The readiness of preschool children (3½ to 5 years old) for writing and reading was investigated using educational material specially designed for this purpose. 17 children participated in a three-month pilot program divided into monthly periods during which the language material was presented to them and subsequently, their behavior towards it was observed and recorded. 42.7% of the observations made in all three months (n = 408), showed occupation of the children with language material from 5 to 15 min. and another 49.0% occupation from 15 to 30 min. Children were involved with the language material mostly individually (92.2%). The materials that mostly attracted their interest were the tombolas and the four-letter cards. Writing was the most popular activity (93.9%), followed by identifying (69.9%), reading (14.5%) and combining (6.3%).
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AdamsM. (1994) Beginning to read first. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
2.
AslinR. N. (1981) Experimental influence and sensitive period in perceptual development: A unified model In AslinR. N.PetersonF. (Eds.), The development of perception. Vol. 2. Orlando, FL: Academic Press.45–93.
3.
BerlyneD. (1965) Structure and direction in thinking. New York: Wiley.
4.
BissexG. (1984) CNYS AT WRK: A child learns to write and read. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univer. Press.
5.
BornsteinM. (1989) Sensitive periods in development: Structural characteristics and casual interpretations. Psychological Bulletin, 105, 179–197.
6.
ChangeuxJ. P. (1983) L'homme neuronal. Paris: Fayard.
ClayM. (1975) What did I write?Auckland: Heineman.
9.
De VilliersR.De VilliersJ. (1979) Early language. London: Fontana Paperbacks.
10.
DobbingA. H. (1974) The later growth of the brain and its vulnerability. Pediatrics, 53, 2–6.
11.
DysonA. H. (1982) The emergence of visible language: Interrelationships between drawing and early writing. Visible Language, 16, 360–381.
12.
EpsteinH. (1978) Growth spurts during brain development: Implications for educational policy and practice. In ChallJ.MirskyA. (Eds.), Education and the brain. Chicago, IL: Univer. of Chicago Press.343–370.
13.
FerreiroE.TeberoskyA. (1982) Literacy before schooling. New York: Heinemann.
14.
GardnerH. (1978) The mind's new science. New York: Basic Books.
15.
GardnerH. (1983) Frames of mind. New York: Basic Books.
16.
GazzanicaM. S. (1992) Nature's mind. New York: Basic Books.
17.
GleitmanL. (1986) Biological preprogramming for language learning? In FriedmanS.KlivingtonK.PetersonR. (Eds.), The brain, cognition, and education. New York: Academic Press.120–146.
18.
GleitmanL. R.RozinP. (1977) The structure and acquisition of reading: Relations between orthographics and the structure of language. In ReberA. S.ScarboroughD. L. (Eds.), Toward a psychology of reading. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.1–53.
19.
GreenoughW. T. (1976) Enduring brain effects of differential experience and training. In RosenzweigM. R.BenettE. L. (Eds.), Neural mechanisms of learning and memory. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.255–278.
20.
HubelD.WieselT. (1979) Brain mechanisms of vision. Scientific American, 241, 150–162.
21.
LennenbergE. (1967) Biological foundations of language. New York: Wiley.
22.
LillardP. P. (1973) Montessori: A modern approach. New York: Schocken.
23.
LorenzK. (1971) Studies in human and animal behavior. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univer. Press.
24.
LuriaA. R. (1983) The development of writing in the child. In MartlewM. (Ed.), The psychology of written language: Developmental and educational perspectives. Chichester, UK: Wiley.237–277.
25.
MontessoriM. (1914/1964) Dr. Montessori's own handbook. New York: Schocken.
26.
NeuportE. (1990) Maturational constraints on language learning. Cognitive Science, 14, 11–28.
27.
PellegriniA. (1988) Psychological bases of early education. New York: Wiley.
28.
ResnickL.WeaverP. (1979) Theory and practice of early reading. Vol. 1. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
29.
RosenzweigM. R.BennettE. L.DiamondM. C. (1972) Brain changes in response to experience. Scientific American, 226, 22–29.
30.
RudelR. (1978) Neuroplasticity: Implications for development and education. In ChallJ.MirskyA. (Eds.), Education and the brain. Chicago, IL: Chicago Press.269–307.
31.
StromswoldK. (1997) The cognitive and neural bases of language acquisition. In GazzanigaM. S. (Ed.), The cognitive neurosciences. Cambridge, MAThe MIT Press. 855–870.
32.
Von SommersP. (1984) Drawing and cognition: Descriptive and experimental studies of graphic production processes. New York: Cambridge Univer. Press.
33.
VygotskyL. (1983) The prehistory of written language. In MartlewM. (Ed.), The psychology of written language: Developmental and educational perspectives. Chichester, UK: Wiley.279–292.
34.
ZafranaM. (1979) The implications of brain functioning to learning and the process of educating. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Ohio State Univer.
35.
ZapranaM. (1993) [The Montessori method in Greece: The case of Maria Goudeli]. Thessaloniki, Greece: Kyriakidis.
36.
ZafranasA.Katsiou-ZafranaM. (1989) [Physiology of learning I: Matter and brain]. Thessaloniki, Greece: Kyriakidis.
37.
ZafranasA.Katsiou-ZafranaM. (1992a) [Physiology of learning II: From the brain to the mind]. Thessaloniki, Greece: Kyriakidis.
38.
ZafranasA.Katsiou-ZafranaM. (1992b) [Psychological research in Greece: Development, learning and education. Vol. 1. The developing brain and the impact of the environment in its function]. Thessaloniki, Greece: Aristode Univer. of Thessaloniki.1–24.
