Previous research suggests that activating background knowledge immediately prior to read-alouds in Kindergarten is an important strategy for improving children's learning (e.g. Cervetti & Hiebert, 2015). But, because children's background knowledge varies considerably at the individual level, teachers are also often providing relevant…

To investigate the relationship between a kindergartner's prior experience with print and the child's scores on Marie Clay's Concepts About Print Test, a study examined 23 kindergarten students from an upper middle class neighborhood. A 27-item questionnaire was given to parents at the beginning of the school year, asking what their children knew…

A study examined the association between specific features of the preschool language context and the development of children's literacy-related language skills. Teachers were interviewed about the frequency with which they read to student groups during the school day; their preferences about literature; and the nature of their curriculum. Teachers…

One preschool-age child's literacy-oriented, self-initiated games and play are described in this report. Some of the games used decontextualized print, some focused on contextualized written language, some were number games, and some involved letters and words. Commercially produced games were used in addition to games constructed at home; these…

After introductory remarks on the magnitude of changes that have taken place in early childhood education within the last 30 years, discussion focuses on early childhood research related to cognitive learning, social learning, and literacy. Social learning in kindergarten is discussed in terms of research findings on the effects of positive social…

The Building Blocks Model for promoting basic literacy in young children is a three-dimensional model comprised of building blocks, one for each step of the process of laying the foundations for literacy. Each of the small blocks within the large solid cube represents a unique ability that can be distinguished in terms of the three…

A discussion of the rationale for early intervention programs, including the critical role of early experiences and the prevalence of language deprivation among children from lower socioeconomic groups, begins this paper. The distinguishing characteristics of three structured curriculum models for early intervention are reviewed: the structured…

Memory demands made by mothers of very young children are discussed in two studies of joint picture-book reading and one study of mother/infant pairs who looked at family photograph albums. While memory demands made by mothers differed as a function of child's age and linguistic development, at about 15 months of age children were expected to take…

A total of 26 preschools and day care centers in Saint Leo, Florida indicated the extent to which they were involved in teaching prereading and reading skills, when a questionnaire listing 50 reading and related activities was sent to 54 local centers. Respondents were instructed to indicate whether they engaged in the listed activities…

One approach to preparing kindergarten children for beginning reading combines a meaningful print environment with active student involvement in the learning process. The environment of the classroom from the beginning exposes children to meaningful printed words and symbols. Children use name tags not only for identification but also as a way for…

Teachers of extended day kindergarten classes and regular kindergarten classes are encouraged to help the poor risk child, who demonstrates the potential for having difficulty with the academics of first grade, by identifying the child's levels in reading readiness, developing the hows and whys of learning (teaching the child how to learn),…

The purpose of this study was to examine the way in which early childhood educators introduce reading and writing to 4- and 5-year-olds. A random sampling of the 903 public and private preschools registered with the Human Services Department in a midwestern state was conducted. Questionnaires were mailed to 687 randomly selected early childhood…

Several conclusions about child language were drawn from the data collected during the Bristol longitudinal study, "Language at Home and at School": (1) the amount of speech that adults address to their children is significantly associated with the children's rate of progress; (2) although many topics are introduced by parents, an equal…

Informal talks with teachers and head librarians, interviews with three preschool directors, and a review of literature were conducted to investigate the reasons why parents of preschool children infrequently used the public libraries available to them. Preschool directors were not surprised that only 45 percent of parents participating in a…

Jean Piaget's theory seems to lend support to reading specialists who believe that concrete operational thought constitutes a necessary and sufficient condition for learning to read. Preoperational children cannot deal with the complex relationships inherent in reading because they are tied perceptually to the immediate situation or…