Purpose: Identifying appropriate targets for vocabulary instruction and determining the optimal sequence for instruction continue to be a challenge. The purpose of this study is to investigate how previously studied lexical characteristics collectively influence children's word learning. Method: A secondary data analysis was conducted using the…

Purpose: Identifying appropriate targets for vocabulary instruction and determining the optimal sequence for instruction continue to be a challenge. The purpose of this study is to investigate how previously studied lexical characteristics collectively influence children's word learning. Method: A secondary data analysis was conducted using the…

Four classes of first-grade children at a Christian school took pre- and post-tests measuring humility. Two intervention classes had devotional lessons on humility and two comparison classes did not. For one week, devotional lessons featured humility-related children's literature, cognitively appropriate discussions, writing about humility, and…

One-hundred-fourteen kindergarten through third-grade teachers from seven different schools were surveyed using "The Survey of Preparedness and Knowledge of Language Structure Related to Teaching Reading to Struggling Students." The purpose was to compare their definitions and application knowledge of language structure, phonics, and…

The ability to flexibly approach the pronunciation of unknown words, or set "for variability", has been shown to contribute to word recognition skills. However, this is the first study that has attempted to teach students strategies for increasing their set for variability. Beginning readers (N = 15) were instructed to correct oral…

Children's success in learning to read in the first grade is crucial for their ultimate success in schooling. This study aimed at identifying self-declared practices in preschool and first grade in Spain and contrasting these practices with the official recommendations for the initial teaching of reading and writing. A characterisation of the ways…

This study examined the effect of explicit and engaging supplemental early literacy instruction on at-risk kindergarten children's literacy development. Sixty-three kindergarten-aged children who had been ranked in the lowest 20th percentile on basic literacy skills participated in this study (38 treatment). Results reveal that children who…

In this study we examined the relation between children's social competence and their first-grade classroom environment. Drawing from data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, we used cluster analysis to identify 4 types of typical classrooms based on observed classroom emotional and instructional supports. The 4 types…

This study examined kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade teachers' intended and reported classroom use, as well as perceptions and knowledge of reading strategies and methods, before and after their participation in a 120-hour professional development workshop. A cluster analysis was conducted on the teachers' (N = 33) responses to a…