A study was conducted to examine writing development in first grade children. The writings from an entire classroom were collected. From these, six children's writings were chosen for cross-sectional analysis. Two children from this group were then selected for further in-depth case studies. Interviews, parent surveys, and observations were used…

While all languages use shape to classify unfamiliar objects, some languages as diverse as Mandarin, Thai, Japanese, Mohawk, and American Sign Language lexicalize these and other types of description as noun classifiers. Classification does not develop from a fixed set of features in the object, but is discourse-sensitive and invoked when it would…

In advocating written literacy through visual literacy, this paper presents an overview of supporting theory and evidence and demonstrates practical application through visual compositions. The research reported in the first section of the paper includes the general theoretical stance of writing-as-process educators, who believe that the…

To see what effects practice--frequent writing without teacher correction--would have on the writing of students in grades one and two in one small elementary school, writing samples were collected from all pupils at each grade level in October and May. Five factors were examined: general impression, length, vocabulary, spelling, and syntactic…

The goals of a cross-age tutoring program involving first and fifth graders were to stimulate oral language development in first graders and to help them read for meaning. The fifth grade students worked with the younger students on a one-to-one basis to stimulate language development and to encourage the academic growth in other skills necessary…

The Board of Education of the Houston Independent School District, through the Volunteers in Public Schools, organized the Kindergarten Screening Project in 1970. The screening instruments and procedures were developed by a committee of specialists composed of representatives from the Houston Independent School District, Baylor College of…

Investigations using English have shown that a number of linguistic constructions associated with reporting verbs, and verbs concerning plans, present comprehension difficulties to children over the age of five. The corresponding constructions in Greek involved ambiguity appreciation, and tests of monoglots and bilinguals indicated that a…

As an aid in devising individualized programs for handicapped students, the document presents a breakdown of developmental skills. Behavioral statements are arranged hierarchically for eleven skill areas (subskills in parentheses); gross motor (walking, eye/arm coordination, singing), fine motor control (grasp, block manipulation, and finger…

Available in English and French and intended for parents and professional workers such as nursery school teachers and day care workers, the handbook provides information on the way visual impairment affects the child's development and instructions for guidance in the early years. Sections cover the following topics: reactions to blindness by the…

The value of language learning theory and research is discussed, and the need for content-related linguistic, sociolinguistic and cultural research, as well as treatment-related research on language teaching and learning, is emphasized. It has been only gradually, from about the mid-sixties and increasingly from the early seventies, that second…

This paper describes the linguistic development of two hearing sons of deaf parents. Both were exposed to an early language environment different from that of the average hearing child. At the start of the study, the boys were aged 3 years, 9 months, and 1 year, 8 months, respectively. When first observed, the older child performed well below age…

This paper describes an external evaluation study of the Responsive Environment Early Education Program (formerly known as the Responsive Environment Program for Spanish American Children), an educational intervention program for "high risk" (low birth weight) 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children in Clovis, New Mexico. Major goals of the…

The articles in this publication deal with English language study and other aspects of the English curriculum. Topics include the role of English in the secondary curriculum, a whole school language policy, information on language and language acquisition published in the past ten years that should be incorporated into language study courses, an…

English teachers typically do not employ the techniques reported by research as best able to develop students' language abilities. Research studies have revealed that there is little value in engaging students in the formal study of grammar and have indicated that language learning should not be fragmented. Many techniques and instructional…

Physical Verbalization (PV) is a program designed to encourage language/speech development by combining movement with appropriate verbal patterns. Using the normal developmental stages of listening/watching, imitating, and initiating, the program allows the child to "play" with standard English in a nonthreatening and rhythmic fashion and to be…