Sit Together and Read and Write: A Pilot Study Investigating an Approach to Engage Preschool Children with Print while Writing

• In Event: 2-130 - Early Writing Assessment and Intervention

Integrative Statement

Introduction: This study examines the supplemental literacy curriculum Sit Together and Read and Write (STAR-W), an enhancement of Sit Together and Read (STAR) (Justice, McGinty, Piasta, Kaderavek, & Fan, 2010). In the original STAR curriculum, preschool teachers read aloud a book to their class multiple times per week, drawing children’s attention to specific features of print. A body of research on the STAR curriculum has demonstrated positive effects for preschoolers (e.g., Justice et al., 2010). Yet the average effect size reported in these studies is small (d = .21), demonstrating room for improvement. One way STAR could be improved is by adding a small group writing lesson during which time the teacher draws children’s attention to aligned print targets (STAR-W).

Hypotheses: The primary research question was: Does STAR-W improve children's print knowledge and early writing skills when compared with children exposed to STAR only? We hypothesized that children participating in STAR-W would demonstrate greater improvement.

Study Population: The current study took place in a private preschool center in Ohio, prioritizing enrollment for low-SES children. One teacher and 15 children participated in the study (79% consent rate). Eight children were female, and average age at the start of the study was 4 years, 3 months (SD = 8 months). Seven children were Black, six were White, and one was biracial. All children spoke English at home.

Methods: Measures of children’s print knowledge and early writing skills were individually collected by trained research staff before and after the seven-week program period. Based on pre-test scores, children were divided into two groups: (1) those whose writing did not include any invented spelling (e.g., RTS for baby), and (2) those whose writing included invented spelling (e.g., B for baby). Four children from each of these two skill-level groupings were randomly assigned to receive STAR-W (n = 8), while seven children received STAR only. The classroom teacher implemented STAR read-alouds twice per week with fidelity. Trained research staff implemented the small group writing instruction twice per week.

Results: Given that this was an underpowered pilot study, we did not find significant group differences. However, effect sizes indicated meaningful differences in outcomes in writing skills in favor of the STAR-W group (i.e., spelling; g = 0.36). When examining the two skill-level groupings separately, STAR-W did not have an effect on children’s print knowledge and early writing skills for those who were not yet inventing spellings. Unexpectedly, the children who received STAR only demonstrated superior performance across outcomes (g’s = -0.58- -1.79). However, for children who were beginning to invent spellings, very large effect sizes on post-test measures existed for both print knowledge (g = 2.26) and measures of early writing, including spelling (g = 1.22) and name writing (g = 1.60). Findings should be treated as exploratory in nature. However, this study provides some initial evidence of promise for STAR-W, particularly for more skilled preschoolers. Further work is needed to better understand how writing instruction may support children at an earlier stage of development.

Authors

• Sonia Cabell, Florida State University
  Presenting Author

• Stefanie Copp, University of Lynchburg
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jaclyn Dynia, The Ohio State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Maureen Myrtil, Ohio State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Laura Justice, The Ohio State University
  Non-Presenting Author