Early Childhood Literacy

Pathways to Word Reading and Decoding: The Roles of Automaticity and Accuracy

by Kelli D. Cummings

Published in "School Psychology Review," 2011.
Co-authored with Elizabeth N. Dewey, Rachael J. Latimer, and Roland H. Good III

The purpose of this article is to describe the relationship of initial skill and rate of progress on a measure of the... more The purpose of this article is to describe the relationship of initial skill and rate of progress on a measure of the alphabetic principle, Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), to first-grade reading outcomes as measured by Oral Reading Fluency (ORF). In addition, we describe a scoring approach to NWF where the predominant decoding strategy (i.e., sound-by-sound, recoding, partial blending, or whole word reading) is also recorded. This study replicates two findings from prior research. First, we found that the effect of NWF gain on ORF outcomes was attenuated for students scoring well above the criterion on NWF. In addition, after controlling for both NWF initial skill and progress over the year, decoding strategy added explanatory value to the prediction of end of first grade ORF outcomes. Recommendations for future research and implications for practice are discussed.

"Why Do You Write Your Name Long Like That?" Language and Literacy In a San Francisco Kindergarten

by Espen Helgesen

Unpublished Master's Thesis, University of Bergen 2008

In this thesis I investigate the role of language awareness in early literacy, and argue that skills acquired when... more In this thesis I investigate the role of language awareness in early literacy, and argue that skills acquired when becoming literate can provide resources for manipulating social as well as textual relations. Based on ethnographic research among a group of 5- and 6-year old kindergartners in a San Francisco public school, I describe how the kids' personal names provided them with stable landmarks with which to explore both oral and written language. The capacity of names to facilitate communication was, however, countered by the equally powerful capacity of names to obstruct communication. Presenting the kids' personal names as examples of how language is often polysemic, or ambiguous, I argue that, even if the words they used did not have a singular meaning, they were often treated as if they did. I argue that there was a mismatch between two dominant perspectives on names among the kindergartners. Whereas some of the kids primarily used names as markers of identity, others challenged this stability by manipulating names in what I refer to as name joking; the playful manipulation of phonemes or letters for humorous effect. The assumed fixity of names seemed to make them particularly suitable for joking purposes, and a tension could often be found between the kids who considered names to be attached to individuals, and those who considered names to be detached or detachable from individuals. I argue that metalinguistic awareness, understood as the ability to attend to elements of language as objects, was a prerequisite for name joking. Rather than emphasizing this single skill, however, I argue that the kids' different perspectives on language was the product of a difference in communicative flexibility. As such, the kids who were able to switch between considering names to be attached and to be detached from people had a distinct advantage both in conversation and play among the kindergartners. Although teachers encouraged the kids to consider language to be a fluid and flexible tool, they also treated language as a direct reflection of reality by responding with sanctions when the kids used what was referred to as "bad words".

Assessing phonemic awareness in preschool and kindergarten: Development and initial validation of first sound fluency

by Kelli D. Cummings

Published in "Assessment for Effective Intervention," 2011.
Co-authored with Ruth A. Kaminski, Roland H. Good, and Maya E. O'Neil

This article presents initial findings from a study examining "First Sound Fluency" (FSF), which is a brief... more This article presents initial findings from a study examining "First Sound Fluency" (FSF), which is a brief measure of early phonemic awareness (PA) skills. Students in prekindergarten and kindergarten (preK and K) were assessed three times (fall, winter, and spring) over one school year, which resulted in multiple reliability and validity coefficients. In addition, a subset of students in both preK and K was assessed monthly between benchmark periods using alternate forms of the FSF measure to estimate delayed alternate-form reliability. The FSF measure displayed adequate reliability and validity for decision making in early literacy for students in both grades. Implications of these findings are discussed. (Contains 12 tables.)

The case of late readers

by Jeff McQuillan

‘The Alphabets of Nature: Children, Books and Natural History in Scotland, 1750-1800’, Nuncius, 25 (2010), 1-22.

by Matthew Daniel Eddy

Author: Matthew Daniel Eddy.

This essay examines the kinds of textbooks that were used to teach natural knowledge to children in eighteenth-century... more This essay examines the kinds of textbooks that were used to teach natural knowledge to children in eighteenth-century Scotland. Following Roger Chartier’s belief that the forms and uses of print can be employed to categorise the content of texts, I focus on three groups of books that were used in specific settings: (1) homes, academies and parish schools; (2) social and professional settings where adolescents worked; (3) and high schools. I do not take these groupings to be definitive, but more as a preliminary categorisation. Along the way I treat various historiographic points relevant to the canon of Scottish pedagogy and I comment on some issues relevant to the instruction of girls. I conclude by calling for more studies that address how and where children’s books were used during the Enlightenment.

