Kindergarten Education: Theory, Research, and Practice Journal Articles: Volume 2, No.1 * Spring 1997

Reading and Language; Piaget’s Symbolic Function and the Foundation of Reading (Pt 2) 

JEANETTE McCARTHY GALLAGHER
This is the second article in a series on Piaget’s symbolic function as the foundation of reading. Language is the focus – with a special emphasis upon Ferreiro’s developmental approach to reading, an assimilative base model including the importance of prior relationships influencing emerging literacy, and the use of themes for concept and vocabulary development.

JEANETTE McCARTHY GALLAGHER is Senior Professor, Temple University, and Adjunct Professor of Educational Psychology, Lehigh University.

A Comparison of the Effects of Teaching Phonics Through Literature and Teaching Phonics Through Spelling on First Grader’s Reading, Writing and Spelling Competence
THERESA A. ROBERTS and ANNE MEIRING
This study examined the development of first grade children’s reading, writing and spelling competencies in a balanced literacy program that included two different instructional contexts for teaching the alphabetic principle. Children were randomly assigned to either of two treatments designed to teach the alphabetic principle. One treatment utilized a modified version of the McCracken spelling program and the other group participated in a phonics embedded in literature program for 58 instructional sessions. Significant differences were found in favor of the spelling treatment on measures of spelling of both phonetically regular real and pseudowords but not sight words. Children receiving the spelling program also scored significantly higher than the context group in their ability to read phonetically regular pseudowords and in writing fluency. There were no significant differences between treatment groups on the reading scores of the Metropolitan Achievement Test. Discussion focuses on a) the benefits for both spelling and reading of teaching the alphabetic principle in a spelling context and b) the comparison of phonics instruction in context and context-reduced instructional approaches.

THERESA A. ROBERTS is Professor of Child Development, California State University, Sacramento.
ANNE MEIRING is a first grade teacher in the Vallejo Unified School District.
Exploring Math Concepts with Children’s Books
BELLE AKERS
The purpose of this article is to discuss and demonstrate how children’s literature is an important resource in mathematics instruction for young children. Books concerning the following concepts are discussed: numbers, one to ten; counting by 2’s and odd and even numbers; groups or number patterns; large numbers, and the 100th Day of School. The successful use of the recommended books with kindergarten and first grade children is described.

BELLE AKERS is a first grade teacher at Convent of the Sacred Heart Elementary School, San Francisco, CA.
Transformation Towards a Balanced Curriculum
CHRISTINE CARLING
This article describes the process of changing a curriculum so that it was meaningful for children and balanced in content and instruction. The following three questions guided the process: How do I engage students’ learning and teach skills outlined in the District Standards? How do I create conditions that promote optimal literacy attainment? How do I get students from an industrial age curriculum to one appropriate for the information age? The related review of research and theory is reported, and the development of curriculum is described, with the end product knowledge-driven curriculum for the children and the teacher.

CHRISTINE CARLING is a Kindergarten – 1st grade teacher at River Oaks School in the Galt Joint Union Elementary School District, CA.