Designed a novel activity, Story Construction from a Picture Book, to assess young children's abilities to construct meaning independent of decoding skills. Subjects were five- and six-year olds, assessed again two years later. Found children responded well to the assessment, and scores on three of four variables increased with age, though not…

Preschool and kindergarten programs for poor and middle-class children fell into three types: (1) didactic programs, which stressed academic skills and had relatively negative social environments; (2) child-centered programs, which deemphasized academic skills and had positive social environments; and (3) intermediate programs, which fell between…

Examined development of young children's psychomotor behaviors on outdoor swings, devising a Guttman hierarchical scale. Found that children consolidate basic movements into proficient swinging skills, and then experiment with the physical properties of the swing and with the social context. Modeling, informal instruction, and practice contribute…