Children's Literacy Skills Research Articles

National Profiles of classroom quality and family involvement: A multilevel examination of proximal influences on Head Start children's school readiness

Guided by a developmental and ecological model, the study employed latent profile analysis to identify a multilevel typology of family involvement and Head Start classroom quality. Using the nationally representative Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES 1997; N = 1870), six multilevel latent profiles were estimated, characterized by distinct patterns of parent school involvement, parent home involvement, and classroom quality. The most prevalent profile (47.5% of children within the national sample) reflected low levels of parent home and school involvement practices, but above average classroom quality. Significant differences were found among the six profiles on (a) child, family, classroom, and program demographic characteristics, and (b) children's literacy, language, mathematics, and social skills at the end of children's first Head Start year. The strongest positive associations between profile membership and child outcomes were seen for children in profiles characterized by high levels of parent involvement and above-average levels of Head Start classroom quality, although there were several nuanced distinctions that emerged. Children within the profile characterized by low parent involvement and low classroom quality exhibited lower academic and social outcomes relative to children in higher quality profiles. Implications for early childhood practice, policy, and research are discussed.

Effects of Web-Mediated Teacher Professional Development on the Language and Literacy Skills of Children Enrolled in Pre-Kindergarten Programs.

As early education grows in the United States, in-service professional development in key instructional and interaction skills is a core component of capacity-building in early childhood education. In this paper, we describe results from an evaluation of the effects of MyTeachingPartner, a web-based system of professional development, on language and literacy development during pre-kindergarten for 1338 children in 161 teachers' classrooms. High levels of support for teachers' implementation of language/literacy activities showed modest but significant effects for improving early language and literacy for children in classrooms in which English was the dominant language spoken by the students and teachers. The combination of web-based supports, including video-based consultation and web-based video teaching exemplars, was more effective at improving children's literacy and language skills than was only making available to teachers a set of instructional materials and detailed lesson guides. These results suggest the importance of targeted, practice-focused supports for teachers in designing professional development systems for effective teaching in early childhood programs.

E087 Sound Caterpillar – an interactive, musical auditory training game for hearing impaired children

Remediation of reading difficulties through music and auditory-based interventions in children with impairments in reading (such as developmental dyslexia) has been suggested in light of the putative neural and cognitive overlaps between the music and language domains. Several studies had explored the effect of music training on reading development, showing mixed results. However, to date, the meta-analyses on this topic did not differentiate the studies on typical children from those on children with reading difficulties. To draw a clear picture of the remedial effects of music-based and auditory-based interventions, the present review of the literature included studies on struggling readers only. Eighteen studies have been categorized according to the type of the main training activity – either specific auditory training or more broad music training – and the combination with reading exercises. The reviewed studies showed that musical and auditory interventions yielded a positive, but not consistent, effect on reading. Nevertheless, significantly larger improvements of phonological abilities, relative to the control conditions, were overall reported. These findings support the hypothesis of a transfer effect of musical and auditory training on phonological and literacy skills in children with reading difficulties.

Home literacy environments, interest in reading and emergent literacy skills of children with Down syndrome versus typical children

The present study examined home literacy environments, children's interest in reading and emergent literacy skills of pre-school-aged children with Down syndrome (DS; n=20), school-aged children with DS (n=17) and typically developing children (n=18) matched on chronological age with the younger DS group and mental age (MA) with the older DS group. Parents filled out questionnaires on their home literacy environments and their children's interest in reading. School-aged children with DS and typical children were assessed on cognitive functioning, receptive vocabulary, alphabet knowledge, familiarity with print conventions and comprehension of meaning. School-aged children with DS and typical children - as opposed to pre-school-aged children with DS - were exposed to more literacy-rich home environments and had greater interest in reading. School-aged children with DS also outperformed the MA-matched typical group on letter and sight word knowledge and familiarity with print conventions. Parents of children with DS tailor home literacy environments to their children's developmental levels. Confirming earlier studies, children with DS achieved some higher literacy skills than what was expected for their MA, emphasising the importance of early reading interventions for this population.