The Emergence of Comprehension: A Decade of Research 2000-2010

by Caitlin Dooley

This review of literature presents research about young children’s (ages 2-8) early experiences with comprehension.... more This review of literature presents research about young children’s (ages 2-8) early experiences with comprehension. Using a theoretical framework for emergent comprehension, the review demonstrates how each research study contributes to a holistic theory of emergent comprehension. Influences on emergent comprehension such as children’s development, relationships and social interactions, and experiences with multiple texts and multimodal symbol systems are discussed. This review includes contemporary peer-reviewed research articles (spanning the decade from 2000-2010) involving multiple methodologies and representing multiple English-speaking countries.

Young children’s approaches to books: The emergence of comprehension

by Caitlin Dooley

Dooley, C. M. (2010). Young children’s approaches to books: The emergence of comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 64, 2, 120-130.

When does comprehension begin? This article addresses the question, and will help early childhood and elementary... more When does comprehension begin? This article addresses the question, and will help early childhood and elementary literacy educators understand how young children's comprehension, or meaning making, begins prior to conventional reading and emerges over time. Field note, video, and interview data were compiled during a three-year longitudinal study on emergent comprehension in children from age 2 to 5. Four phases—book as prop, book as whole, book as script, and book as text—detail how a group of 12 children used books during child-initiated events (e.g., play, pretend reading). Semiotic theory provides a lens to interpret these children's book-related interactions as evidence of emergent comprehension. In general, the children were gradually more attentive to function, topical content, image, and print, eventually showing the ability to merge multimodal signs to create textual meaning.


Also see discussion at: http://trevorcairney.blogspot.com/2010/11/emergent-comprehension-in-children.html

Young Children's Literary Meaning Making'

by Caitlin Dooley

Draft only

Emergent Comprehension: The Role of Intentions during Early Print Experiences

by Caitlin Dooley

Dooley, C. M., Matthews, M. W., Matthews, L., & Champion, R. (2009). Emergent comprehension: Preschool children’s learning and intentions. National Reading Conference Yearbook, 58, 261-276.

What is meant by “comprehension” when applied to young learners (ages 2-4) who are developing as readers? Emergent... more What is meant by “comprehension” when applied to young learners (ages 2-4) who are developing as readers? Emergent Comprehension is that period when young children engage in personally meaningful experiences that stimulate use of meaning-making strategies with the potential to affect later reading comprehension (AUTHORS). This qualitative study examines Emergent Comprehension among 32 young children during school-based events involving print. Analyzed using Tomasello’s (2005) theory of intentional action, the events illustrate how children and adults negotiate intentions as they construct meanings with texts. Findings suggest that the children used texts as props and tools to initiate social engagements; whereas, the adults had complex intentions, including social engagements but spanning goals well beyond a simply social goal. The children did not always mimic adults’ intentions. Some intentions are taken up by children (e.g., social invitations), some are left behind (e.g., identify word meanings). Children’s emergent comprehension is not simply a process of mimicking adult strategies, but rather a thoughtful, conceptual exercise shaped through routine, text-related interactions with peers and adults in which varying intentions are woven and negotiated.

Using parents’ perceptions to gain insight into a young child’s emergent literacy journey: A phenomenological study

by Caitlin Dooley

Matthews, M. W., Dooley, C. M., & Czaplicki, K. (in press, 2011). Using parents’ perceptions to gain insight into a young child’s emergent literacy journey: A phenomenological study. Literacy Research Association Yearbook, 59.

Emergent literacy theories place the beginning of children’s literacy journey at birth (Clay, 1991; Teale &... more Emergent literacy theories place the beginning of children’s literacy journey at birth (Clay, 1991; Teale & Sulzby, 1986). These theories replaced ones suggesting that children had to be determined “ready to learn” to read before they received reading instruction (Teale & Sulzby, 1986). In response to this expanded conception of literacy learning, many emergent literacy researchers turned their attention to the contexts in which children spent most of their time for insights into the experiences children participated in that supported their literacy learning (for example, Teale, 1986). This is the context of the study reported herein. Specifically, the study provides a detailed analysis of interviews with the parents of one young European American literacy learner, Darin (a pseudonym), conducted across three years beginning when their son was two years old and ending when he was five. The interviews were part of a three-year longitudinal investigation, conducted in two child development centers, that focused on how young learners make literate meaning, a process we reference as emergent comprehension (Dooley & Matthews, 2009). From these interviews, we gained insights into the ways the family spent time together and their son’s interest and participation in these family events. To guide our analysis of the interviews, we merged precepts from socio-cultural theories with insights from family and emergent literacy studies. Then, we used Alexander’s (2006) lifespan model of reading to map Darin’s non-print interactions within a favorite family event, onto elements considered essential for print-based literacy development.

The effects of age at kindergarten entry on the reading proficiency of African American and European American students

by Donald Easton-Brooks

Early Childhood Report to Mayor Dean - Nashville

by Hunter Schimpff

Served as staff member & staff author to help compile the Committee's report. Co-written with Amanda Taylor. Technical assistance from Laura McComas - NLC.

