Effectiveness Of Literacy Instruction Research Articles

Vowel Categorization Skill and Its Relationship to Early Literacy Skills among First-Grade Québec-French Children

Six-year-old children's ability to categorize words on the basis of vowel categories was examined at the beginning of first grade and again after 6 months of formal schooling. The potential effects of relative proximity of vowels in the vowel space, of syllable structure, and of input phonology were assessed. Also, the effect of literacy instruction on vowel categorization and the relationship of vowel categorization with vowel spelling and reading skill were investigated. Results indicate that the ability to categorize vowels does not develop uniformly but is affected by the degree of spectral/articulatory proximity between vowels, by syllable structure, and potentially by characteristics of the input phonology. Error analyses further indicate that children have fuzzy category boundaries between vowels adjacent on the height continuum. The pattern of results on oral categorization and written tasks suggests a reciprocal relationship. Categorization ability improved after 6 months of schooling. However, vowels that children found more difficult to categorize were also more difficult to read and spell.

The effects of literacy instruction on primary students' reading and writing achievement

This study examined the reading and writing achievement of students in primary classrooms in which teachers implemented recommended literacy instruction to varying degrees and described teachers’ practices within these varying classrooms. The reading and writing achievement of 21 students from four classrooms in which teachers adhered to recommended literacy practices to high degrees was compared with the achievement of 19 students from four classrooms in which teachers implemented recommended practices to low degrees. Findings revealed that the group of students taught by teachers who adhered to recommended practices to high degrees outperformed the group of students taught by teachers who adhered to these practices to low degrees on every measure of literacy achievement, with significant differences in comprehension, fluency, quality of writing, and use of language mechanics. The teachers of the higher achieving students implemented practices such as using high‐quality children's literature, engaging students in extensive reading and writing, and teaching skills in the context of meaningful reading and writing experiences. The teachers of the lower achieving students were less likely to employ these practices and were more apt to provide isolated skill instruction.