Research Findings: Letter name knowledge (LNK) is essential for a good start in learning to read. However, the literature shows conflicting results. Using an associative learning theory framework, the present study examined the influence of child and letter characteristics on LNK in French-speaking children. Children aged 3 to 5-6 years were asked…

Research Findings: The current study examined whether collective small-group behavioral engagement and teacher behavior management during small-group instruction predicted print knowledge, phonological awareness, letter writing, and expressive vocabulary gains for preschoolers at-risk for literacy difficulties. This study, part of a larger…

This study evaluated the emergent literacy profiles of preschool Spanish-speaking children. Participants included 440 children in dual-language classrooms who were assessed in English and Spanish at the beginning and end of their preschool year. Research Findings: Through latent profile analysis, conducted with fall data, four empirically derived…

Research Findings: Home literacy practices are an important variable in the development of literacy skills among children. However, several questions regarding the relationship between home literacy practices and writing are unanswered. The objective of this correlational study is to examine the relationship between reading-related and…

Research Findings: The present study compared effects of explicit instruction on and practice with the phonological form of words (form-focused instruction) versus explicit instruction on and practice with the meaning of words (meaning-focused instruction). Instruction was given via interactive storybook reading in the kindergarten classroom of…

The current study used a dyadic and coconstructive approach to examine how to embed exercises that support executive functioning into early literacy instruction to empower its effects. Using a randomized controlled trial design with 100 children, we examined the effects of dyadic activities in which children scaffolded each other's learning and…

Research Findings: The goal of the present study was to provide empirical evidence for the importance of mastering reading fluency in early schooling. Study participants were 1,322 students in 3rd grade in 42 schools in a northwestern state. These students were assessed using a battery of reading skill tests as well as comprehensive tests of more…

Research Findings: This study examined the heterogeneity in Spanish-speaking children's (N = 117; M age = 53 months; SD = 5 months; 57% boys) vocabulary and letter-word skills in English and Spanish after one year of preschool and the extent to which early self-regulation abilities (i.e., executive function and effortful control) were associated…

Research Findings: The current study reports on the results of a longitudinal investigation of the language and early literacy development of a sample of dual-language learners (DLLs) and monolingual English speakers from low-income families who received an Early Reading First intervention during their Head Start preschool year. A total of 62…

Research Findings: This study examined concurrent associations between family sociodemographic risk, self-regulation, and early literacy and mathematics in young children from Azores, Portugal (N = 186). Family sociodemographic risk was indexed by low maternal education, low family income, and low occupational status. Behavioral aspects of…

Research Findings: The present study evaluated the impact of a working memory (WM) stimulation program on the development of WM and early literacy skills (ELS) in preschoolers from socioeconomically deprived rural and urban schools in Chile. The sample consisted of 268 children, 144 in the intervention group and 124 in the comparison group. The…

Research Findings: Environmental print provides children with their earliest print experiences. This observational study investigated the frequency of mother-child environmental print referencing and its relationship with emergent literacy. A total of 35 mothers and their children (ages 3-4 years) were videotaped interacting in an environmental…

Research Findings: A total of 72 Head Start children (M age = 53.26 months, SD = 5.07) were randomly assigned to 4 conditions. Some were taught the oddity principle (choosing the object that differs from others in a group) and seriation (ordering objects on a dimension and inserting new objects into such orders), which are forms of thinking that…

Research Findings: This study examines the theory of change of the Chicago School Readiness Project (CSRP), testing a sequence of theory-derived mediating mechanisms that include the quality of teacher-child relationships and children's self-regulation. The CSRP is a multicomponent teacher and classroom-focused intervention, and its…

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency of extratextual references to letters made by parents and preschoolers during shared reading of an alphabet book. The frequency of letter references was also examined in relation to child age and knowledge of letter names. Participants consisted of 44 preschoolers and their…