Joanne F. Carlisle

Phonological and morphological awareness in first graders

Phonological awareness is thought to be related to childrens success in learning to read because it indicates an awareness of the internal structure of words. Morphological awareness, which has been found to be related to reading achievement for older students, may offer a more comprehensive measure of linguistic sensitivity because it entails not only phonological awareness, but also other aspects of linguistic knowledge. The research study reported herein was designed to investigate the extent to which phonological awareness contributes to the morphological awareness of first graders and to determine the extent to which phonological and morphological awareness account for variance in word reading. Two tasks of morphological awareness were used, one assessing judgments of morphological relations and the other assessing the production of inflected and derived forms.

Morphology Matters in Learning To Read: A Commentary.

This paper provides a review of current research on the relevance of morphological awareness to reading and reading instruction. On the assumption that many educators are relatively unfamiliar with morphology, children’s development of awareness of the morphemic structure of words is discussed, as is the need for children to learn strategies that will help them read, spell, and understand morphologically complex words. Educational practices and implications, based on theory and research findings, are presented. Results suggest that educators and educational researchers need to incorporate more word study into reading and spelling programs, focusing attention to both form and meaning. In addition, the value of instructional goals and programs in morphological awareness for children in the early elementary years needs to be explored.

Relationship of metalinguistic capabilities and reading achievement for children who are becoming bilingual

This study investigated the developing metalinguistic capabilities of Hispanic primary school children who are becoming bilingual but whose English reading achievement is below average. Two questions were posed: first, do native- and second-language vocabulary and degree of bilingualism contribute to performance on a metalinguistic task (defining words) and, second, do native- and second-language vocabulary and metalinguistic development at the word level significantly predict reading comprehension in the spring? The results showed that performance on the definition task in English and in Spanish was significantly explained by word knowledge in the language of the task; performance on the definition task in the other language (English or Spanish) but not degree of bilingualism contributed significantly, after the effects of vocabulary in the two languages were accounted for. Both native- and second-language vocabulary and phonological awareness independently contributed to achievement in English reading comprehension. The results suggest that, for children with limited native-language development in the early stages of bilingualism, vocabulary development in both the native and second language and metalinguistic development at the word level may be important education priorities because of their effects on second-language reading comprehension.

Lexical Processing of Morphologically Complex Words in the Elementary Years

This study explores emerging lexical processes that may be the foundation for childrens acquisition of morphological knowledge and the relation of these processes to reading comprehension. First and third graders were given two tasks involving lexical analysis of morphologically complex words. Two years later, they were given a measure of processing derived words in sentence contexts and a test of reading comprehension. The results support the view that the development of morphological processing in the elementary years might depend on access to representations of full forms, base forms, and affixes. Further, semantic and syntactic knowledge of morphemes was related to morphological processing of sentences and contributed to reading comprehension in the late elementary years.

Growth in Phonological, Orthographic, and Morphological Awareness in Grades 1 to 6.

Growth curve analyses showed that (a) word-level phonological and orthographic awareness show greatest growth during the primary grades but some additional growth thereafter, and (b) three kinds of morphological awareness show greatest growth in the first three or four grades but one—derivation—continues to show substantial growth after fourth grade. Implications of the findings for the role of three kinds of linguistic awareness—phonological, orthographic, and morphological—in learning to read and spell words are discussed. A case is made that phonological awareness, while necessary, is not sufficient for learning to read English—all three kinds of linguistic awareness that are growing during the primary grades need to be coordinated and applied to literacy learning. This finding and a review of the research on linguistic awareness support the conclusion that the recommendations of the National Reading Panel need to be amended so that the research evidence supporting the importance of both orthographic and morphological awareness, and not only phonological awareness, is acknowledged. Moreover, evidence-based strategies for teaching each of these kinds of linguistic awareness and their interrelationships need to be disseminated to educational practitioners.

The Use of Morphological Knowledge in Spelling Derived Forms by Learning-Disabled and Normal Students.

