After introductory remarks on the magnitude of changes that have taken place in early childhood education within the last 30 years, discussion focuses on early childhood research related to cognitive learning, social learning, and literacy. Social learning in kindergarten is discussed in terms of research findings on the effects of positive social…

One approach to preparing kindergarten children for beginning reading combines a meaningful print environment with active student involvement in the learning process. The environment of the classroom from the beginning exposes children to meaningful printed words and symbols. Children use name tags not only for identification but also as a way for…

The comprehension of written stories starts with learning to comprehend everyday situations, but it is the child's direct experiences with written stories that bring the process to fruition. These direct experiences with stories are generally of two types. Initially there is a storybook time, the occasions upon which a literate person, usually the…

Argues that an essential factor in becoming literate is young children's developing an understanding of the registers of written language. Examines the reading-like behavior of a prereading kindergartner. (AEW)

Prereading assessment was first used to predict school readiness and was an assessment of the child's visual and oral vocabulary skills. By the 1970s, readiness assessment had changed from assessment of a child's developmental probability for success or failure in reading to an assessment of the child's skill development in relation to the reading…