We examined the longitudinal predictors of nonword decoding, reading fluency, and spelling in three languages that vary in orthographic depth: Finnish, Greek, and English. Eighty-two English-speaking, 70 Greek, and 88 Finnish children were followed from the age of 5.5 years old until Grade 2. Prior to any reading instruction, they were…

The main point of our study was to examine the vocabulary knowledge of pupils in grades 3-6, and in particular the relative reading vocabulary disadvantage of hearing-impaired pupils. The achievements of 394 pupils with normal hearing and 106 pupils with a hearing impairment were examined on two vocabulary assessment tasks: a lexical decision task…

This study examines the relationship between working memory and reading achievement in 57 Swedish primary-school children with special needs. First, it was examined whether children's working memory could be enhanced by a cognitive training program, and how the training outcomes would relate to their reading development. Next, it was explored how…

In this study an attempt was made to construct a multi-factor model predicting the development of reading literacy in the upper grades of primary school in the Netherlands for subgroups of 729 first language (L1) learners and 93 second language (L2) learners. Following a longitudinal design, it was explored to what extent the variation in reading…

This study examined the extent to which multimedia features of typical literacy learning software provide added benefits for developing literacy skills compared with typical whole-class teaching methods. The effectiveness of the multimedia software Oxford Reading Tree (ORT) for Clicker in supporting early literacy acquisition was investigated…

A random sample of primary grade teachers from across the United States was surveyed about their instructional practices in handwriting. Nine out of every ten teachers indicated that they taught handwriting, averaging 70 minutes of instruction per week. Only 12% of teachers, however, indicated that the education courses taken in college adequately…

During a school year, samples of words written by three groups of children of successive ages were collected. Two groups of children were in first and second year of Kindergarten (4 and 5 years of age), when alphabetic rules were not taught in a systematic way. The third group was in first year of Primary School (6 years of age), and was being…

Examines the interrelationships among different enabling skills among children in Latvian kindergartens, and considers how various enabling skills (phonemic awareness, naming, and short-term memory) contribute to explain unique variance in early reading acquisition. Concludes that phonemic awareness seems to be the paramount skill related to…

Examines the extent to which curricular choice and incorporation of phonemic awareness (PA) into the kindergarten curriculum affects growth in kindergarten literacy skills and first-grade reading and spelling outcomes. Provides large-scale classroom support for findings on PA reported by the National Reading Panel. (SG)

Proposes that illiteracy due to social reasons is a good source of information to investigate the adaptation mechanisms to the formal knowledge of written language. Compares illiterate subjects and their controls in several experimental conditions. Concludes that schooling, and in particular the knowledge of orthography, introduces in the brain…

Examines literary acquisition in a congenitally speechless child. Explains that in spite of a complete oral apraxia, the child developed normal intelligence and acquired complete mastery of reading and writing skills. Notes that though both his verbal memory and metaphonological skills were surprisingly preserved, he showed relative impairment in…

Focuses on the impact of phonological awareness on reading comprehension. Finds that phonological factors play an independent role in the processing of text. Yields further evidence to previous research showing that phonological awareness is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for reading comprehension. Indicates that there is no clear…

Administers two tests of phoneme awareness to kindergarten-, first- and second-grade children in Germany and America as a probe to the consequences of pedagogical differences on the emergence of phoneme awareness. Finds that the contrast between the American and German kindergarteners and the equivalence of the first and second graders in the two…

Examines the factors that explain why teachers are able to accurately predict their students' future reading ability in a longitudinal study from first- to third-grade in children exposed to poverty. Notes that virtually all of the shared variance between teacher ratings and later reading skills was explained by prior levels of emergent literacy.…

Studies the hypothesized independence of phonological awareness and naming-speed variables in predicting variance in three aspects of reading performance. Indicates that phonological measures contribute more of the variance to those aspects of reading skill that involve decoding or word attack skills; naming-speed measures contribute more to…