The importance of teaching kindergarteners to be effective writers has been emphasized in recent years. The purpose of this article is to provide a systematic review of current experimental and/or quasi-experimental studies investigating writing instruction in the kindergarten setting. Framing the literature within three philosophical approaches,…

Evidence supports a link between handwriting and aspects of literacy, including both reading and writing. Most evidence, however, pertains to children from grade one and above, once foundation skills known to support emerging literacy have been established. The purpose of this systematic review is to synthesise the extant literature concerning…

Write Start is a co-taught, whole of class approach to handwriting instruction developed for students in grade one and delivered collaboratively by teachers and occupational therapists. Write Start emphasizes the development of handwriting fluency utilizing evidence-based cognitive and perceptual motor strategies within a station-based teaching…

This is the second in series of studies designed to test direct and conditional effects of embedded cognitive practice in phonics instruction. Students identified in winter of kindergarten with minimal alphabet knowledge were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: explicit phonics (Plain) (n = 28) or explicit phonics with embedded cognitive…

This is the second in series of studies designed to test direct and conditional effects of embedded cognitive practice in phonics instruction. Students identified in winter of kindergarten with minimal alphabet knowledge were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: explicit phonics (Plain) (n = 28) or explicit phonics with embedded cognitive…

This descriptive case study presents findings from a 2 year research study on an intervention program, "Reading with Animals," launched in a linguistically, ethnically, and racially diverse Central New York community. The local literacy coalition implemented the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library (IL) program in two low-income zip codes…

This study examined the effects of a classroom-focused intervention on different domains of early literacy. The intervention consisted of shared e-book reading combined with a print referencing technique done via a SMART board. The specific goal of the study was to examine whether children could be instructed simultaneously in print knowledge,…

This study presents an original genre awareness intervention for kindergarten children. The efficacy of the intervention was tested on children's awareness in three different genres: narrative, epistolary, and instructions. We hypothesized that the intervention would be effective in improving children's structural knowledge in all three genres.…

Young students at risk for reading difficulties are likely to have long-term reading difficulties if they are not provided with evidence-based, supplemental instruction. This pilot study evaluated the feasibility of a Tier 2 reading intervention ("Reading RULES! Kindergarten"; RRK) and its promise to improve outcomes for kindergarten…

Structured motor tasks may affect cognitive development by creating a cognitively challenging "enriched environment', giving opportunity for social cooperation, increasing the joy to learn through play, improving the sense of mastery and competence. The study investigated the association between motor and cognitive exercises, through a…

This report presents findings from a systematic review of international reviews and meta-analyses, as well as Chinese empirical studies, on parent-child reading. Existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in English largely concern Western contexts -- especially the US and the UK -- yet few studies have reviewed articles in global…

Young students at risk for reading difficulties are likely to have long-term reading difficulties if they are not provided with evidence-based, supplemental instruction. This pilot study evaluated the feasibility of a Tier 2 reading intervention ("Reading RULES! Kindergarten;" RRK) and its promise to improve outcomes for kindergarten…

Despite evidence supporting the implementation of book sharing interventions, few studies have examined the value of providing caregiver training in these contexts. This study draws on the quantitative findings of a larger project that employed a non-randomized comparison group crossover repeated measures design as part of a mixed research…

Background: The Move 2 Learn (M2L) program is an evidence-based intervention designed to improve movement and pre-literacy skills in children ages 1.5-6 years. Purpose: The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention as delivered by non-experts in a community-based setting. Methods: Staff from four…

Parental support is critical for young children's language and literacy development. It is important that teachers are aware of this parental role. Particularly in the case of lower-educated parents, teachers can improve their education when they engage parents in partnerships to support young children's language development. These parents are…