g g A Strong Predictor of Future Reading and Writing Success for Young Children
International Reading Association Pre‐Institute on Early g y Literacy
Atlanta, Georgia May 4, 2008
g Learning letter names follows similar p patterns across languages (Treiman, Levin, & Kessler, 2007).
Letter naming is a strong predictor (along with phonological awareness) of phonics acquisition h l l ) f h and reading fluency (Evans, Bell, Shaw, Moretti, & Page, 2006; National Reading Panel, 2000; Treiman, weatherston, & Berch, 1994; Stage, Shepard, Davidson, & Browning, 2001).
Knowing letter names accurately and fluently explain significant amounts of variance in later reading ability (Richey, 2004; Richey & Speece, 2006).
Writing manuscript letters is an important part of learning letter names and in preventing later writing disabilities in young children (Schlagel, 2007).
Knowing letter names is a better predictor of later reading than knowing letter sounds because learning letter names helps children acquire letter sounds since many letter names contain the letter sounds (Share, 2004; Treiman, Tincoff, Rodriguez, Mousaki, & Francis, 1998).
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Research has shown that learning letter names can be facilitated in a variety of ways (Justice, Pence, Bowles & Wiggins, 2006):
Letters that occur in children’s names Alphabetic order (the bowed serial position curve iti effects are likely to be found with this approach)
The Essay on Reading And Children- How Teachers Make Students Hate Reading
In many instances, students cringe when the words “reading” and “school” are said concurrently. Fear immediately arises in most children at the sound of their teacher’s announcement that they will be reading a book in class. There are two main reasons why children dread a reading assignment: knowing that they must answer tedious questions and knowing it might be a ...
p ff Letter pronunciation effect (where the sound of the letter Letter pronunciation effect ( is also in the name) Letter frequency effects (letters that occur most Letter frequency effects frequently in written language) f tl i itt l ) Explicit handwriting instruction and guided practice of correct manuscript letter formation ( correct manuscript letter formation (using correct models p f g as shown below)
g p g Reading aloud alphabet books and discussing letters (Brabham, Murray, and Bowden, 2006).
Singing songs and writing songs can be used to support children’s learning of letter names (Smith, h ld ’ l fl ( h 2000).
Writing letters using explicit instruction, guided Writing letters using explicit instruction guided practice, dictation, shared and interactive writing (Stachoviak, 1996; McCarrier, Fountas, & Pinnell, 2000).
Using Children s Names (Krech, 2000) Using Children’s Names
g Using Children’s Names
Jump Rope Rhymes
My name is ___(Cammie)__________. And my friend’s name is ___(Annie)___________. And my friend’s name is (Annie) We come from ___(Alabamie)_____________. And we sell ____(Chocolate Candy)___________.
Class Names Bingo Cl N Bi Chants
Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar? j __(Jamal)_________ stole the cookies from the jar. Who me? Yes you! Couldn’t be! Then who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?
Using Alphabetic Order and Read Aloud
S o r t
Using Letter Frequency (Fry, 2004)
Consonants in order of frequency:
r, t, n, s, l, c, d, p, m, b, f, v, g, h, k, w, th, sh, ng, ch, x, z, j, qu, wh, y
Vowels in order of frequency:
Short i, a, e, schwa, long o & e, short u & o, long a, u, & i, r Short i a e schwa long o & e short u & o long a u & i r controlled a & o, ou, oo, oi, air, ar
Naming the Letters
Saying the names of letters not only reinforces the names of letters but also many of the sounds (except g (hard g sound), h, w & y): ( ) )
Vowels – a, e, i, o, & u Consonants b, c, d, f, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, x, z Consonants – b c d f j k l m n p q r s t v x z Letters where the sound of the letter is at the beginning of the letter names are learned easiest, then at the end of the letter names, and then not in the letter names th l tt d th t i th l tt (Treiman, et al., 1994; 1997; 1998; 2003).
The Essay on The Lost Art of Letter Writing
There is something about going to your mailbox and finding a hand-written note, card, or letter. Hopefully, we all have received one at some point in our life. Hand-written notes are a lost art. Beauty, heart-felt emotion, and meaning are the make-up of these personal expressions of emotion. In this form of communication, we are able to feel and embrace raw intimate emotion. They are void of ...
Writing the Letters
Explicit teaching and guided practice of letter forms facilitates writing and letter naming fluency (Graham, Harris & Fink, naming fluency (Graham Harris & Fink 2000; Schlagal, 2007).
