Maryann Manning

Spelling in Kindergarten: A Constructivist Analysis Comparing Spanish-Speaking and English-Speaking Children

Abstract The purposes of this study were to find out (1) whether English-speaking American children construct the same developmental levels in spelling as the Spanish-speaking children studied by Ferreiro and Teberosky (1979/1982) and by Ferriero and Gomez Palacio (1982), and (2) whether English-speaking children, too, make their first letter-sound correspondences through syllables. One-hundred ninety-two kindergarten children were individually asked to write eight words such as “punishment,” “cement,” and “pop.” The developmental levels were found to be similar, but there were some differences between the English-speaking and Spanish-speaking children, especially with respect to the first phoneme-grapheme correspondences they made.

Revisiting what children say their reading interests are

Abstract The purpose of this study was to assess the reading interests of fourth grade boys and girls. Comparisons were made between the reading interests of boys and girls and between minority and nonminority children. In addition the results of part of the present study were compared with the results of a similar study conducted over two decades ago. The present study revealed that there are sex differences in childrens reading preferences; however, at the same time the study showed that the reading interests of boys and girls do often overlap. Additionally, results of this study indicated that minority and nonminority children differed to some extent in their reading interests, but they had more similarities than differences. A comparison of the results of the present study with the results of the earlier study showed that the reading interests of males and females have changed very little over the intervening years.

Kindergartners' Development Toward “Invented” Spelling and a Glottographic Theory

Abstract Twenty-six kindergartners were individually interviewed once a month from October to May with two tasks. The children were first asked to write seven words— cement , ocean , punishment , motion , tomato , karate , and vacation . Two sentences (“Daddy kicks the ball” and “The man is eating a cookie”) were then written in the childrens presence and read to them before they were asked where “ball,” “daddy,” etc., might be written. This longitudinal study verified the four levels in both tasks previously found in cross-sectional research. Level 2 in the writing task was often found to last a surprisingly long time, revealing childrens belief about our writing system that words are written with three, four, or five letters or a minimum and maximum number of letters. Before “invented” spelling, young children hold beliefs that are different from the principle underlying our writing system—the alphabetic principle of basing writing partly on the sounds of speech.

Before "Invented" Spelling: Kindergartners' Awareness that Writing Is Related to the Sounds of Speech.

Abstract Fifty-seven kindergartners were interviewed individually and asked to write four pairs of words—ham and hamster, butter and butterfly, berry and strawberry, and melon and watermelon. They performed this exercise in October, early January, mid-February, and at the end of March. These words were chosen in order to find out 1) if children begin to write more letters unconventionally for longer words and 2) if they begin to write the same letter(s) unconventionally for the same sounds. It was found that children generally did 1) before 2), but not always. It was concluded that these pairs of words are useful for the identification of children who have become aware that writing is related to the sounds of speech.

Development of Kindergartners' Ideas about What Is Written in a Written Sentence.

Abstract In an eight-month longitudinal study, the strategies used by 12 nonreaders in kindergarten were examined as they tried to relate spoken words to segments of written sentences. In monthly interviews, the children were told that the interviewer was going to write “Daddy kicks the ball,” for example. After writing the sentence, the interviewer asked questions about each spoken word—whether or not it was written, and if it was, where it was written. The proportion of functor words (auxiliaries, articles, and prepositions) to content words (nouns, verbs, and adjectives) was varied in the sentences used. The study shows that children may first succeed in establishing correspondences between the temporal order of spoken words and the spatial order of written words when a sentence contains only one functor word. The study also shows the complex interaction of various strategies leading to conflicts, partial solutions, and final coordination.

Reading aloud to young children: Perspectives of parents

Abstract This study investigated the perspectives of parents who read aloud to their young children. The parents were identified through the public libraries in a large city; they were asked to complete questionnaires and to participate in phone interviews. Analyses of data collected from the questionnaires and interviews provide insights about why parents read aloud to young children. An important conclusion is that outside information can increase parents’ awareness of the importance of reading aloud to their young children and can motivate them to do so. Therefore, increasing attention must be given to making parents aware of this important activity.

Whole Language vs. Isolated Phonics Instruction: A Longitudinal Study in Kindergarten With Reading and Writing Tasks

Abstract Thirty-eight kindergartners were individually interviewed with reading and writing tasks in September, November, January, March, and May. Half of the children received phonics instruction, in isolation, from a teacher who identified herself as a phonics teacher. The other half received phonics instruction, in context, from a teacher who identified herself as a whole language teacher. It was found that the whole language group made more progress in both reading and writing, and with more developmental coherence, as evidenced by the absence of regression and confusion. The results were interpreted in light of the theories of Ferreiro (Ferreiro, 1978; Ferreiro & Teberosky, 1979/1982) and Piaget (1926/1967; Piaget & Inhelder, 1968/1973).

Phonemic Awareness: A Natural Step toward Reading and Writing.

(2006). Teaching Strategies: Phonemic Awareness: A Natural Step toward Reading and Writing. Childhood Education: Vol. 82, No. 4, pp. 241-243.

Preschoolers' Conjectures about Segments of a Written Sentence.

Abstract This study, inspired by Ferreiros (1978; Ferreiro & Teberosky, 1979/1982) research, examined English-speaking childrens notions about segments of written sentences. In individual interviews, 38 three-, four-, and five-year-olds watched a sentence being written and listened to it being read. After writing the sentence, the interviewer asked questions about each word—whether or not it was written and, if it was, where it was written. Four distinct levels were found by analyzing the childrens responses. At level 1 the child thinks that only nouns are written. At level 2 the child thinks that every spoken word is written, but does not make correspondences between spoken words and written segments. The child at level 3 makes correspondences between spoken words and written segments by focusing on the order in which the words are spoken. At the fourth level the child does everything the level 3 child does but, in addition, uses some knowledge of letter-sound correspondences to identify written segments.

Teaching Strategies: ESOL in Every Minute of the School Day

Five kindergarten students, who speak Spanish and Haitian Creole, sit around a table during the daily 15-minute English for Speakers of Other Languages ( E S O L ) session with an €SOL assistant. This is the only time during their day when they receiveinstructiongeared toward their nceds as €SOL students. The €SOL assistaizt reads out questions, such as, “What is this?,”and the students respond i?z full sentences, “This is a book.“ The children, who can use only a little English wheiz they interact with their English-speaking classmates arefrustrated arid bored.