Can emergent literacy impact the size of the linguistic units children attend to? We examined children's ability to segment multiword sequences before and after they learned to read, in order to disentangle the effect of literacy and age on segmentation. We found that early readers were better at segmenting multiword units (after controlling for…

The study explores the relationship between phonological awareness and early reading for bilingual children learning to read in two languages that use different writing systems. Participants were 57 Cantonese-English bilingual 6-year-olds who were learning to read in both languages. The children completed cognitive measures, phonological awareness…

Simultaneous and successive processing and language development were compared to the early reading behaviors of 64 children, ages 4 through 6 years. Three standard instruments were administered; a multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that language development and simultaneous processing made greater contributions to early reading…

Describes children's process of constructing their own knowledge by going through one level after another of being "wrong" and relates this process to reading. Describes six strategies children invent and discusses implications for teaching. (AS)

A study examined prereaders' story processing strategies by assessing their performance on tasks that tapped their ability to (1) use story grammar and role playing, (2) retell a wordless picture book, (3) read a predictable book, (4) retell an oral story, (5) sequence pictured story events, and (6) fingerpoint-read a nursery rhyme. Parent…

Presents results of tested theoretical models of the development of print concepts and word reading. Indicates that children expand their knowledge in each of the following print components with age: print, graphic awareness, phonemic awareness, grapheme-phoneme correspondence knowledge, and word reading components. (NKA)

Reflecting the increasing complexity and sophistication in reading research, the papers in this collection represent a wide spectrum of approaches, philosophies, viewpoints, and techniques of scholarly endeavor in their treatment of reading research and instruction. Following an address, by the president of the organization, on reading…

This report gives a history of the 1979-80 segment of a continuing project that is designed to provide a theoretically based description of children's transition from prereading to reading, along with tools that teachers may use to assess children's emerging literacy abilities. The first chapter provides an introduction to the project, while the…

The reports of research in this monograph reflect 18 years of observation of the behaviors of children learning to read in New Zealand schools. The first section of the monograph urges teachers to look more closely at language behaviors in their classrooms to see how children go about the tasks set before them. The second section reports on…

The question of the relationship between children's play and more formal, literate uses of language is explored in the 9 studies described in this volume. Chapter titles and authors are as follows: (1) "The Influence of Discourse Content and Context on Preschoolers' Use of Language" (Lucia A. French, Joan Lucariello, Susan Seidman, and Katherine…