The relationship between consistency of hand preference, left hemispheric specialization, and cognitive functioning was examined in an ongoing longitudinal investigation. Children were classified as consistent or inconsistent in their hand preference across 5 assessments from ages 18 to 42 months. Findings demonstrated that (a) this early…

This brief article uses observational data of a 4-year-old child with a visual impairment to examine the development of early literacy skills through home literacy experiences. (DB)

This article offers both a rationale and method for the implementation of a natural literacy program for preschool children with language disabilities. It reviews research on development of fundamental literacy skills and briefly describes extant approaches to facilitating literacy skills. Tenets of the natural literacy perspective are explained…

Analysis of 291 surveys representing preschool children considered at risk, with special education needs, or with no developmental delays revealed several intergroup differences. Respondents for children with special education needs placed the lowest priority on literacy development, had the lowest expectations for their children's future, and…

TO SUPPORT THE PREMISE THAT EARLY EDUCATION REDUCES ENVIRONMENTAL DEPRIVATION AND TO SUBSTANTIATE PROPOSALS ADVANCED BY BEREITER AND ENGLEMANN IN "TEACHING DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN IN PRESCHOOL," AN EXPERIMENT WAS CONDUCTED IN A HEADSTART SETTING. TWO CLASSES, EACH OF 24 CHILDREN RANGING IN AGE FROM 3-8 TO 5-7, ATTENDED PRESCHOOL CLASSES…

An intensive 6-week summer readiness program held in the Beaver Area School District, Beaver, Pennsylvania, developed linguistic facility among 15 preschool children. Daily activities included discussion, picture study, creative arts, field trips, developing experience charts, and other nonlanguage arts activities. A combined experiential,…

The importance of parents reading to their preschool age children is stressed.

This article describes how the author's infant son enthusiastically played with buttons from the age of 5 months to his first birthday. The article details his play routines and how they changed over time. It draws on recent neurological research about how the brain grows to argue that this play provided the foundation for her son's cognitive and…

Intended for parents, this booklet offers advice and suggestions for developing a child's self-expression and providing a supportive environment for reading experiences at home. Various sections of the book discuss the following: (1) giving love and warmth to your child, (2) reading with your child, (3) listening to your child, (4) talking with…

To gain additional information about how young children actually develop and use literacy before entering school, four young children were studied indepth by means of family questionnaires, reading age tests, diagnostic subskill tests, and miscue analysis. Five months later, the children were again tested to see if reading age had increased and if…

This study compared literacy knowledge in preschoolers from low- and middle-class homes. Students and parents completed assessments and questionnaires about literacy activities. Results indicated that children from low-income homes were at a disadvantage in understanding written language. Literacy development also related to amount of early…

For the purpose of examining the relationship between preschool children's level of literacy development and the contextualization of story content to the children's world knowledge, a study was conducted investigating how parents of high and low print aware children contextualize stories for them in terms of their prior knowledge. The study…

The rich oral language experiences given children in Russian preschools and primary schools accounts for their subsequent success in reading. (JH)

The Research and Development Center of the University of Georgia investigated the behavioral differences among advantaged and disadvantaged preschool children as part of an attempt to develop the most efficient way of assuring success at the first-grade level. A comparative study of a preschool stimulation program and the traditional kindergarten…

Finds that, at the end of the first year of a six-year longitudinal study, the literacy development of 26 children prenatally exposed to crack or cocaine appeared to be within the parameters of normal literacy development. (SR)