Short daily practice sessions are most effective Teacher demonstrations of how to form a letter while describing how it is formed is g best for younger children. Copying or tracing a letter from a correct model is helpful for children s practice. model is helpful for children’s practice When doing this children should use a “look, say, cover, write, check” technique.
Writing the Letters
Explicit teaching and guided practice of letter forms facilitates writing and letter naming fluency (Graham, Harris & Fink, 2000; Schlagal, 2007).
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Using pictographs in story or song‐based instruction for introducing letters such as is found in the British Letterland g approach is helpful.
g Searching for Letters in Print
Playing “I Spy with My Little Eye”
Supplies needed – several copies of a simple children’s book, washable ink pens, clear transparencies, sponge and book washable ink pens clear transparencies sponge and paper towels. Open the book and place the transparency over a page or two. Say, I spy with my little eye the letter ____.” Fill in two Say “I spy with my little eye the letter Fill in the blank with the name of letter that occurs several times on that page or pages. To increase the challenge use a timer to see how many you can see in a time period.
g( g g p Shared Writing (Language Experience Approach)
1. 2. 3.
4.
5.
Students participate in a common experience. Teacher and students discuss the common experience. h d d di h i Students dictate sentences for the charts and the teacher takes the dictation. Teacher and students share in reading the chart with each new sentence added. The chart is used to learn about letters that are used to make words that we say.
Interactive Writing Conducting an Interactive Writing Lesson. Conducting an Interactive Writing Lesson
The Term Paper on Oral Language Developement Words Children Development
... of written language, and a heightened awareness of written letters and words" (Senechal, 1998). Parents who read to their children are ... to be at risk for reading... and consequently writing" (Montgomery, 1998). Therefore, the development of oral language ... Florida Educational Research Association. Leven de, David. Transitions: Teachers Moving into Whole Language. Journal of Instructional Psychology, ...
There is no one correct way to teach an interactive writing lesson, but based on the writings of McCarrier, Pinnell, & Fountas (1999), I recommend the following : F t ( ) I d th f ll i g 1. In the early stages of writing, the teacher helps students compose a simple message taken from reading books aloud or from some other group experience. For example, consider this line from The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Carle, 1981): “On Monday, he ate through one apple.” The teacher may ask students to replace old words with new words. A child might offer the following innovation on the text: On Monday, he ate through one tomato. text: “On Monday, he ate through one tomato.”
Interactive Writing Continued
word by word. When new words are added to a line of text, the children reread the line up to the added word. In the earliest stages of writing development, the teacher may write the word for students. With time and development, the write the word for students With time and development the teacher shares the pen, inviting children to contribute a letter, several letters, or an entire word. Write (On) Read (On), Write (Monday) Read (On Monday) Write (On) Read (On) Write (Monday) Read (On Monday) Write (he) Read (On Monday, he) Write (ate)…. 3. Where appropriate, the teacher encourages the child to stretch the word and say it slowly to predict the letters by analyzing the sounds. Children may attempt any letter in the word in any order. Working within the child’s zone of p proximal development as suggested by Vygotsky (1962), the p gg y yg y ( 9 ), teacher fills in those letters that the child is unable to analyze on his own. p g 2. Teacher and students share the pen as the message is written
Interactive Writing Continued
4. The teacher should construct a word wall that is used as a writing resource for students. Words can be listed on the wall as Words We Know and Can Write, Words We Almost wall as “Words We Know and Can Write ” “Words We Almost Know,” and “Words We Need to Analyze and Write with Help.” 5. As teachers and children write interactively, the teacher helps children learn directionality, punctuation, spaces, features of print, and capitalization. In this fashion, children learn the mechanics and the authoring processes necessary to produce high‐quality writing products. Interactive writing sessions typically last from 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the nature of the text to be produced. The goal of interactive writing is neat, legible, and sensible text. neat legible and sensible text
The Essay on One Reading Writing Write
When comparing my free write with the writing diagnostic prompt, it gave me a chance to reminisce on how I became a scribe. To know how to write, one also needs to know how to read. My reading abilities, like most of my peers started in pre-school learning the ABC's. After learning the basic's it was in infinite sprint to soak up the knowledge of the world. Over the years, I can credit my parents, ...
