This study of the acquisition of kinship terms in English is a test of the hypothesis that lexical items are learned in their order of complexity and of the validity of relational analysis in predicting the order of the acquisition of kinship terms. Earlier studies of kinship terms, Piaget's in particular, are first discussed, as well as the…

Linguistics can have useful applications in elementary and secondary language arts instruction, in a number of areas of skill development. The issue of student motivation is involved with the form of language used--standard or nonstandard--and educators may adopt the linguistic view that all forms of language have value and their use depends on…

The purposes of this study were to determine (1) if there are sex differences in language development among children growing up in the deprived conditions of a large city and (2) if there is a significant vocabulary change in these children throughout the Head Start school year. The subjects, 52 girls and 66 boys (3 and 4 years of age) from four…

This study evaluated effects of a year-long intensive vocabulary program on the reading achievement of 12th-grade college-preparatory English students. A control class followed the regular course of study, and an experimental class supplemented it with completion of the "Harbrace Vocabulary Workshop" workbook, study of the use of footnotes and the…

To produce and evaluate a language development program for culturally deprived preschool children based on characteristics of Piaget's theory of intelligence, a 6-week experimental study was carried out in Project Headstart, Starkville, Mississippi. Randomly-selected, 45 Negro Headstart enrollees made up three groups--two were taught the…

This paper reviews the evolution and implementation of the "Sesame Street" curriculum relating to the development of language and prereading skills. The first section gives a brief history of the Children's Television Workshop, describes the operational model followed by the Workshop in carrying out its initial experiment, and suggests…

An experimental program was initiated into the Glenview (Illinois) Public Schools in 1964 to help elementary students learn to spell correctly and to write fluently. The spelling approach was based on the assumptions that students learn correct spelling best from a word list, that an initial test identifies normally misspelled words, and that…

Four presentations were given at a workshop conducted to consider ways in which outdoor education activities could be utilized in the teaching of language skills to migrant children. Dr. William B. Stapp, University of Michigan, discusses the need for and major objectives of environmental education, and suggests points to consider in relation to…

Two independent pilot studies in Britain investigated the effect of the Initial Teaching Alphabet (i.t.a.) on the creative expression and verbal skills in written composition of young children. The Staffordshire study compared a normal week's free compositions written by 54 children using the traditional alphabet with the compositions of a similar…

Activities geared to meet the needs and capabilities of low functioning residents (mental age 2 to 4 years) of an institution who were not benefiting from other language development material are given. The lessons incorporate material from other programs to form a series of 212 daily lesson plans. Each lesson is structured and self-explanatory and…

Teachers should foster in children's writing the use of words with "sparkle" and "spin"--"sparkle" implying brightness and vitality, "spin" connoting industry, patience, and painstaking work. By providing creative listening experiences with good children's or adult literature, the teacher can encourage students to broaden their imaginations and…

Elementary school students should be given opportunities to participate in a variety of experiences and to develop their language skills through talking about these experiences. Children develop self-confidence by expressing their ideas and, upon seeing their words written down, also become interested in the processes of writing and reading. To…

A study was conducted with disadvantaged second-graders to test the value of oral reading of literature for increasing reading achievement, presenting books as a source of pleasure, and strengthening vocabulary by offering wider language models than the disadvantaged child's milieu provides. Teachers in the experimental group read, orally, a story…

This report characterizes the reading experience which develops as the outgrowth and normal extension of a sound audiolingual FLES program. General teaching procedures and techniques are described. The reading process exists in three stages: the prereading phase, the initial reading stage, and the real reading stage. The length of the prereading…

This guide represents an overview of reading skills presented in a developmental sequence with illustrative learning activities for each skill. The activities are suggestive rather than prescriptive, and resources are included. The ideas and materials included in this document are designed so that teachers can modify and adapt them to ongoing…