International Journal of Elementary Education

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Reading Rocks Junior: An Exploratory Study of an Emergent Literacy Program for Children at-Risk for Learning Disabilities

Received: 28 November 2012    Accepted:     Published: 30 December 2012
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Abstract

This paper describes an exploratory study of an emergent literacy program offered by the Learning Disabilities Association of Niagara Region to support young vulnerable readers. The program was designed and offered in response to a community call to support vulnerable children and families. Twenty-three four- to six-year old children participated in the six-week twelve-session program. Children were referred to the program by their schools as they were demonstrating pre-reading skills that placed them at the bottom of their class. The aim of the program was to support children in their emergent literacy skills including phonological and print awareness as well as letter-sound understanding – all emergent literacy skills identified as significant predictors of later reading proficiency.The study adopted a pre- posttest design measuring children’s emergent literacy achievement. Results indicate that participating children statistically and clinically increased their literacy skills after participating in the Reading Rocks Junior Program. Research and applied implications of the results are presented.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20120101.11
Published in International Journal of Elementary Education (Volume 1, Issue 1, December 2012)
Page(s) 1-7
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

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Keywords

Emergent Literacy, Learning Disabilities, Vulnerable Children

References
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Author Information
  • Child and Youth Studies, Brock University, St.Catharines, ON, Canada

  • Child and Youth Studies, Brock University, St.Catharines, ON, Canada

  • Learning Disabilities Association of Niagara Region, St.Catharines, ON, Canada

  • Learning Disabilities Association of Niagara Region, St.Catharines, ON, Canada

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  • APA Style

    Sierra Holtzheuser, John McNamara, Ashley Short, Chantelle Keay. (2012). Reading Rocks Junior: An Exploratory Study of an Emergent Literacy Program for Children at-Risk for Learning Disabilities. International Journal of Elementary Education, 1(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20120101.11

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    ACS Style

    Sierra Holtzheuser; John McNamara; Ashley Short; Chantelle Keay. Reading Rocks Junior: An Exploratory Study of an Emergent Literacy Program for Children at-Risk for Learning Disabilities. Int. J. Elem. Educ. 2012, 1(1), 1-7. doi: 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20120101.11

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    AMA Style

    Sierra Holtzheuser, John McNamara, Ashley Short, Chantelle Keay. Reading Rocks Junior: An Exploratory Study of an Emergent Literacy Program for Children at-Risk for Learning Disabilities. Int J Elem Educ. 2012;1(1):1-7. doi: 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20120101.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijeedu.20120101.11,
      author = {Sierra Holtzheuser and John McNamara and Ashley Short and Chantelle Keay},
      title = {Reading Rocks Junior: An Exploratory Study of an Emergent Literacy Program for Children at-Risk for Learning Disabilities},
      journal = {International Journal of Elementary Education},
      volume = {1},
      number = {1},
      pages = {1-7},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijeedu.20120101.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20120101.11},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijeedu.20120101.11},
      abstract = {This paper describes an exploratory study of an emergent literacy program offered by the Learning Disabilities Association of Niagara Region to support young vulnerable readers. The program was designed and offered in response to a community call to support vulnerable children and families. Twenty-three four- to six-year old children participated in the six-week twelve-session program. Children were referred to the program by their schools as they were demonstrating pre-reading skills that placed them at the bottom of their class. The aim of the program was to support children in their emergent literacy skills including phonological and print awareness as well as letter-sound understanding – all emergent literacy skills identified as significant predictors of later reading proficiency.The study adopted a pre- posttest design measuring children’s emergent literacy achievement. Results indicate that participating children statistically and clinically increased their literacy skills after participating in the Reading Rocks Junior Program. Research and applied implications of the results are presented.},
     year = {2012}
    }
    

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    AB  - This paper describes an exploratory study of an emergent literacy program offered by the Learning Disabilities Association of Niagara Region to support young vulnerable readers. The program was designed and offered in response to a community call to support vulnerable children and families. Twenty-three four- to six-year old children participated in the six-week twelve-session program. Children were referred to the program by their schools as they were demonstrating pre-reading skills that placed them at the bottom of their class. The aim of the program was to support children in their emergent literacy skills including phonological and print awareness as well as letter-sound understanding – all emergent literacy skills identified as significant predictors of later reading proficiency.The study adopted a pre- posttest design measuring children’s emergent literacy achievement. Results indicate that participating children statistically and clinically increased their literacy skills after participating in the Reading Rocks Junior Program. Research and applied implications of the results are presented.
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