid serial naming) to initial status and growth rates of conventional literacy skills (i.e., word reading, pseudoword reading, and spelling) for young Korean children. A total of 215 four-year-old children were followed for approximately 15 months. Results showed (1) consistent effects of letter-name knowledge, phonological awareness, and rapid serial naming on conventional literacy skills, and (2) the importance of children’s initial level in the emergent literacy skills for achieving conventional literacy skills. These results are discussed in light of characteristics of the Korean language and writing system.

Where Is NELP Leading Preschool Literacy Instruction?

This article discusses the potential positive and problematic influences of the National Early Literacy Panel ( NELP; 2008 ) report on prekindergarten and kindergarten classroom instructional practice. The authors support the instructional importance of the majority of the foundational skills identified in the NELP report as having “clear and consistently strong relationships with later conventional literacy skills” but also detail a number of concerns about NELP-influenced instructional recommendations drawn to date, arguing that the NELP report is both insufficiently clear and overly narrow with respect to what preschool teachers should be focusing on instructionally in early literacy.

Vocabulary use during storybook reading: Implications for children with augmentative and alternative communication needs

AbstractStorybook‐reading interactions are a critical component of emergent literacy, contributing to later development of conventional literacy skills. Children with augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) needs must be provided with appropriate vocabulary to actively participate in storybook interactions in a manner similar to that of their typically developing peers. This study examined vocabulary used by typically developing kindergartners while being read a storybook. Words used by the kindergartners were compared to vocabulary on premade, commercially available storybook communication displays marketed for individuals with AAC needs. Results revealed that vocabulary on commercially available communication displays did not include the words used most frequently by the kindergartners. Results suggest that practitioners who use commercially available communication displays may need to modify the materials to provide children with AAC needs sufficient vocabulary to enhance their participation during storybook‐reading interactions. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The relationship between home literacy practices and developmental trajectories of emergent literacy and conventional literacy skills for Korean children

Previous studies with English-speaking families in the North American context demonstrated that home literacy practices have positive influences on children’s literacy acquisition. The present study expands previous studies by examining how home literacy practices are related to growth trajectories of emergent literacy skills (i.e., vocabulary, letter-name knowledge, and phonological awareness) and conventional literacy skills (i.e., word reading, pseudoword reading, and spelling), and by using data from Korean children and families (N = 192). The study revealed two dimensions of home literacy practices, home reading and parent teaching. Frequent reading at home was positively associated with children’s emergent literacy skills as well as conventional literacy skills in Korean. However, children whose parents reported more frequent teaching tended to have low scores in their phonological awareness, vocabulary, word reading and pseudoword reading after accounting for home reading. These results suggest a bidirectional relationship between home literacy practices, parent teaching in particular, and children’s literacy skills such that parents adjust their teaching in response to their child’s literacy acquisition. Furthermore, cultural variation in views on parent teaching may explain these results.

What happens to reading between first and third grade? Implications for students who use AAC

School-age students who use AAC need access to communication, reading, and writing tools that can support them to actively engage in literacy learning. They also require access to core literacy learning opportunities across grade levels that foster development of conventional literacy skills. The importance of the acquisition of conventional literacy skills for students who use AAC cannot be overemphasized. And yet, one of the critical challenges in supporting the literacy learning of students who use AAC has been a lack of knowledge about literacy curricula and supports to literacy learning for these students. Most students who use AAC do not become conventionally literate and few of those who do achieve literacy skills beyond the second grade level. This article will provide an overview of the most frequent reading instructional activities in first and third grade classrooms. To better understand the foundational experiences important to literacy learning, the results of a survey project that examined the reading activities of general education students and teachers during primary grade instruction are presented, and critical shifts in instruction that occurred between first and third grade are highlighted. The primary instructional focus of core reading activities is also examined, along with adaptations for students who use AAC.

Enhancing Literacy Development Through AAC Technologies

There is a critical need to understand teaching and technology supports that enable students who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems to engage in meaningful literacy experiences and foster conventional literacy skills. To thrive in classroom environments, they must have access to tools that can support them in active and independent literacy learning. These students need technology that allows them to move seamlessly between reading, writing, and communicating. They require technology that takes into account access needs, individual learning needs, the learning demands of technology, and literacy development across grades. Families and school teams need information that will assist them in providing die best tools and the most appropriate content within these tools throughout die school day. Teachers need information that supports them in providing exemplary literacy instruction to students who use AAC systems. This article explores and summarizes factors impacting literacy learning, including literacy capabilities of school-age students who use AAC, communication in literacy learning and use, reading and writing instruction in general education classrooms, and technology to support literacy learning. It is important that future technology tools provide a platform for levels of literacy learning: The power of technology will be reflected in its ability to provide access to and display the right content at die right time for students who use AAC. This article summarizes current factors thought to influence literacy learning and discusses priorities for future research and technology development.