The effects of an expanded Language Experience Approach (LEA) on language processing skills were explored through experiments conducted with kindergartners. Results suggest that an LEA expanded to include systematic instruction in subskill areas (sound/symbol relationships, visual and auditory discrimination, use of context clues) will be more…

Noting that while the language experience approach to reading instruction assumes that the learner is intuitively familiar with the language and that this familiarity facilitates recognition of the language on the printed page, this paper argues that students learning to read in a second language do not have the same degree of intuitive…

Cites articles and research suggesting that the ability to learn to read is inherent within any normal child and recommends that teachers use strategies and materials relevant to the child rather than a prestructured reading program. (MM)

This report describes a project that used children's literature to introduce 6- and 7-year-old children (n=25) in the United States to other languages to arouse their interest in finding out more about language. Most of the children were monolingual and spoke English; two boys spoke some Spanish. The study was conducted to see if young children's…

Focusing on writing as a language process, this booklet describes a framework for writing instruction that has as a major consideration the totality of language. The first section discusses writing as a language process, emphasizing that as children learn to write, they can also learn to listen, speak, and read. The second section focuses on the…

Thirteen subjects (aged 5:6 to 6:6) with language disorders were given elicited imitation and spontaneous language tasks, and their performance was compared among and within subjects. The two procedures produced significantly correlated results for some children but not for others. Analysis of specific syntactic forms also produced variable…

Intended for parents and educators, this monograph briefly describes the relationship between the language processes of reading and writing and suggests some ways language development can be encouraged in young children. The monograph begins by recognizing that writing is a process consisting of prewriting, writing, and rewriting, and urges…

Kindergarten children differ in how close they are to becoming readers and writers. A study investigated the dictated and handwritten materials of 24 kindergarten children. In each of two sessions, three language productions were obtained: a told story, a dictated story, and a handwritten story. Additionally, samples of rereading and editing were…

The first of a two-volume final report, this document focuses on a study of written language growth and development among 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-year old children. The first section of the document contains five essays dealing with race, sex, age, socioeconomic status, and language; orchestrating the literacy event; reading and writing as…

Research indicates that reading and writing should be learned together since both are language processes, and that children should be shown how the skills they have acquired during learning to read apply to learning to write. A language experience approach is useful for accomplishing this. Many aspects of writing point out the integrative…

Utilizes M. A. K. Halliday's theories concerning the social and cultural functions of language to construct a series of social studies/language arts integrated learning activities. First graders wrote letters to an imaginary mouse in their desks and third graders answered the letters. Analyzes this activity and includes an annotated bibliography.…

The product of a two-year study investigating the literacy behavior of nine kindergarten students and their classmates, this report first explains the impetus and the theoretical foundations for the investigation and describes its subjects and setting. It then presents the methodology and the data collected from several related studies: (1)…

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…

This nontechnical guide for parents and teachers examines learning to read from infants' babbling to the fluent reading of children reading independently for pleasure. Chapter 1, "Baby Speaks," describes language development in infancy. Chapter 2, "Our Alphabet: Language by Ear and by Eye," presents the alphabetic system and…