A Review of Emergent Literacy with Implications for Research and Practice in Reading

Joint Book Reading Makes for Success in Learning to Read: A Meta-Analysis on Intergenerational Transmission of Literacy

“…In contrast to previous reviews (Cochran-Smith, 1983;Mason & Allen, 1986;Scarborough & Dobrich, 1994;Teale, 1981), we conducted a quantitative metaanalysis of the relation between book reading to toddlers and preschoolers at home and several outcome measures. Our meta-analysis includes a more extensive body of studies than the most recent narrative review by Scarborough and Dobrich. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first quantitative meta-analysis on joint book reading.…”

“…First, the major databases in the fields of education and psychology-PsycLIT, ERIC, and Dissertation Abstracts International-were searched. Second, earlier review papers (Cochran-Smith, 1983;Mason & Allen, 1986;Scarborough & Dobrich, 1994;Teale, 1981) were taken äs a source of data. Third, the "snowball" method was used; that is, we searched the references of the collected papers for additional titles.…”

Parent’s Attitudes and Behavior, the Learning Environment, and Their Influence on Children’s Early Reading Achievement

“…The former equip children with literary knowledge that enables them to acquire reading faster than others (Share, Jorm, Maclean, Matthews, & Waterman, 1983). Substantial evidence documented that children who are read to, acquire concepts about the functions of written language in books (Hiebert, 1988;Mason & Allen, 1986). Children also learn that print differs from speech (Smith, 1989) and that print, not pictures, contains the story that is being read.…”

“…Children also learn that print differs from speech (Smith, 1989) and that print, not pictures, contains the story that is being read. Mason and Allen (1986) observed that "while additional research is needed to identify factors on the causal chain, a reasonable conjecture is that story reading at home makes, if not necessary, contributions to later reading achievement " (p. 29). A number of researchers have argued that there are two types of family variables: family socioeconomic status (SES) (income of parents and education) and process variables (the level of home literacy and parental involvement in children's learning).…”

Trying Something New: Meaning-Based Reading Instruction in a Finnish First-Grade Classroom

“…However, a growing body of evidence on emergent literacy has shown that young children possess some knowledge of written language prior to formal instruction (Durkin, 1966;Hiebert, 1981;Lomax & McGee, 1987;Mason, 1980;Masonheimer, Drum, & Ehri, 1984;Sulzby 1985), that they understand functions of print (Mason & Stewart, 1990), and that they know how to use print in various situations (Harste, Woodward, & Burke, 1984). These literacy behaviors are obvious with children who have not had formal instruction on letters and sounds but rather have had ample experiences with print in a social context with their parents and siblings (Mason & Allen, 1986;Sulzby & Teale, 1991). Such findings have changed classroom practices, because they imply that reading and writing can be explored in an environment that provides opportunities for real reading and writing, and that children have intrinsic motivation to communicate through print as they take risks to make sense from printed messages (Goodman, 1989;Teale, 1982).…”