Currently popular systems for classification of spelling words or errors emphasize the learning of phoneme-grapheme correspondences and memorization of irregular words, but do not take into account the morphophonemic nature of the English language. This study is based on the premise that knowledge of the morphological rules of derivational morphology is acquired developmentally and is related to the spelling abilities of both normal and learning-disabled (LD) students. It addresses three issues: 1) how the learning of derivational morphology and the spelling of derived words by LD students compares to that of normal students; 2) whether LD students learn derived forms rulefully; and 3) the extent to which LD and normal students use knowledge of relationships between base and derived forms to spell derived words (e.g. “magic” and “magician”). The results showed that LD ninth graders’ knowledge of derivational morphology was equivalent to that of normal sixth graders, following similar patterns of mastery of orthographic and phonological rules, but that their spelling of derived forms was equivalent to that of the fourth graders. Thus, they know more about derivational morphology than they use in spelling. In addition, they were significantly more apt to spell derived words as whole words, without regard for morphemic structure, than even the fourth graders. Nonetheless, most of the LD spelling errors were phonetically acceptable, suggesting that their misspellings cannot be attributed primarily to poor knowledge of phoneme-grapheme correspondences.

Are Fluency Measures Accurate Predictors of Reading Achievement

This study focused on the predictive validity of fluency measures that comprise Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). Data were gathered from first through third graders attending 44 schools in 9 districts or local educational agencies that made up the first Reading First cohort in Michigan. Students were administered DIBELS subtests in the fall, winter, and spring, and they took the reading subtests of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) in the spring. Results showed that DIBELS subtests significantly predicted year‐end reading achievement on the ITBS, Reading Total subtest. They also showed that DIBELS at‐risk benchmarks for oral reading fluency (ORF) were reasonably accurate at identifying second and third graders who were reading below the twenty‐fifth percentile at the end of the year (80% and 76% for second and third graders, respectively). However, 32% of second graders and 37% of third graders who were identified as at low risk by the ORF benchmarks turned out not to be reading at grade level on ITBS in April. We discuss 2 possibilities for improving the assessment of students’ progress in reading: (a) supplementing DIBELS with measures of reading comprehension and vocabulary, and (b) using frequent progress‐monitoring assessments for students at risk for reading problems to identify students who are not responding to classroom instruction

An Exploratory Study of Morphological Errors in Children's Written Stories.

This exploratory study provides descriptive information about the use of morphologically complex words in the story writing of second and third graders, some with and some without learning disabilities (LD). The purpose was to determine how commonly and how accurately children used inflections, derivations, and compound words spontaneously in their writing. The results showed significant differences by grade level and group (LD and Non-LD) in the frequency with which morphologically complex words are used. The LD second graders were less accurate than their peers in their use of morphological markers; both LD and Non-LD third graders had high levels of accuracy. In addition, examination of morphological markers that children use in written but nor oral language showed growth from second to third grade. The results suggest that the second and third grades may be a transitional period, in which the children are consolidating their knowledge of inflected forms and just beginning to use derived forms in their spontaneous writing. Reasons that children might make morphological errors in writing and problems that might be addressed in future studies are discussed.

Morphological Knowledge and Literacy Acquisition

The purpose of this special issue of the Journal of Learning Disabilities is to bring to the attention of researchers and educators studies on morphology and literacy that either involve students with learning difficulties or have educational implications for teaching such students. In our introduction, we first provide background information about morphological knowledge and consider the role of morphology in literacy, focusing on findings that are relevant for instruction of students who struggle with reading and writing. Next we present an overview of the studies included in this issue, organized by current issues concerning the role of morphological knowledge in literacy. Collectively, the articles in this issue suggest that students with weaker literacy skills tend to lag behind their peers in morphological knowledge but that all students are likely to benefit from morphological instruction. Morphological interventions hold promise, especially for students who face challenges in language learning and literacy, but additional research is needed to provide a basis for informed decisions about the design of effective morphological interventions.

The Effects of Language of Instruction on the Reading and Writing Achievement of First-Grade Hispanic Children

This study is an exploratory investigation of the effects of teaching literacy skills to 1st graders of Hispanic background in English or Spanish. Two classes of 1st graders who attended the same school in successive years were taught literacy in English or in Spanish. In the fall of the 1st and 2nd grades, these children were given standardized tests of language and reading. In the spring of 1st grade, the children were given measures of comprehension (listening and reading) and writing in both Spanish and English. The children taught in Spanish did not differ from those taught in English on English reading and writing but were significantly stronger on Spanish reading and writing. In predicting performance in the fall of 2nd grade on a reading comprehension measure in Spanish and in English, the childrens vocabulary in that language made a significant contribution. In addition, being taught literacy in Spanish contributed to performance in Spanish reading comprehension, but being taught in English did not have the same positive effect on performance in English reading comprehension. Further studies are needed to determine whether initial literacy instruction in Spanish has long-term benefits for children of Hispanic background and whether similar results are found in other maintenance bilingual programs.