Research has established the importance of play-based experiences for young children's development and learning. Yet, facing the mounting pressure of accountability and standardized testing, some educators have turned to didactic methods of instruction. Guided play (Weisberg et al., 2016) provides a middle ground between play and instruction for…

The National Reading Panel (2000) identified vocabulary as one of the five skills with the most robust influence on reading ability. Early differences in vocabulary drive enduring individual differences in reading performance. High quality early childhood educational experience can have lasting positive effects on vocabulary development. This…

Extensive bodies of literature examining child language acquisition and early literacy development indicate that the language and literacy opportunities young children have at home and in school settings, including the nature of their language interactions with adults and their exposure to books and stories, are consequential for mastery of…