Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T20:11:13.115Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Writing starts with own name writing: From scribbling to conventional spelling in Israeli and Dutch children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2005

IRIS LEVIN ,
ANNA BOTH–DE VRIES ,
DORIT ARAM  and
ADRIANA BUS
IRIS LEVIN
Affiliation:
Tel Aviv University
ANNA BOTH–DE VRIES
Affiliation:
Leiden University
DORIT ARAM
Affiliation:
Tel Aviv University
ADRIANA BUS
Affiliation:
Leiden University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The development of children's writing of their own names as compared to their writing of dictated words was examined on samples of children ranging from 2 to 5 years of age, who were immersed in Hebrew or Dutch and recruited from low to high socioeconomic status families. Analyses were based on four data sets collected in three studies. From a young age, children wrote their name on a higher level than they wrote other words, and name writing improved with age more rapidly than word writing across the whole age range. Furthermore, the intercorrelations between word writings, corrected for age, were generally higher than the correlation between word and name writing, indicating that children exhibit a unique approach to the writing of their own name, irrespective of other background variables. Children's advanced skill in writing their name may suggest that name writing promotes the development of writing in general.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , July 2005 , pp. 463 - 477
Copyright
© 2005 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adi-Japha E., Levin I., & Solomon S. 1998. Emergence of representation in drawing: The relation between dynamic and referential aspects. Cognitive Development, 13, 25– 51.Google Scholar
Aram D. 2004. Early literacy interventions: The relative roles of storybook reading, alphabetic activities, and their combination. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Aram D., & Biron S. 2004. Joint storybook reading and joint writing interventions among low SES preschoolers: Differential contribution to early literacy. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 19, 588– 610.Google Scholar
Aram D., & Levin I. 2001. Mother–child joint writing in low SES: Sociocultural factors, maternal mediation, and emergent literacy. Cognitive Development, 16, 831– 852.Google Scholar
Arrow A., Fletcher–Flinn C. M., & Nicholson T. 2003. “That's my name”: Possible precursors to reading development. Poster presented at the Annual Conference of the Society for Scientific Study of Reading, Boulder, CO.
Bialystok E. 1991. Letters, sounds, and symbols: Changes in children's understanding of written language. Applied Psycholinguistics, 12, 75– 89.Google Scholar
Bloodgood J. W. 1999. What's in a name? Children's name writing and literacy acquisition. Reading Research Quarterly, 34, 342– 367.Google Scholar
Both–de Vries A., & Bus A. G. 2004. How symbolic is young children's writing? Manuscript submitted for publication.
Brenneman K., Massey C., Machado S. F., & Gelman R. 1996. Young children's plans differ for writing and drawing. Cognitive Development, 11, 397– 419.Google Scholar
Cohen J., & Cohen P. 1983. Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for behavioral science (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Ferreiro E., & Teberosky A. 1982. Literacy before schooling. New York: Heinemann.
Gombert J. E., & Fayol M. 1992. Writing in preliterate children. Learning and Instruction, 2, 23– 41.Google Scholar
Kellogg R. 1969. Analyzing children's art. Palo Alto, CA: National Press.
Levin I., & Aram D. 2004. Children's names contribute to early literacy: A linguistic and social perspective. In D. Ravid & H. Bat-Zeev Shyldkrot (Eds.), Perspectives on language and language development (pp. 219– 241). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.
Levin I., & Bus A. 2003. How is emergent writing based on drawing? Analyses of children's products and their sorting by children and mothers. Developmental Psychology, 39, 891– 905.Google Scholar
Levin I., Korat O., & Amsterdamer P. 1996. Emergent writing among kindergartners: Cross-linguistic commonalities and Hebrew-specific issues. In G. Rijlaarsdam, H. van der Bergh, & M. Couzijn (Eds.), Current trends in writing research: Theories, models and methodology (pp. 398– 419). Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Levin I., Share D. L., & Shatil E. 1996. A qualitative–quantitative study of preschool writing: Its development and contribution to school literacy. In C. M. Levy & S. Ransdaell (Eds.), The science of writing (pp. 271– 293). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Martens P. A. 1999. Mommy, how do you write “Sarah?”: The role of name writing in one child's literacy. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 14, 5– 15.Google Scholar
Mandel D. R., Jusczyk P. W., & Pisoni D. B. 1996. Infants' recognition of the sound patterns of their own names. Psychological Science, 6, 314– 317.Google Scholar
Share L. C., & Levin I. 1999. Learning to read and write in Hebrew. In M. Harris & G. Hatano (Eds.), Learning to read and write: A cross linguistic perspective (pp. 89– 111). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Shatil E., Share D. C., & Levin I. 2000. On the contribution of kindergarten writing to grade 1 literacy: A longitudinal study in Hebrew. Applied Psycholinguistics, 21, 1– 21.Google Scholar
Sulzby E., Barnhart J., & Hieshima J. 1989. Forms of writing and rereading from writing: A preliminary report. In J. Mason (Ed.), Reading–writing collection (pp. 31– 63). Neeham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Tolchinsky–Landsmann L., & Levin I. 1985. Writing in preschoolers: An age-related analysis. Applied Psycholinguistics, 6, 319– 339.Google Scholar
Treiman R., & Broderick V. 1998. What's in a name? Children's knowledge about the letters in their own names. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 70, 97– 116.Google Scholar
Treiman R., & Kessler B. 2003. The role of letter names in the acquisition of literacy. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 31, 105– 135.Google Scholar
Treiman R., Kessler B., & Bourassa D. 2001. Children's own names influence their spelling. Applied Psycholinguistics, 22, 555– 570.Google Scholar
Treiman R., Tincoff R., & Richmond–Welty E. D. 1997. Beyond zebra: Preschoolers' knowledge about letters. Applied Psycholinguistics, 18, 391– 409.Google Scholar
Villaume S. K., & Wilson L. C. 1989. Preschool children's explorations of letters in their own names. Applied Psycholinguistics, 10, 283– 300.Google Scholar