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A study demonstrated the viability of an instructional paradigm that identifies adult mediation within the zone of proximal development to be a significant factor in young children's learning. Six teachers participated during the first year and eight teachers during the second year. Complete data were collected for 200 kindergarten children. Research-practitioner-based components were created using results from previous kindergarten studies. Underlying each component was the recognition by the teachers that the following were integral to mediate and support children's learning: (1) structural analysis; (2) scaffolding; (3) mediation; and (4) modeling. Children in the project classes performed significantly better on the majority of reading and writing tasks administered at the end of kindergarten. Of particular importance was the children's performance on measures not specifically related to the treatment, indicating that a level of generalization had been achieved. (Two tables of data are included, and 27 references are attached.) (MG)

A study examined preschool children's awareness of literacy. Subjects included 18 children from 2 classrooms of prekindergarten children who lived in a black, inner-city neighborhood and attended a school that believed in providing formal reading and writing instruction in the prekindergarten year. Subjects were asked how they were learning, how they tried to read a picture-phrase book, and how they wrote or drew pictures in response to requests to write something. Results indicated that most children were aware of how they were learning; they pretended to read by labeling pictures in the book they were given to read; they usually drew pictures or wrote single letters for the writing task, and they produced meaningful descriptions of their writings or drawings. Variations in the subjects' literacy awareness were related to the instruction provided in school and the quality of home support for literacy. Three case studies illustrate various aspects of the study. (Eight tables of data are included, and 30 references are appended.) (Author/RS)

Examined home literacy environments of four children from low-income Caucasian, African American, or biracial families. Found that all the parents provided support for literacy but with different constructions; children's descriptions of how they were learning to read at home reflected their home literacy experiences; and all four environments were conducive to literacy development and school success. (HTH)

Examines the effectiveness of predictable reading. Presents an example of an effective lesson using the predictable book reading component of the Early Literacy Project. Demonstrates that learning involves dynamic interactions between the novice and expert, and that the expert must recognize the child's independent level and determine through careful observations what type of support to provide. (RS)

Examines the verbal interactions that occur during book reading of mothers and young readers. Finds that, although there were differences in the opportunity for children to engage in deliberate literacy events, the parents were successfully monitoring literacy engagement. (RS)

This study investigated kindergartners' awareness of how they learned to read at home and at school. Children (n=56) from schools using different methods were asked to tap their awareness about learning to read. Parent questionnaires assessed home support. Results indicated that students could describe how they were learning to read at home and at school. (SM)

Four six-year-olds and their mothers were observed during the summer prior to starting first grade in a study designed to expand knowledge of the nature of verbal interactions during book reading. All of the children had some knowledge of letters and were making satisfactory progress in reading. The seven or eight observation sessions were taped and an observer noted both verbal and nonverbal communication. Mothers read one book with one to four words on each page and read the comprehension exercise at the end. The coding system was designed to describe both the structure and content of the book reading interaction. The first set of analyses concerned the relative proportions of turns each mother or child took during the book reading interactions. The second aspect of analysis involved ascertaining whether or not the child was just responding to questions or statements from the mother or actually initiating the turn. Attention to print levels was also ascertained. Results showed that the majority of verbal turns by all the mothers focused on the word level, although one mother also focused many of her turns on the letter level. The children also showed differences in their turns, with some being assertive and leading the interaction by either reading outright or by making statements about the text. In all of the homes, there was literacy engagement; and while some children were being directed more than others, the children have all become successful readers, according to their parents' understanding of literacy and their teacher's estimation of a reader. (Tables and references are included, and samples of coded transcripts, a profile of book reading interactions, and a description of awareness responses and print level attention are appended.) (AEW)

A study investigated kindergarten children's awareness of how they are learning to read at home and in school. Fifty-six children were selected from two schools with contrasting instruction for beginning reading. Children were interviewed in kindergarten and first grade and asked questions designed to tap their awareness of how they were learning to read. Tasks were administered to obtain measures on phonic awareness and story-reading knowledge. A parent questionnaire was used to assess home support for early reading, and home observations were conducted to examine home literacy interaction patterns. Results demonstrate that most children can talk about how they are learning to read at home and in school, and that the responses match the school instruction and change over time. The case study findings indicate that some parents are deliberate in structuring literacy events, and that children's awareness responses match the interaction patterns in their homes. (Tables, figures, and three pages of references are included.) (Author/HTH)