Penguins and Polar Bears Integrates Science and Literacy

Elementary teachers find resources about the Arctic and Antarctica along with practical ideas for enhancing children's literacy skills in this online project.

Initial Mental Graphemic Representation Acquisition and Later Literacy Achievement in Children With Language Impairment

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between the ability to quickly acquire initial mental graphemic representations (MGRs) in kindergarten and fourth grade literacy skills in children with typical language (TL) and children with language impairment (LI). The study is a longitudinal extension of a study conducted by Wolter and Apel in which kindergarten children with LI and TL were administered early literacy measures as well as a novel written pseudoword task of MGR learning (spelling and identification of target pseudowords). In the current study (4 years later), the authors administered reading and spelling measures to 37 of the original 45 children (18 children with LI, 19 children with TL). The children with LI performed significantly lower than their peers with TL on all fourth grade literacy measures. For both groups, kindergarten initial MGR acquisition ability significantly related to fourth grade real-word reading and spelling. For the children with LI, kindergarten initial MGR acquisition ability also related to fourth grade pseudoword decoding and reading comprehension. Collectively, the findings suggest that initial MGR learning in kindergarten is an essential skill that may uniquely relate to later literacy abilities.

Use of text message abbreviations and literacy skills in children with dyslexia

This small-scale study compared 10 to 13-year-old dyslexic children's use of text message abbreviations with that of reading age- and chronological age-matched controls. There were no significant differences in the proportion of textisms used between the dyslexic children and the two control groups, although a preference for non-phonetic text abbreviations was observed in the dyslexic group. Unlike the controls, there was little evidence of an association between phonological awareness and textism use in children with dyslexia. These results are discussed in relation to strategy use by dyslexic children when decoding text.

The effect of text messaging on 9‐ and 10‐year‐old children's reading, spelling and phonological processing skills

AbstractThis paper reports on an intervention study that considered the impact of text messaging on 9‐ to 10‐year‐old children's literacy skills. One hundred and fourteen children who had never owned a mobile phone before were recruited and randomly allocated to either the intervention or control conditions. All children were pre‐ and post‐tested on a range of reading, spelling and phonological awareness measures. Children in the intervention group were given access to a mobile phone (enabled for text messaging only) for weekends and during half‐term break for a 10‐week period. It was found that there were no significant differences between the two groups of children in terms of their literacy attainment during that period. However, within the mobile phone group, there was evidence that use of text abbreviations was positively related to gains in literacy skills. Moreover, after controlling for individual differences in IQ, and the children's performance at pre‐test, textism usage was able to account for a significant amount of variance in post‐test spelling scores. These results show that text messaging does not adversely affect the development of literacy skills within this age group, and that the children's use of textisms when text messaging is positively related to improvement in literacy skills, especially spelling.

Predicting word decoding and word spelling development in children with Specific Language Impairment

This longitudinal investigation on Dutch children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) aimed at determining the predictive value of statistically uncorrelated language proficiencies on later reading and spelling skills in Dutch. Language abilities, tested with an extensive test battery at the onset of formal reading instruction, were represented by four statistically uncorrelated factors: lexical-semantic abilities, auditory perception, verbal-sequential processing, and speech production. All factors contributed significantly to the prediction of word reading and spelling development seven months later. Verbal-sequential processing was the strongest predictor for both word decoding and spelling. Furthermore, autoregression effects of word decoding and spelling were strong and verbal-sequential processing had predictive value on word spelling nineteen months later when pre-existing spelling abilities were accounted for. Children with SLI and normal literacy skills performed better on most of the language and language-related measures than children with SLI and poor literacy skills. Learning outcomes: As a result of this activity, readers will describe four language domains that are related to later literacy skills in children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). As a result of this activity, readers will recognize the predictive value of each of these language domains and the important role of verbal-sequential processing in learning to decode and writing words for children with SLI. As a result of this activity, readers will recall the differences in language proficiencies between children with SLI who develop normal literacy skills and those who encounter literacy problems.

