ERIC Number: EJ1443662
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Nov
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0922-4777
EISSN: EISSN-1573-0905
Cross-Sectional Examination of the Proficiency of Year 1 and Year 2 Children's Alphabet-Letter-Writing Skills
Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, v37 n9 p2457-2480 2024
The objective for beginning writers is to learn how to generate alphabet-letters which are recognisable and easy to read. This study investigated the accuracy of Year 1 and 2 children's alphabet-letter-writing by evaluating their alphabet and orthographic knowledge, following evidence which identifies these skills as important for correctly representing the Latin alphabet-letters in written form. 408 typical children from the first two years of formal schooling were recruited from eight Western Australian schools and asked to write the twenty-six-lowercase alphabet-letters under three different writing conditions: from memory; the initial sounds of words; and copying. Performance was measured using the Perceive, Recall, Plan and Perform (PRPP) System of Task Analysis (Stage One). Analyses revealed the mean average number of the 26- lowercase alphabet-letters correctly written from memory was 8.17 (Year 1) and 12.76 (Year 2). Mean averages were similar across the three writing conditions. Comparative analysis showed children in Year 2 were significantly better than Year 1 children at recalling the alphabet-sequence, sound-letter-translation, and retrieving the letter-shape, letter-case, and letter-orientation. No significant difference was found in name-to-letter translation, letter-formation, or letter-placement skills. The results highlighted that many typical Year 1 and 2 children have difficulty accurately generating all 26- lowercase alphabet-letters. The findings suggested that the way early writers learn to form and place an alphabet-letter, whether it is accurate or not, is how they continue to write the alphabet-letter through their early school journey. Considerations for evaluation and instruction of alphabet-letter-writing are discussed.
Descriptors: Alphabets, Writing Skills, Elementary School Students, Memory, Recall (Psychology), Grade 1, Grade 2, Comparative Analysis, Task Analysis, Phoneme Grapheme Correspondence, Handwriting, Emergent Literacy, Teaching Methods, Duplication
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2123/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Early Childhood Education; Grade 1; Primary Education; Grade 2
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A