Two issues were investigated: the first examined the relationships among accuracy and latency of word recognition and comprehension by non-fluent readers, and the second examined whether component letter or holistic processing was used in word recognition by these same readers. Speed and accuracy of word recognition were measured on individual words. Literal comprehension was measured for the same words presented in meaningful context. The unit of perception was measured by the relationship between latency of word recognition and word length. If students were using component processing, latency would increase with word length, but if holistic processing were used, there would be no increase in latency with length. Results of this study indicated that accuracy and latency were each significantly related to comprehension for both first- and second-grade words, with evidence for latency influencing comprehension scores to a greater extent on the first-grade words. With regard to the unit of perception, in general there was evidence of component letter processing for all subjects with the highly accurate readers showing a tendency towards more holistic processing.
Routinely collected measures for 38 children in the kindergarten program in a middle-class school in a small midwestern city were analyzed as predictors of first-grade reading achievement on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and of first-grade performance on the Cognitive Abilities Test. Correlations among all variables are given. Stepwise multiple regression analyses predicting the first-grade variables showed that consonant-sound-identification was the best predictor of first-grade reading achievement and that the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test--Revised was the best predictor of cognitive ability. A second multiple regression analysis examined the contribution of each kindergarten variable to first-grade reading and cognitive scores. Analysis indicated that these children entered kindergarten with highly developed early reading skills which facilitated success with systematic reading instruction.
Early Start is a center-based program for 4-year-old prekindergarten children at risk of academic failure because of their home or community environment This state-funded program successfully incorporated literacy activities into a supportive environment which informally encouraged practice with early reading and writing. The article describes the development of the program, the project's dally activities from the perspective of emergent literacy, and evaluative findings regarding literacy development. Researchers conducted direct child assessment and classroom observations to document the children's capabilities and participation in literacy activities during the course of the school year.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.