Paired Reading as a Literacy Intervention for Foster Children

The education of children in foster care has long been considered problematic. One contributing factor may be the lack of educational support from key adults in these children's lives. High turnover of school and home placements may preclude the presence of a consistent adult who is actively involved in a foster child's education. Moreover, research suggests that education is sometimes viewed as a low priority by carers in comparison with other aspects of a foster child's life. The aim of the study reported here by Cara Osborne, Julia Alfano and Tanya Winn was to address this issue by directly involving carers in supporting their child's literacy skills through the use of a ‘paired reading’ literacy intervention. Thirty-five carers and children took part in the project over a 16-week period. The results revealed an average improvement in reading age of 12 months during this time, suggesting that the programme offers a constructive way of enhancing foster children's literacy skills. Feedback from carers supported this view and suggested that the impact of the project may extend beyond the realm of literacy per se, resulting in improvements in confidence and motivation as well as reading ability.

Impact of Professional Development on Preschool Teachers’ Print References During Shared Read Alouds: A Latent Growth Curve Analysis

This large-scale, experimental study aimed to (a) describe the extent to which teachers of preschool children at risk for reading difficulties make references to print during whole-class, shared-book read alouds and (b) empirically test the extent to which participation in professional development influences teachers’ frequency of references to print during shared read alouds across the academic year. Eighty-five preschool teachers working in targeted-enrollment preschool programs were randomly assigned to receive professional development aimed at increasing their use of print referencing or to a comparison condition involving alternative training; all teachers implemented a shared read aloud program in their classrooms. Implementation was documented via twice-monthly videotaping of shared read aloud sessions. Videos were coded for the frequency of print references and analyzed using latent growth curves. Despite considerable variability in teachers’ use of print referencing, findings showed sustained, meaningful changes in teachers’ use of print referencing with results favoring those who experienced the experimental professional development. Implications concerning effective professional development for supporting preschool children's emergent literacy skills are discussed.

Literacy Behaviors of Deaf Preschoolers during Video Viewing

A pressing concern in the education of deaf children is their lack of academic success as measured by literacy rates. Most deaf children finish high school reading below a fourth-grade level. Educational television programs have successfully fostered preschool hearing children's emergent literacy skills. As for preschool deaf children, however, there has been only limited research on whether this medium can be effective. This study uses descriptive analyses to determine the type and frequency of literacy behaviors that preschool deaf children engage in while viewing an educational video in American Sign Language. Children were videotaped during three such sessions, and the videos were coded for literacy-related engagement behaviors. The results of this study indicate that preschool deaf children engaged in a variety of such behaviors regardless of age and ASL exposure and that these behaviors increased after multiple video viewings.

Child Miscues and Parental Feedback During Shared Alphabet Book Reading and Relations With Child Literacy Skills

We studied 52 parent–child dyads reading an alphabet book to examine the nature of children's miscues and parents' feedback, and whether miscues and feedback were related to each other and to preliteracy skills. Letter knowledge, phonological awareness, and expressive vocabulary were assessed in 5-year-old nonreaders who were also audiotaped reading an alphabet book at home with their parent. Results indicate that after controlling for vocabulary, children with higher phonological awareness more often labeled objects with a name beginning with the page's target letter. Parents provided substantial sustaining feedback after miscues, as though using alphabet books as a way of fostering their child's literacy. Findings highlight the need to consider both the child's skill-base and parent–child interactions to understand the role of alphabet books in literacy development.

Latina Mothers' School Preparation Activities and Their Relation to Children's Literacy Skills

Few studies have examined the link between children's early school achievement and parents' at-home practices exclusively among Latino groups. This study examined the relation between Latina mothers' reported at-home practices regarding school preparation and their children's literacy skills. Participants included 56 kindergarten children and their mothers from the School Transition Study. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that mothers' practices in the social rather than academic domain were positively associated with children's literacy skills in the spring of kindergarten and that children's classroom engagement partially mediated these relations. Implications for building supportive partnerships among Latino families, teachers, and schools are discussed.

