ABSTRACT

Research Findings: This study examined the extent to which children’s development and growth in oral language and literacy skills during the early childhood period predicted writing ability in the primary grades. Participants were 313 children who were tested on a battery of oral language and literacy measures at four time points, beginning during preschool (M age = 4.2 years) and spaced approximately 6 months apart over 1.5 years. Results provided a novel contribution to the extant literature by demonstrating that both children’s early skill levels and rates of growth in oral language and decoding skills predicted later spelling and written composition when children were in kindergarten or first grade. Practice or Policy: Findings suggest that in addition to having a stronger starting point (i.e., higher initial skill level), the more quickly children can further develop these skills, the more they are able to use them to write productively.

摘要

研究结果：本研究检验了儿童早期口语和识字能力的发展和成长在多大程度上预测了小学年级的写作能力。参与者是 313 名儿童，他们在四个时间点接受了一系列口语和识字测试，从学龄前开始（M年龄 = 4.2 岁），间隔约 6 个月超过 1.5 年。结果通过证明儿童的早期技能水平以及口语和解码技能的增长速度预测了儿童在幼儿园或一年级时以后的拼写和书面写作，为现有文献提供了新的贡献。实践或政策: 调查结果表明，除了具有更强的起点（即更高的初始技能水平）外，孩子们可以越快地进一步发展这些技能，他们就越能够有效地使用它们进行写作。