This study examined the effects of receiving multiple intervention services on the language, literacy, and general development of preschool children from low-income families. By employing a hierarchical linear model on a sample of 1436 children, developmental outcomes of four-year-old children receiving varying numbers of intervention services…

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…

Explored four- to six-year olds' approach to drawing and related writing tasks. Participants, unschooled in writing, were asked to depict common objects with a drawing and a written name. Analysis of videotape revealed systematic differences (random, continuous marks versus discrete, left-to-right marks). Results suggest that young children have…

Discusses efforts at teaching children in kindergarten how to write, indicating that emergent readers can indeed write with scribbles, random letters, numerals, and sometimes words. Discusses their dictation, journal content, writing stages, and developmental trends. (HTH)

Examined 13 preschool classes to determine whether the voluntary literacy behavior of children could be increased by means of teacher-guided introduction of reading and writing materials into dramatic play areas. Thematic play with teacher guidance and literacy materials yielded significantly increased literacy behavior. (SH)

Explored young children's concepts of the functions of writing in community contexts. Twenty kindergarten children responded to three videotaped vignettes depicting people writing in community settings. The children were able to identify a range of writing functions. They also valued writing and described the negative consequences likely to occur…

A study examined the developmental nature of early literacy in relation to variations in task demands, general cognitive development, and socioeconomic background. Subjects (N=32) were placed in two groups of 16 suburban Chicago kindergarten students that were designated either low income group (LIG) or high income group (HIG). The subjects,…

Examines the writing of a four-year-old child in response to literature. Discusses the child's uses for writing and the concepts and principles of early writing. Demonstrates the child's engagement with children's books. (RS)

The purpose of this study was to examine the way in which early childhood educators introduce reading and writing to 4- and 5-year-olds. A random sampling of the 903 public and private preschools registered with the Human Services Department in a midwestern state was conducted. Questionnaires were mailed to 687 randomly selected early childhood…

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…

A year-long, quasi-experimental study investigated the comparative effects of a whole language approach and a code emphasis approach upon the emergent literacy of 53 girls in two kindergarten classes in an all girls' parochial school in the Northeast. Subjects in the experimental class received instruction in Holdaway's Shared Book Experience…

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 describes an early intervention program to elicit emergent literacy skills in Potentially English Proficient kindergarten students. The school is located in a suburb of a large city near a naval base. The problem, lack of literacy readiness skills, was documented with a battery of tests given prior to entrance in kindergarten and the…

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…

Extracted from a doctoral thesis on young children's emergent literacy, this paper describes the literacy development of one five-year-old subject. The paper first describes the subject's home environment, her relationships with family members, and her early reading experience and literacy development. Transcripts illustrating her home reading…