Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The current study investigated the direct effects of phonemic awareness on spelling development and the relationship between phonemic awareness and the acquisition of orthographic representations of equivocal phonemes (i.e., phonemes with more than one rule-governed spelling), referred to as word-specific information. Phonemic awareness and word-specific information accounted for 54% of the variance in first-grade spelling scores and 70% of the variance in third-grade scores. The relationship between phonemic awareness changed from first grade to third grade, indicating that in first grade spelling is primarily a sequential encoding process whereas in third grade spelling relies more upon the use of memorized orthographic units. Scattergrams in both first and third grade supported the notion of phonemic awareness as a foundation for the development of word-specific information. Analyses of the spellings of children high and low in phonemic awareness also supported this finding.

References

Allen

M. J.

Yen

W. M.

(1979). Introduction to measurement theory. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Beers

J. W.

(1980). Developmental strategies of spelling competence in primary school children. In Henderson

E. H.

Beers

J. W.

(Eds.), Developmental and cognitive aspects of learning to spell (pp. 36–45). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Beers

J. W.

Henderson

E. H.

(1977). A study of developing orthographic concepts among first graders. Research in the Teaching of English, 11, 133–148.

Bradley

Bryant

P. E.

(1983). Categorizing sounds and learning to read—A causal connection. Nature, 301, 419–421.

Chomsky

(1979). Approaching reading through invented spelling. In Resnick

L. B.

Weaver

P. A.

(Eds.), Theory and practice of early reading (Vol. 2, pp. 43–65). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Chomsky

Halle

(1968). The sound pattern of English. New York: Harper and Row.

Durr

W. K.

Hillerich

R. L.

(1983). Houghton-Mifflin reading series. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Ehri

L. C.

(1980). The development of orthographic images. In Frith

(Ed.), Cognitive processes in spelling (pp. 311–338). New York: Academic Press.

Ehri

L. C.

Wilce

L. S.

(1985). Movement into reading: Is the first stage of printed word learning visual or phonetic? Reading Research Quarterly, 20, 163–179.

10.

Ehri

L. C.

Wilce

L. S.

(1987). Does learning to spell help beginners learn to read words? Reading Research Quarterly, 22, 47–65.

11.

Frith

(1980). Unexpected spelling problems. In Frith

(Ed.), Cognitive processes in spelling (pp. 495–516). New York: Academic Press.

12.

Gough

P. B.

Juel

Griffith

P. L.

(1986, March). Reading, spelling, and the orthographic cipher. Paper presented at the Conference on the Process of Reading Acquisition, Center for Cognitive Science, University of Texas, Austin.

13.

Hanna

P. R.

Hanna

J. S.

Hodges

R. E.

Rudorf

E. H.

(1966). Phoneme-grapheme correspondences as cues to spelling improvement. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

14.

Juel

Griffith

P. L.

Gough

P. B.

(1986). Acquisition of literacy: A longitudinal study of children in first and second grade. Journal of Educational Psychology, 78, 243–255.

15.

Lundberg

Frost

Petersen

(1988). Effects of an extensive program for stimulating phonological awareness in preschool children. Reading Research Quarterly, 23, 263–284.

16.

Morris

(1983). Concept of word and phoneme awareness in the beginning reader. Research in the Teaching of Reading, 17, 359–373.

17.

Read

(1971). Preschool children's knowledge of English phonology. Harvard Educational Review, 41, 1–34.

18.

Roper/Schneider

H. D. W.

(1984). Spelling, word recognition, and phonemic awareness among first grade children. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Texas, Austin.

19.

Simon

D. P.

(1976). Spelling—a task analysis. Instructional Science, 5, 277–302.

20.

Simon

D. P.

Simon

H. A.

(1973). Alternate uses of phonemic information in spelling. Review of Educational Research, 43, 115–137.

21.

Stanovich

K. E.

(1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21, 360–407.

22.

Stanovich

K. E.

West

R. F.

(1989). Exposure to print and orthographic processing. Reading Research Quarterly, 24, 402–433.

23.

Temple

Gillet

J. W.

(1984). Language arts learning processes and teaching practices. Boston: Little, Brown.

24.

Tunmer

W. E.

Herriman

M. L.

Nesdale

A. R.

(1988). Metalinguistic abilities and beginning reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 23, 134–158.

25.

Tunmer

W. E.

Nesdale

A. R.

(1985). Phonemic segmentation skill and beginning reading. Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 417–427.

Phonemic Awareness Helps First Graders Invent Spellings and Third Graders Remember Correct Spellings

Abstract

References