There is growing interest in mathematics learning progressions in early childhood education. Counting is a skill usually developed early in life. The application of the counting principles in early childhood typically entails counting objects. This poses challenges for learning about zero. Indeed, the word "zero" is seldom used in the…

To better understand the developmental trajectory of children's pragmatic development, studies that examine more than one type of implicature as well as associated linguistic and cognitive factors are required. We investigated three- to five-year-old English-speaking children's (N = 71) performance in ad hoc quantity, scalar quantity and relevance…

The purpose of the current study was to examine the influence of L1 (i.e. Spanish) receptive vocabulary on both expressive and receptive knowledge of target vocabulary words taught through L2 (i.e. English) instruction and intervention. Participants were Bilingual US kindergarten students determined to be at-risk based on English receptive…

Children who know fewer words in preschool typically continue to have lower levels of vocabulary knowledge in higher grades than their peers who know more words. In fact, this difference continues to be pronounced and even widens as these children reach higher grade levels. Interventions that support vocabulary development and reading…

Children who know fewer words in preschool typically continue to have lower levels of vocabulary knowledge in higher grades than their peers who know more words. In fact, this difference continues to be pronounced and even widens as these children reach higher grade levels. Interventions that support vocabulary development and reading…

Literacy exposure checklists that assess parental picture book knowledge (Parental Title Checklist [PTC] and Parental Author Checklist [PAC]) have been developed as proxy measures for literacy environments. Although previous research suggests that parental picture book knowledge is a strong predictor of language skills for preschoolers older than…

The present study examined adults' understanding of children's early word learning. Undergraduates, non-parents, parents, and Speech-Language Pathologists (N = 535, 74% female, 56% White) completed a survey with 11 word learning principles from the perspective of a preschooler. Questions tested key principles from early word learning research. For…

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…

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…

The purpose of this evaluation study was twofold: to evaluate the overall impact of an intensive early childhood literacy project on children's vocabulary knowledge and to examine the sociocultural context of the vocabulary assessment for the early literacy project. Children's language development and vocabulary knowledge was measured with PPVT-IV…

The importance of early vocabulary development to later reading comprehension has been well-established. However, there have been a number of criticisms that the assessments typically used to measure oral vocabulary knowledge do not adequately capture the complexity of this construct. This conceptual review works towards a more robust theoretical…

A large body of research has established the existence of a gap in vocabulary knowledge that occurs largely along socioeconomic lines, is evident prior to age two, and continues to widen as children age. Because research has shown that early vocabulary knowledge supports present and later text comprehension, interventions for supporting…

A repeated acquisition (RA) design was used to compare the effectiveness of research-based instruction embedded in repeated storybook reading facilitated by an adult or tablet application (app) on the vocabulary knowledge of six preschool children. All participants selected scored below the 40th percentile on the "Preschool Language…

Aim: This study reports on an initiative to promote vocabulary development within three nurseries serving an area with high levels of multiple deprivation. Focusing on the use of books as a mechanism to introduce and extend children's vocabulary, early years practitioners were trained and coached in the methodology of 'Word Aware'. Concurrent…

We implemented an Extension-led language and literacy training and coaching intervention targeting preschool teachers and children in low-income communities in Nevada. Participation in the intervention had a positive influence on the language and literacy instruction skills of preschool teachers and language and literacy skills of children.…