DOCUMENT RESUME ED 366 157 EC 302 760 AUTHOR Jackson, Nancy Ewald; Roller, Cathy M. TITLE Reading with Young Children. Reading: Research-Based Decision Making Series, Number 9302. INSTITUTION National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, Storrs, CT. SPONS AGENCY Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. PUB DATE Jan 93 CONTRACT R206R00001 NOTE 77p. AVAILABLE FROMNRC/GT, The University of Connecticut, 362 Fairfield Rd., U-7, Storrs, CT 06269-2007. PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070) -- Guides Non-Classroom Use (055) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC04 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Beginning Reading; *Early Reading; Elementary School Students; *Gifted; Literacy; Parent Role; *Prereading Experience; Preschool Children; Preschool Education; Primary Education; Reading Readiness; Reading Skills; Reading Tests; Story Reading; Toddlers; Writing Instruction; Writing Skills; Young Children ABSTRACT This report provides research-based answers to questions about literacy development from infancy to age 6, with emphasis on the development of these skills in precocious readers. The question-answer format considers the importance of reading with young children, other activities to help young children learn to read, normal development of reading and writing skills, the precocious reader, and testing a preschooler's reading ability. Conclusions are organized into recommendations for parents and recommendations for teachers and administrators. An executive summary stresses seven conclusions: (1) children acquire important literacy knowledge and behaviors during the preschool years;(2) effective story reading is interactive and responsive to the child;(3) in early reading development, the child's developing knowledge of language is most important while in later reading development, his/her knowledge of the world and expressive skills becomes more critical; (4) early writing skills may develop in parallel with or out-of-step with reading skills; (5) learning letter names and sounds is an important part of early literacy development; (6) reading failure can be prevented by the early identification of reading difficulties followed by appropriate instruction; and (7) precocious reading is an example of giftedness. (Contains 31 references.) (DB) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** C, -_ _c4 .11A4LV U S DteASTMENT Or EDUCATION Office of Educahonal Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CE NTE R IERICI gleKs 00Curnent haS teen lecood.ceo as rece,ned Iron, the person or ofgan.rauon Ong.nat.no r M.h0, cnanoes nave been made to ,h13,0ve reproduCtehn Ouality Patnts 01..e 0, 00,,,OnS Stated .n th.Sd0C0 Tent du not nasSsanly ewesent othc.aI OE RI posq.on 0 Pohcv I IMP et, Reading With Young Children Nancy Ewald Jackson, Ph.D. Cathy M. Roller, Ph.D. University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa January 1993 Number 9302 dIP .1111 RESEARCH-BASED DECISION MAKING SERIES THE NATIONAL RESEARCH CENTER ON THE GIFTED AND TALENTED The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT) is funded underthe Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, United States Department of Education. The Directorate of the NRC/GT serves as the administrative unit and is located at The University of Connecticut. The participating universities include The University of Georgia, The University of Virginia, and Yale University, as well as a research unit at The University of Connecticut. The University of Connecticut Dr. Joseph S. Renzulli, Director Dr. E. Jean Gubbins, Assistant Director The University of Connecticut Dr. Francis X. Archambault, Associate Director The University of Georgia Dr. Mary M. Frasier, Associate Director The University of Virginia Dr. Carolyn M. Callahan, Associate Director Yale University Dr. Robert J. Sternberg, Associate Director Copies of this report are available from: NRC/GT The University of Connecticut 362 Fairfield Road, U-7 Storrs, CT 06269-2007 Research for this report was supported under the Javits Act Program (GrantNo. R206R00001) as administered by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement,U.S. Department of Education. Grantees undertaking such projects are encouraged to express freely their professionaljudgement. This report, therefore, does not necessarily represent positions orpolicies of the Government, and no official endorsement should be inferred. Note to Readers... All papers that are commissioned by The NationalResearch Center on the Gifted and Talented for the Research-Based Decision MakingSeries may be reproduced in their entirety or in sections.All reproductions, whether in part or whole, shouldinclude the following statement: Research for this report was supported under theJavits Act Program (Grant No. R206R00001) as administered by theOffice of Educational Research and improvement, U.S. Department ofEducation. Grantees undertaking such projects are encouraged to expressfreely their professional judgement. This report, therefore,does not necessarily represent positions or policies of theGovernment, and no official endorsement should be inferred. This document has been reproduced with thepermission of The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. If sections of the papers are printed in otherpublications, please forward a copy to: The National Research Center on the Gifted andTalented The University of Connecticut 362 Fairfield Road, U-7 Storrs, CT 06269-2007 111 About the Authors.... Dr. Nancy Ewald Jackson, a developmental psychologist, is Associate Professorof Educational Psychology at the University of Iowa and an affiliate of The Connie Be lin National Center for Gifted Education. She has been studying giftedness in youngchildren for almost twenty years and is the author of numerous research articles andhook chapters about precocious reading and the development of giftedness. Dr. CathyM. Roller is Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at TheUniversity of Iowa and director of the Children's Reading Clinic Summer Remedial Program.Her research has focused on the reading process and children's acquisition of reading.Her work appears in such journals as Reading ResearchQuarterly, The Reading Teacher, and Reading Behavior. January,1993 from theother isdifferent Series and DearTeacher, YoungChildren, Making With Decision wedidbecause Reading Research-Based the way wehavewritten. NRC/GT the report who might The report have seenin the We wrote of youngchildren may in giftededucation. and parents reports you literature ofteachers from mostother the concerns other ways. asked toaddress gifted in in we were whomight be infrequently readers or readers arementioned two reasons beprecocious There are andprecocious mainsection. childrenand giftedchildren of one of gifted noticethat they arethe focus development do.although You will about the children learn to the report,although know much asother much of First,what we literate howchildren organization. that theybecome literature on this area.Second. for this suggests thegeneral gifted in differ readers faster.Therefore, who are thatindividuals precocious much children suggests and they mayprogress forunderstanding children Someparents write isrelevant of young asgifted. children read and andteachers some with parents child'sperformanceclass asincluding which a experience describing a about a with our about tothink report tobesomethingtime, wetried they feel label achild or same in how reluctant to Wewanted our At the not. comfortable. of young teachers are otherswho are would feel and needs gifted and teachers characteristics who are of parentsand of thespecial fast. broadspectrum reflect ourawareness unusually report isprogressing if youknow tomake the development example, whoseliteracy For skills are children be usedseparately. writing that can reading or in which insections theirchildren's of thereport whether to is written aboutwhether sections This report concerned them the given fordeciding all the who are might giveguidelines are toappreciate parents enough, you and help parents rapidly aredescribed might developing milestones the report child. section of book withtheir developmentaltested.Another read a If theparents have achild when they happening technicallanguage. from things thatare avoided independently clear andhave learning report becomfortable useful insuggesting tried tomake our notlikely to Children We have classes are WithYoung theirchild's in your Reading and nurture children will find understand of the hope thatyou to helpthem a report,we demonstrate can sayor things you Sincerely, development. Jackson,Ph.D. Ewald Psychology Nancy Educational Professor, Associate of Iowa TheUniversity M+044.4) &Ay Ph.D. Cathy M.Roller Education Ekmentatary Professor, Associate of lowa TheUniversity vii Reading With Young Children Nancy Ewald Jackson, Ph.D. Cathy M. Roller, Ph.D. University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa ABSTRACT This report provides research-based answers to questions parentsand teachers often ask about how reading and writing develop frominfancy to about age 6 years. The unusually rapid development of these skills in some youngchildren is considered in a major section on precocious readers. Precocious readingability is a form of gifted intellectual performance that may appear alone or together withother kinds of gifted performance. However, this report.was