ERIC Number: ED497629
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Jul-30
Pages: 36
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Let's Begin with the Letter People[R]. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report
What Works Clearinghouse
"Let's Begin with the Letter People"[R] is an early education curriculum that uses thematic units to develop children's language and literacy skills. A major focus is phonological awareness, including rhyming, word play, alliteration, and segmentation. Children are encouraged to learn as individuals, in small groups, and in a whole-class environment. Both cognitive and socio-emotional development are presented as keys to learning. Two studies of "Let's Begin with the Letter People"[R] met the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards. These two studies included 103 classrooms from various preschool settings in Texas and southeastern New York. This report focuses on immediate posttest findings to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. The WWC considers the extent of evidence for "Let's Begin with the Letter People"[R] to be moderate to large for oral language and for print knowledge and small for phonological processing. No studies that met WWC evidence standards with or without reservations addressed early reading/writing, cognition, or math. "Let's Begin with the Letter People"[R] was found to have no discernible effects on oral language and potentially positive effects on print knowledge and phonological processing. (Contains 10 footnotes.) [The following studies are reviewed in this intervention report: (1) Assel, M. A., Landry, S. H., Swank, P. R., and Gunnewig, S. (2006). An evaluation of curriculum, setting, and mentoring on the performance of children enrolled in pre-kindergarten. "Reading and Writing"; and (2) Fischel, J. E., Bracken, S. S., Fuchs-Eisenberg, A., Spira, E. G., Katz, S., and Shaller, G. (in press). Evaluation of curricular approaches to enhance preschool early literacy skills. "Journal of Literacy Research."]
Descriptors: Early Reading, Intervention, Reading Skills, Oral Language, Emergent Literacy, Early Childhood Education, Rhyme, Program Effectiveness, Validity, Academic Standards
What Works Clearinghouse. 550 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024; e-mail: contact.WWC@ed.gov; Web site: https://whatworks.ed.gov/