Letter Dictation
Supplies needed: Markers, pencils, or other writing supplies, gel boards, white boards, kleenslates, etc. for choral response or lined/numbered paper. for choral response or lined/numbered paper Stop watch or wrist watch with second hand. Dictate random letters using upper and lower case. Begin slowly about 10 seconds per letter. Increase speed during the year.
www.kleenslate.com
g y p Letter Naming Fluency is Important
Whether recognizing, naming, searching for, or writing dictated letters, accuracy as well as speed (more fluent) is important. is important Using a timer or a stop watch turns any of these activities into a “beat the clock” game. Children love to see how many more letters they can say, recognize, h l tt th g i find, or write.
Breaking the Letter a Week Tradition
Teaching a letter a week in Kindergarten is a long standing tradition. But the real question is this – “Is it effective to teach a letter a week?”
Letter a week must be effective to some degree otherwise teachers would abandon the practice. p Massed vs. Distributed Review and Practice
The Law of 10 20 for Memory Sets The Law of 10‐20 for Memory Sets
This law discovered by Hal Pashler (2006) has been tested for a wide range of memory set items such as letters, names of state capitol cities, historical dates, arithmetic times tables, etc. The optimal review cycle for a set is 10 to 20 percent of the time you want children to remember the items in the set.
The Law of 10 20 for Memory Sets The Law of 10‐20 for Memory Sets
Example: You want children to learn all 26 letters and remember them for at least six months (this is the longest period this law has been tested). How long is ) six months? 182.5 days. What is 10‐20 percent of 182.5 days? It is 18.5 to 37 days. This is the optimal review y 5 37 y p cycle for the memory set.
Child Marriage Research Paper
Child Marriage: Why is the Act Performed Throughout Countries Around the World? According to the International Center for Research on Women, “if present child marriage trends continue, more than 142 million girls worldwide will be forced to marry adult men during the next decade-the equivalent of 38,000 girls every day.” Child marriage is defined as marriage before the age of eighteen ( ...
The Law of 10 20 for Memory Sets The Law of 10‐20 for Memory Sets
So, if we are to review the memory set every 18‐37 days, we must teach the entire memory set within that time frame. So why not teach “A Letter A Day” since this would fall near the mid point of the 18‐37 day range ‐ 26 days. What do we teach? We explicitly and briefly y p y y teach the name, the sound, and the upper/low case forms of writing the letter.
j y An Action Research Project on the “Letter a Day” Approach 4 schools in a Reading First School District matched on Demographics and Achievement h d h d h levels
95 100 % poverty 95‐100 % poverty 75% second language learners Inner city setting 95% diversity Low achieving
An Action Research Project on the Letter a Day An Action Research Project on the “Letter a Day” Approach 3 3 schools changed to a letter a day format g y including lowest school of the 4 1 school remained unchanged with a letter a week g Results after a year?
An Action Research Project on the Letter a Day An Action Research Project on the “Letter a Day” Approach Letter Naming Fluency Test (DIBELS) at end of g y ( ) year.
3 schools using a letter a day
Percentage of kindergarten students at benchmark 88%‐ 97%.
1 school using letter a week
Percentage of students at benchmark 44%.
g g Assessing Letter Name Knowledge
Letter Naming Test from the Observation Survey by Marie Clay (2002) shows correlations between this test and early reading achievement of .83 for predictive and early reading achievement of 83 for predictive validity and .85 correlation with word reading ability and a .97 split half reliability (Denton, Ciancio, & Fletcher, 2006). Best used for determining if students Fletcher 2006) Best used for determining if students meet benchmarks and not for fine grained progress monitoring.
Assessing Letter Name Knowledge
Letter Naming Fluency Test from the Dynamic Assessment of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). The median criterion‐related validity of LNF with the e ed c e o e ed d yo e Woodcock‐Johnson Psycho‐Educational Battery‐ Revised readiness cluster standard score is .70 in kindergarten. The predictive validity of kindergarten kindergarten The predictive validity of kindergarten LNF with first‐grade Woodcock‐Johnson Psycho‐ Educational Battery‐Revised Reading Cluster standard score is .65 and .71 with first‐grade CBM reading. Scored by number of letters named in one minute. Available at http://dibels.uoregon.edu/measures/lnf.php.
The Essay on A Historical Perspective on Reading Research and Practice
This article has responded to both internal and external forces resulting from gradual and dramatic transitions based on historical perspectives. This has permitted a reasonable reflection and a sense of wisdom that is susceptible to loss when one engages in it. The underlying reason is the critical dimension to the present day events and issues analysis resulting from the broadened reading ...
