One of the most influential models of working memory (WM) is the one developed by Baddeley (1986, 2000, 2003) which views WM comprising several components--a central executive, an episodic buffer, the visuo-spatial sketchpad, and the phonological loop. The phonological loop or phonological memory (PM) deals with the temporary storage of verbal and…

Developing writers make qualitative changes in their written products as they progress from scribbling and drawing to conventional, paragraph level writing. As yet, a comprehensive measurement tool does not exist that captures the linguistic and communicative changes (not just emergent spelling) in the early stages of this progression. The…

The purpose of this paper is to describe how Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) for beginning writers might be used within a Response to Intervention (RTI) framework. First, we describe CBM, and review research on CBM for beginning writers. Next, we discuss how CBM for beginning writers might fit within RTI, including use for universal screening…

Authored by two passionate psychologists and educators, "Book Smart: How to Develop and Support Successful, Motivated Readers" is a how-to guide rich with stories, lessons, activities, and ideas aimed at supporting reading development and addressing the broad range of interpersonal, social, emotional, and motivational skills that can be…

In this article, written primarily for early childhood educators of young children who are learning English as another language, the authors discuss the use and educational benefits of Interactive Writing, an approach to beginning writing instruction appropriate for kindergarten and first grade children.

The authors conducted an integrative review of the research literature on the writing development, writing instruction, and writing assessment of young deaf children ages 3 to 8 years (or preschool through third grade) published between 1990 and 2012. A total of 17 studies were identified that met inclusion criteria. The analysis examined research…

In this chapter, we provide an overview of the current literature regarding beginning writers, with a particular focus on the cognitive and neuropsychological research that has implications for the translation process during writing. This overview will highlight specific theories with direct relevance to translation during writing, as well as…

This project focused on the creation of curriculum that would support writing development for emergent writers aged 5 to 7 years old. The research-base of the project explored how beginning writers can be scaffolded in their attempts to learn how to write. Past research was also examined to discover how emergent writers can be engaged in…

This qualitative study was conducted in the context of a preservice teacher education program with a focus on early literacy. The study focused on the insights preservice teachers gained from working closely beside one emergent writer. The authors report on six focus cases and identify five cross-case themes--describing preservice teachers who (a)…

This study analysed the effects of a classroom intervention focusing on phonological awareness and/or automatized word recognition in children with a deficit in the domains of phonological awareness and rapid automatized naming ("double deficit"). According to the double-deficit hypothesis (Wolf & Bowers, 1999), these children belong…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of implementing the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model of instruction (Graham & Harris, 2005; Harris & Graham, 1996) on the writing skills and knowledge of six first grade students. A multiple-baseline design across participants with multiple probes (Kazdin, 2010) was…

The theoretical framework of this article is based on critical literacy (Janks, 2010) and genre theories (Swales, 1990; Schleppegrell, 2004). The article's main purpose is to contribute to an understanding of the use and production of text genres as a power-embedded practice. In doing so, we analyse firstgrade children's texts in terms of genres…

In attempts to find appropriate and authentic materials for students who are developing their academic writing skills, instructors often turn to works written by professional academics. However, genres such as published research articles and textbooks in specific disciplines may not be the most suitable models for what first year composition…

Our aim was to analyse the impact of the characteristics of words used in spelling programmes and the nature of instructional guidelines on the evolution from grapho-perceptive writing to phonetic writing in preschool children. The participants were 50 5-year-old children, divided in five equivalent groups in intelligence, phonological skills and…

Young children frequently tell visual stories, drawing pictures to record and share their thoughts, feelings and understanding. How and what young children describe through art, especially when written language is not an option, is the focus of this interpretive analysis. A series of pictures by John, a 6-year-old boy, were drawn across the…