The purpose of this study was to examine how oral vocabulary instruction was enacted in kindergarten. Four days (12 hours) of instruction were observed in 55 classrooms in a range of socio-economic status schools. All instruction was coded for evidence of vocabulary instruction for a total of 660 hours of observation. Results revealed that…

The purpose of this design experiment was to research, test, and iteratively derive principles of word learning and word organization that could help to theoretically advance our understanding of vocabulary development for low-income preschoolers. Six Head Start teachers in morning and afternoon programs and their children (N = 89) were selected…

Hand searched each volume/issue of the past 30 years of the "Journal of Reading Behavior/Journal of Literacy Research" to examine trends in literacy research. Finds the major themes of text, tests and assessment, and instruction shifted in importance over the decades. Notes the journal contained more reports of quantitative than qualitative…

Reports the results of a series of peer group discussions with adolescent mothers enrolled in a family literacy program. Finds that literacy was seen as important because it served as a tool to address economic and social concerns; and parents' goals for themselves focused on independence, being a role model to their children, and self-respect.…