Studies have suggested that multiple features influence letter knowledge across different orthographies. Arabic offers a unique opportunity to investigate the relations of letter properties on letter knowledge, but research on Arabic letter knowledge is scarce. This study was designed to investigate (a) letter frequency, (b) letter sequence, (c)…

There are multiple levels of processing relevant to reading that vary in their visual, sublexical, and lexical orthographic processing demands. Segregating distinct cortical sources for each of these levels has been challenging in EEG studies of early readers. To address this challenge, we applied recent advances in analyzing high-density EEG…

Most people would agree that proficiency in reading is essential for students' success in school and throughout life; however, students across the nation struggle to achieve grade-level proficiency in reading. For decades, people have argued about how reading should be taught. Many scientists now agree that body of evidence is known as the science…

This study aimed to examine the validity of the "simple view of reading" (SVR) model in the diglossic Arabic language. Using a longitudinal design, we tested whether decoding and listening comprehension (LC) in kindergarten can later predict reading comprehension (RC) in the first grade and whether the contribution of LC to RC differs…

In 2 experiments, I investigated the role of conditioned seeing on incidental bidirectional naming (Inc-BiN) for unfamiliar stimuli and reading achievement. In Experiment 1, I investigated the correlation, associations, and differences between conditioned seeing, Inc-BiN, and measures of reading achievement for 49 participants in kindergarten…

This mixed methods study sought to identify the incorporation of support for implementing evidence-based instructional practices within an MTSS framework among teachers and the impact on student growth outcomes in three K-2 schools. The study also determined teacher perceptions regarding how support in adult behavior change, which is the…

This study investigated preschoolers' knowledge of Chinese characters by testing character structures on four levels: radical (character components), whole characters, characters in words and characters in sentences. A total of 107 preschool children between the ages of three and six from four nursery schools in Taiwan participated in the study.…

Background: The relationship between rapid automatized naming (RAN) and reading has been examined extensively, but there is still a question as to the reason for the relationship. To reduce involvement of alphanumeric and vocabulary knowledge in RAN, and to possibly reduce phonological demands, researchers have suggested using the RAN sizes that…

We investigated the stability and developmental interplay of word reading and spelling in samples of Swedish (N = 191) and U.S. children (N = 489) followed across four time points: end of kindergarten, grades 1, 2, and 4. Cross-lagged path models revealed that reading and spelling showed moderate to strong autoregressive effects, with reading…

This study aims to compare auditory temporal processing and phonological processing across locations and age levels and to test the direct and indirect effects of auditory temporal and phonological processing on proficiency in Chinese character reading. We recruited 108 typically developing children -- 25 and 24 kindergarteners from Taiwan and…

Sight word learning occurs in most early elementary classrooms. Some kindergarten students face the prospect of learning up to 100 sight words, and many teachers feel pressure to ensure that students know lists of words by the year's end. The authors offer five assertions about sight word learning to direct teachers and administrators toward the…

In this commentary, the author considers the rise of algorithmic personalization and the power of propaganda as they shift the dynamic landscape of 21st-century literacy research and practice. Algorithmic personalization uses data from the behaviors, beliefs, interests, and emotions of the target audience to provide filtered digital content,…

Learning the relationships between letters and sounds is a key component of early literacy development and a central aim during the first year of school. Introducing one new letter a week is the most common approach in many countries, but little is known about how the pace of letter instruction contributes to the development of early literacy…

This exploratory study investigated whether/how kindergartners (ages 5-6) with different linguistic backgrounds in Malta and the U.S. engaged in similar or different reading processes with the same app book "But Not the Hippopotamus" in English. As part of a broader project, we purposefully sampled children who scored top three and…

Learning irregular words involves mental marking of irregular letters in the spelling, a process not fully understood. In a within-subjects experiment, we manipulated the type of scaffolding given to beginning readers to evoke mental marking. We pretested to sort 103 kindergarten and first-grade participants into sequential decoders, who decode…