Studies

Oregon libraries are pioneering an early literacy program that will tie a parents' early literacy activities with their young children to college savings accounts. The program, called "Project Ready to Learn," will add 2 cents to a child's college account every time they check out a book from the library or participate in an approved library learning program.  The parent will swipe a card that also gives them discounts at local restaurants and other locations.

A new study, helmed by Margaret Friend of the Infant and Child Development Laboratory at San Diego State University, will examine toddlers' language comprehension in an attempt to determine if it is a later predictor of literacy and academic success. Toddlers ranging in age from 16 to 20 months will hear words and be asked to identify images on a touch screen that match the words. They will again be tested at 4 years of age. Children in both bilingual and monolingual families will be tested.

A researcher at Ben-Gurion University in Israel has discovered that performing hand-clapping rhymes and songs helps children develop improved writing, spelling, and cognitive abilities, among other results. We know that clapping out syllables helps very young children develop phonological awareness. This study, however, looked at children in first, second and third grades, so it seems continuing this simple activity beyond kindergarten produces even more benefits.