Newborn brain event-related potentials revealing atypical processing of sound frequency and the subsequent association with later literacy skills in children with familial dyslexia

The role played by an auditory-processing deficit in dyslexia has been debated for several decades. In a longitudinal study using brain event-related potentials (ERPs) we investigated 1) whether dyslexic children with familial risk background would show atypical pitch processing from birth and 2) how these newborn ERPs later relate to these same children’s pre-reading cognitive skills and literacy outcomes. Auditory ERPs were measured at birth for tones varying in pitch and presented in an oddball paradigm (1100Hz, 12%, and 1000Hz, 88%). The brain responses of the typically reading control group children (TRC group, N=25) showed clear differentiation between the frequencies, while those of the group of reading disability with familial risk (RDFR, 8 children) and the group of typical readers with familial risk (TRFR, 14 children) did not differentiate between the tones. The ERPs of the latter two groups differed from those of the TRC group. However, the two risk groups also showed a differential hemispheric ERP pattern. Furthermore, newborn ERPs reflecting passive change detection were associated with phonological skills and letter knowledge prior to school age and with phoneme duration perception, reading speed (RS) and spelling accuracy in the 2nd grade of school. The early obligatory response was associated with more general pre-school language skills, as well as with RS and reading accuracy (RA). Results suggest that a proportion of dyslexic readers with familial risk background are affected by atypical auditory processing. This is already present at birth and also relates to pre-reading phonological processing and speech perception. These early differences in auditory processing could later affect phonological representations and reading development. However, atypical auditory processing is unlikely to suffice as a sole explanation for dyslexia but rather as one risk factor, dependent on the genetic profile of the child.

Assessment of Children's Literacy via an Internet-Based Telehealth System

Interactive telehealth applications have potential for the assessment of reading disability in school-aged children. However, there is currently a lack of research on the validity of such applications. The aim of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of an Internet-based videoconferencing system for the assessment of children's literacy on a battery of standardized assessments. Twenty children aged 8-13 years were simultaneously assessed in real-time both face-to-face and over a 128-Kbps Internet link. The assessments included eight subtests of the Queensland University Inventory of Literacy (QUIL), the South Australian Spelling Test, and the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability, 3rd edition (Neale-3). The limits of agreement for the majority of raw scores fell within predetermined clinical criteria, with the exception of the QUIL nonword reading and nonword spelling measures and the rate score of the Neale-3. Weighted kappa analyses on the tests' scaled scores indicated very good agreement for all parameters (kappa 0.92-1.00). Percentage levels of agreement were adequate (above 80%) for most measures except for the nonword reading raw score of the QUIL and the reading error classification component of the Neale-3. Very good intra- and interrater reliability was determined for all online parameters (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.98-1.00). As issues with audio latency, break-up, and echo were observed, some modifications to the technology may improve system effectiveness and usability. However, the overall positive results of this study support the validity and reliability of the assessment of children's literacy skills via telehealth.

Literacy skills of children born preterm

Most children born preterm are considered neurologically normal and free of disability. However in follow-up studies at school age, preterm children, born without major impairment, have been shown to have lower cognitive abilities and associated academic, social and behavioural difficulties. This study investigated the literacy, phonological awareness and language abilities of 169 preterm (<33 weeks gestational age) and 141 fullterm born children aged between 5 and 12 years. Reading, spelling, phonological awareness skills, language and cognitive skills were assessed. The results indicate the preterm children were significantly poorer across all domains assessed in comparison to their fullterm classmates. However, the results of the preterm children do not significantly differ to the standardised assessment populations. Spelling was particularly vulnerable in preterm children and a higher number were identified with speech difficulties. The study also provided further evidence for the strong relationship that exists between language ability, phonological skills and literacy.