Prentice-Hall Merrill Publishing Company, 2008
y , D. Ray Reutzel, Ph.D. Emma Eccles Jones Endowed Chair Professor y Utah State University www.coe.usu.edu/ecc Presentations Button Left Hand Side or IRA Board of Directors International Reading Association [email protected]
Brabham, E. G., Murray, B. A., & Bowden, S. H. (2006). Reading alphabet books in kindergarten: Effects of instructional B bh E G M B A & B d S H ( 6) R di l h b t b k i ki d t Eff t f i t ti l emphasis and media practice. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 20 (3), 219 – 256. Denton, C., Ciancio, D., & Fletcher, J. (2006). Validity, reliability, and utility of the Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement. Reading Research Quarterly, 41 (1), 8‐34. Evans, M. A., Bell, M., Shaw, D., Moretti, S., & Page, J. (2006). Letter names, letter sounds and phonological awareness: An examination of kindergarten children across letters and of letters across children. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 19 (9), 959‐989. Interdisciplinary Journal 19 (9) 959 989 Fry, E. (2004). Phonics: A large phoneme‐grapheme frequency count revisited. Journal of Literacy Research, 36 (1), 85‐98. Graham, S. , Harris, K. R., & Fink, B. (2000). Is handwriting causally related to learning to write? Treatment of handwriting problems in beginning writers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 620‐633. Justice, L. M., Pence, K., Bowles, R., & Wiggins, A. (2006). An investigation of four hypotheses concerning the order by which 4‐year‐old children learn the alphabet letters. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 21 (3), 374‐389. Krech, B. (2000). Fresh and fun: teaching with kids’ names. New York: Scholastic, Inc. ( ) McCarrier, A., Pinnell, G. S., & Fountas, I. (1999).
Interactive writing: How language and literacy come together, K‐2. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read. Washington, D.C. Pashler, H. (2006). Optimizing resistance to forgetting. Paper presented at the 2006 Institute of Education Sciences Research ( ) p g f g g p p Conference, Washington, D.C. Reutzel, D. R., & Cooter, R. B. (2008). Teaching children to read: The teacher makes the difference, 5th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice‐ Hall/Merrill. Richey, C. D. (2004). From letter names to word reading: The development of reading in kindergarten. Reading Research Quarterly, 39 (4), 374‐396. Richey, C. D., & Speece, D. L. (2006). From letter names to word reading: The nascent role of sub‐lexical fluency. Contemporary y, , p , ( ) g y p y Psychology, 31 (3), 301‐327. Schlagal, B. (2007). Best practices in spelling and handwriting. In S. Graham, C. A. MacArthur, & J. Fitzgerald (Eds.), Best practices in writing instruction, pp. 179‐201. New York: Guilford Press. Share, D. L. (2004). Knowing letter names and learning letter sounds: A causal connection. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 88 (3), 213‐233. Smith, J. A. (2000). Singing and song writing support early literacy instruction. The Reading Teacher, 53 (8), 46‐49. , ( ) g g g g pp y y g , 53 ( ), 4 49 Stachoviak, S. (1996). Will kindergarteners’ writing experiences improve their learning of letter names and sounds? Teaching and Change, 3 (3), 315‐24. Stage, S., Shepard, J., Davidson, M. M., & Browning, M. M. (2001). Predication of first‐graders’ growth in oral reading fluency using kindergarten letter fluency. Journal of School Psychology, 39 (3), 225‐237. Treiman, R., Levin, I., & Kessler, B. (2007). Learning letter names follows similar principles across languages: Evidence from Hebrew. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 96 (2), 87‐106.
Treiman, R., Tincoff, R. & Richmond‐Welty (1997). Beyond zebra: Preschooler’s knowledge about letter. Applied T i R Ti ff R & Ri h d W lt ( ) B d b P h l ’ k l d b t l tt A li d Psycholinguistics 18, 391‐409. Treiman, R., & Kessler, B. (2003). The role of letter names in the acquisition of literacy, p. 105‐135. In R. Kail (Ed.), Advances in child development and behavior (pp. 105‐135). San Diego, CA: Academic Press. Treiman, R., Weatherston, S., & Berch, D. (1994). The role of letter names in children’s learning of phoneme‐grapheme relations. Applied Psycholinguistics, 15, 97‐122. Treiman, R. Tincoff, R. , Rodriguez, K., Mousake, A., & Francis, D. (1998). The foundations of literacy: Learning the sounds of i i ff di k i ( 8) h f d i f li i h d f letters. Child Development, 69(6), 1524‐1540.
