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Acquisition of initial mental graphemic representations by children at risk for literacy development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2011

KENN APEL ,
SHURITA THOMAS-TATE ,
ELIZABETH B. WILSON-FOWLER  and
DANIELLE BRIMO
KENN APEL*
Affiliation:
Florida State University
SHURITA THOMAS-TATE
Affiliation:
Florida State University
ELIZABETH B. WILSON-FOWLER
Affiliation:
Florida State University
DANIELLE BRIMO
Affiliation:
Florida State University
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Kenn Apel, School of Communication Science and Disorders, Florida State University, 127 Honors Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

We examined the acquisition of initial mental graphemic representations (MGRs) by 46 kindergarten children (mean age = 5 years, 9 months) at risk for literacy development because of low socioeconomic status. Using a storybook context, we exposed children to novel nonwords that varied in their phonotactic and orthotactic probabilities and then assessed the children's development of initial MGRs through spelling and reading recognition tasks. The children developed some initial MGRs but less than past reports of children from middle socioeconomic status backgrounds. Children with more advanced word recognition abilities developed more initial MGRs than their peers with less advanced word recognition skills. Like previous reports, the words' linguistic properties affected initial MGR acquisition and MGR acquisition ability predicted reading and spelling achievement above other known predictors. The results speak to the importance of increasing the print and orthographic knowledge of children at-risk for adequate literacy development.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 33 , Issue 2 , April 2012 , pp. 365 - 391
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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