The purpose of this work is to analyze the name writing and writing readiness levels of preschoolers in terms of various variables and to identify the relationship between children's name writing skill and writing readiness levels. To that end, name-writing and writing-readiness skills of 204 preschoolers at the ages of 3, 4 and 5 were examined…

As policymakers contemplate expanding preschool opportunities for low-income children, one possibility is to fund 2, rather than 1 year of Head Start for children at ages 3 and 4. Another option is to offer 1 year of Head Start followed by 1 year of pre-K. We ask which of these options is more effective. We use data from the Oklahoma pre-K study…

As policy-makers contemplate expanding preschool opportunities for low-income children, one possibility is to fund two, rather than one year of Head Start for children at ages 3 and 4. Another option is to offer one year of Head Start followed by one year of pre-k. We ask which of these options is more effective. We use data from the Oklahoma…

Briefly discusses the development of writing in young children. Describes children's acquisition of concepts about writing, their experimentation with written language, and their construction of written language for themselves. (AS)

Considers register (factors that vary in situational contexts and produce differences in meaning intent and meaning exchange) variance with its accompanying language transactions during written language events involving children and adults. Illustrates register variance with the writing and drawing of a four-year-old and a first-grader. (HTH)

Young children learn many important things about language from the television and radio ads they encounter that can help them learn to read and write. They learn that print carries messages that are personally important to them, that whatever can be said can also be written, what some forms of written language look like, and that language use can…

Discusses beginning writing activities that teachers can use with young children. Notes that preschoolers use writing systems that include drawings, scribblings, letterlike forms, words, and invented spelling. Suggests that teachers can use functional writing projects, such as greeting cards, lists, journals, address books, and pen pals, to…

This study demonstrates that symbolic play has merit as a curricular tool for early literacy development. Naturalistic observation of four prekindergarten teachers and their classes revealed ways in which teachers can facilitate early literacy development by functioning as participants within the context of young children's spontaneous symbolic…

This report details a year-long study of the emerging literacy of preschoolers and kindergarteners in two southwest Florida communities. Using a quasi-experimental design, investigation focused on two preschools and two kindergarten classes that implemented certain strategies associated with a whole language philosophy, including daily shared…

Writing development in preschool children has only recently begun to receive attention; however, Russian researchers dealt with the subject in the 1920s and 30s. Arguing that writing was a fundamental assist to cognitive growth as well as a tool for communication, Lev Vygotsky believed that the preschool child was ready to be taught writing.…

Suggests three ways to foster writing skills in preschool and primary school children: encourage language development; set up a writing center; and teach children to have fun with words. Offers instructions for writing projects, including making picture dictionaries, talking with pictures, writing outdoors, composing silly sentences, keeping…

This booklet is designed to help primary school teachers encourage and support children in learning to write during the first years of school. It discusses learning to write in the years before formal schooling, focusing on mediated contact with print, involvement in the everyday functions of print, experimentation with print, and support and…

Detailed guidelines are provided for parent group trainers who conduct workshops on language and communication, pre-reading, and pre-writing for parents of young children. In addition, many handouts for parents are presented in the manual, including information on: ways to help infants, toddlers, and preschool children listen and talk, reading and…

Articles described a program for developing the writing readiness of students, for learning the value of money and its purchasing power, and for learning about nursery rhymes as actors rather than just as readers. (RK)

Illustrates how school writing environments that encourage talk between peers can help children learn about writing and the writing process. Describes recurring patterns of language behavior at a kindergarten writing table and shows how children's natural conversations are often reminiscent of adult-child interaction in the home. (HTH)