title: Letter knowledge, phonological processing, and print knowledge: skill development in nonreading preschool children.
abstract: Development of reading skills was examined in 4-year-old children from low-income homes attending a prekindergarten program. Fall to spring gains in letter identification were examined and compared with skills in phonological processing, rhyme detection, and environmental print, and with performance on a screening tool (Get Ready to Read). It was anticipated that participants might show slow skill development. However, the identification of a large group of children (n = 30) who made little or no gains in letter identification compared to their classmates (n = 27), whose gains averaged 7 letters, was not anticipated. Fall to spring gains in letter identification correlated with phonological processing, rhyme detection, environmental print, and Get Ready to Read! scores. Age and general cognitive skills influenced performance on some tasks. More knowledge of the characteristics of children who show the most variations in skill development may lead to insights on using classroom curriculum to focus on skill development.
authors.affiliation: Center for Research in Early Childhood, College of Education and Human Development, University of Louisville, KY 40014, USA. tori@louisville.edu
authors.forename: Victoria J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Molfese
authors.forename: Arlene A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Modglin
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Beswick
authors.forename: Jessica D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Neamon
authors.forename: Shelby A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.forename: C Jeffrey
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Molnar
mesh_terms: D001364:Awareness; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008402:Mass Media; D010700:Phonetics; D011932:Reading; D013060:Speech; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D014706:Verbal Learning