Learning to Read, Reading to Learn

![Figure][1] CREDIT: ALEXEY CHUVARKOV/GETTY IMAGES How often have you had your eyes pass over a text, only to realize some time later that you absorbed nothing of it? Or spent an hour listening at a seminar, only to walk away unclear about what the most important advance was? Is this entirely your fault, or is the design of the text or the seminar partly to blame? In this special issue, we have collected a variety of articles that focus on literacy in science. The term represents two angles of the problem: knowing what science has discovered and being able to communicate in the language of science. And the value is twofold, as well: Good literacy skills make it easier to learn science, but science topics can also be used to teach literacy skills that will translate well to other subjects. As Snow points out (p. [450][2]), the language used in science is different from the language used in everyday conversation. The focus on details, the exclusion of ambiguous interpretations, and the complexity of the vocabulary all present the reader with challenges different from those found in fictional texts. But as van den Broek discusses (p. [453][3]), strategies taken by the writer or speaker can help the novice through the language barrier. Webb (p. [448][4]) discusses the kinds of supports that are helpful when the language of school is not the native language of the students. Krajcik and Sutherland (p. [456][5]) analyze how scientific texts are best used in a classroom setting and how to design curricula that support life-long science literacy skills. Taking the view that not all literacy is about writing, Osborne (p. [463][6]) discusses how argumentation skills are critical for understanding why some ideas are wrong and others right. Pearson and colleagues (p. [459][7]) describe the integration of literacy and science training through professional development for teachers, innovative curricula, and enhanced classroom materials. And research reported by Taylor et al. (p. [512][8]) analyzes how both genetics and the teachers available affect a child's literacy skills. In the Education Forum, Schleicher (p. [433][9]) discusses how literacy skills required for participation in increasingly sophisticated societies have evolved and how meaningful international assessments can be conducted. In the 20 and 27 April issues, Science Signaling presents a set of Teaching Resources by Thatcher, each of which is a pair of short animations of a canonical signaling pathway; student-authored Journal Clubs cover topics ranging from signaling in cells of the immune system to signaling in plants. Science is about generating and interpreting data. But it is also about communicating facts, ideas, and hypotheses. Scientists write, speak, debate, visualize, listen, and read about their specialties daily. For students unfamiliar with the language or style of science, the deceptively simple act of communication can be a barrier to understanding or becoming involved with the science. [1]: pending:yes [2]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1182597 [3]: /lookup/volpage/328/453?iss=5977 [4]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1182596 [5]: /lookup/volpage/328/456?iss=5977 [6]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1183944 [7]: /lookup/volpage/328/459?iss=5977 [8]: /lookup/volpage/328/512?iss=5977 [9]: /lookup/volpage/328/433?iss=5977

Emergent literacy in children of immigrants coming from a primarily oral literacy culture

This study examined emergent literacy skills of 61 kindergarten children whose families had immigrated to Israel from a primarily oral society (Ethiopia). Three complementary perspectives were examined: developmental patterns, individual differences, and the contribution of parent literacy. The emergent literacy skills of children whose families were from Ethiopia were compared to those of 52 children coming from a primarily literate culture. The groups had acquired less complex Hebrew literacy skills in the same order, including phonological awareness, letter naming and consonant writing. However, the Ethiopian Israeli children were less proficient on various aspects of Hebrew language proficiency, and less familiar with aspects of cultural and environmental literacy. Most were also unable to speak or comprehend Amharic. In both groups, phonological awareness explained individual differences in letter naming, but vocabulary and syntactic knowledge added to the explained variance only in the Ethiopian Israeli group. Letter naming was associated with consonant writing in both groups. Hebrew oral and written language proficiency of Ethiopian Israeli mothers was positively correlated with literacy skills in their children. The results underscore the importance of distinguishing between less complex, modularized, aspects of emergent literacy and more complex literacy skills. Here the cumulative effects of poverty, oral home culture, parental inability to mediate language and literacy, and non-optimal conditions for becoming bilingual place young immigrant children at risk for academic failure early on.

Sebastian Walker and Walker Books: A Commercial Case Study

Walker Books was founded in 1978 as the first publishing house specifically dedicated to children's books. The company's founder Sebastian Walker was intent on promoting picture books and, in doing so, ensuring their artistic quality. The staunchly independent company's distinct values cultivated in a bohemian focus on both the artistry of the book and its employees' well-being, encouraging a family style environment and prioritizing the pre-school market in order to benefit children's literacy skills; in return, Walker demanded loyalty from the authors and illustrators who worked for him. However, it has been thirty years since Walker Books was established and many changes in personnel, society, and economic climate have shaped the evolution of the company. Thus, it is important to evaluate how the company fares in the contemporary market and to ask how far Walker's legacy has been retained and whether there is now a tension between quality and commercialism.