【Teachersandparentsusuallycallattentiontothepictureswhentheyreadstorybookstopre-schoolchildren.Butanewstudysuggeststhatcallingattentiontothewordsandlettersonthepagemayleadtobetterreaders.Thetwo-yearstu】
Teachersandparentsusuallycallattentiontothepictureswhentheyreadstorybookstopre-schoolchildren.Butanewstudysuggeststhatcallingattentiontothewordsandlettersonthepagemayleadtobetterreaders.
Thetwo-yearstudycomparedchildrenwhowerereadinthiswayinclasswithchildrenwhowerenot.Thosewhoseteachersmostoftendiscussedtheprintshowedclearlyhigherskillsinreadingspellingandunderstanding.Theseresultswerefoundoneyearandeventwoyearslater.
ShaynePiastaanassistantprofessorofteachingandlearningatOhioStateUniversitywasanauthorofthestudy.Shesaysmostpre-schoolteacherswouldfindthismethodmanageableandwouldneedonlyasmallchangeinthewaytheyteach.Theyalreadyreadstory-booksinclass.Theonlydifferencewouldbeincreasedattentiontotheprintedtext.“Ifyougetchildrentopayattentiontolettersandwordsitmakessensethattheywilldobetteratwordrecognitionandspelling.”Butshesaysresearchsuggeststhatveryfewparentsandteachersdothisinasystematicway.
Morethan300childrenagedfourandfivewereobservedinclassrooms.Theycamefrompoorfamiliesandwerebelowaverageintheirlanguageskills.ForthirtyweeksthechildrentookpartinaprogramcalledProjectSTAR---SitTogetherandRead.TheprojectisbasedatOhioState.Itteststheshort-termandlong-termresultsofreadingregularlytopre-schoolchildrenintheirclassrooms.
Therearedifferentwaysthatadultscantalktochildrenaboutprint.Theycanpointtoaletteranddiscussitandeventracetheshapewithafinger.Theycanpointoutawordanddiscussthemeaningoftheprintorhowthewordstellthestory.Andtheycantalkabouttheorganizationoftheprint---forinstanceshowinghowwordsarewrittenlefttorightinEnglish.
1.Whatdoweknowaboutthewayspre-schoolchildrenareusuallytaught?
A.Moreattentionispaidtothepictureswithwordsandlettersbeingignored.
B.Preferenceisgiventotheshapeoflettersandtheorganizationoftheprint.
C.Thefocusoftheteachingisonbringingthemuptobegoodreaders.
D.Equalattentionispaidtothetextsandthepictures.
2.WhatdoesShaynePiastasuggestpre-schoolteachersshoulddoinclass