This report closely examines the layer of policies and programs -- local, state, federal, and community-based -- that... more This report closely examines the layer of policies and programs -- local, state, federal, and community-based -- that affect early childhood education and development for Nashville-Davidson County children. Neuroscience has shown that the early years, ages 0-5, are a critical window for brain development and growth.

What happens in these years for individual students and every year's cohort of children has an important impact on educational success in the K-12 system, higher education system, and human capital quality for the local workforce and economy in future years.

Please click "view on Nashville.gov" below to see the report.

Questioning the value of literacy: A phenomenology of speaking and reading in children

by Eva Simms

Simms, E. M. (2010). Questioning the Value of Literacy: A phenomenology of speaking and reading in children. . In K. Coats (Ed.), Handbook of Children’s and Young Adult Literature. London/New York: Routledge.

The intent of this chapter is to suspend the belief in the goodness of literacy -- our chirographic bias -- in order... more The intent of this chapter is to suspend the belief in the goodness of literacy -- our chirographic bias -- in order to gain a deeper understanding of how the engagement with texts structures human consciousness, and particularly the minds of children. In the following pages literacy (a term which in this chapter refers to the ability to read and produce written text) is discussed as a consciousness altering technology. A phenomenological analysis of the act of reading shows the child’s engagement with texts as a perceptual as well as a symbolic event that builds upon but also alters children’s speech acts. Speaking and reading are both forms of language use, but with different configurations of perceptual and symbolic qualities. Children’s literature uses textual technology and, intentionally or not, participates in structuring children’s pre-literate minds. Some of its forms, such as picture books and early readers, are directly intended to bridge the gap between the pre-literate listener and the literate reader and ease the transition into the literate state. It is my hope that the phenomenological analysis of the experiences of speaking and reading might help us understand more clearly how children’s literature impacts the minds of children. Such an analysis can awaken a critical awareness of the power that letters wield as they shape the reader’s psychological reality, and it can sharpen our sense of wonder about the metamorphosis of language from speaking to writing.

Communicative Musical Funniness

by Charlotte Arculus

Published as part of the Proceedings of the 5th Conference of the European Network of Music Educators and Researchers of Young Children. (MERYC)
June 2011 Helsinki, Finland

Abstract
This small piece of qualitative research explores the musical nature of infant humour, focusing on... more Abstract
This small piece of qualitative research explores the musical nature of infant humour, focusing on playful interchange among a small group of children aged 2-3 in a day care setting.
Focusing on communicative interaction, this paper explores qualities of musical factors present in funniness such as rhythm, repetition and voice play – where, what I term, communicative musical funniness occurs between young children through complicitè, friendship and playfulness
The study investigates the musicality of funniness around the Multi-Modal nature of children’s interaction with the environment and those in it

Communicative Musical Funniness - full research project

by Charlotte Arculus

Towards MA in early childhood music

Abstract

This small piece of qualitative research focuses on the relationship between musicality and... more Abstract

This small piece of qualitative research focuses on the relationship between musicality and funniness in two year old children’s free play in a day care nursery setting.  Focusing on peer to peer interactions as a participant observer, I studied the children’s behaviour through a conceptual framework comprising of the overlapping lenses of two separate existing theories – Communicative Musicality (Malloch & Trevarthen 2009) and Funniness as expounded by Reddy (2010) -  and which I term Communicative Musical Funniness (CMF). I observed various, sophisticated, and sometimes surprising ways in which children use communicative musical funniness to create strong complicit relationships with each other. The study draws on similar studies and recent theories of communicative musicality and funniness and explores the pedagogical implications of the study.

Music Literacy in an Israeli Kindergarten/ Claudia Gluschankof & Susan Hobson Kenney

by Claudia Gluschankof

General Music Today October 2011 vol. 25 no. 1 45-49

This article reports on a learner-centered kindergarten music program at Gan Michael Kindergarten in Israel. Actual... more This article reports on a learner-centered kindergarten music program at Gan Michael Kindergarten in Israel. Actual experiences with stories and pictures provide examples of young children engaged in music making as performers, composers, and analytical listeners. The stories include teacher thoughts and reflections, providing a model of teacher as researcher and learner. What can we learn from these stories?

The Identification of Assessment Resources to Support Children Learning to Read in the Early Years of School

by Grace Oakley

Better Beginnings: An Evaluation From Two Communities

by Grace Oakley

Co-authored with Caroline Barratt-Pugh, Mary Rohl and Jessica Elderfield

The identification of assessment resources to support children learning to read in the early years of school

by Grace Oakley

Quality teaching early foundations: Best evidence synthesis

by Sarah Farquhar

Report of a review of research carried out for the Ministry of Education and the characteristics of early years... more Report of a review of research carried out for the Ministry of Education and the characteristics of early years quality teaching linked to positive child outcomes