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How Children Learn to Write Words


How Children Learn to Write Words

Hardback by Treiman, Rebecca (Burke and Elizabeth High Baker Professor of Child Development Psychology, Burke and Elizabeth High Baker Professor of Child Development Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, USA); Kessler, Brett (Associate Professor of Psychology, Associate Professor of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, USA)

How Children Learn to Write Words

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ISBN:
9780199907977
Publication Date:
29 May 2014
Language:
English
Publisher:
Oxford University Press Inc
Pages:
416 pages
Format:
Hardback
For delivery:
Estimated despatch 17 - 22 May 2024
How Children Learn to Write Words

Description

Writing allows people to convey information to others who are remote in time and space, vastly increasing the range over which people can cooperate and the amount they can learn. Mastering the writing system of one's language is crucial for success in a modern society. This book examines how children learn to write words. It provides a theoretical framework that integrates findings from a wide range of age groups--from children who are producing their first scribbles to experienced spellers who are writing complex words. To set the stage for these discussions, early chapters of the book consider the nature of writing systems and the nature of learning itself. The following chapters review various aspects of orthographic development, including the learning of symbol shapes and punctuation. Each chapter reviews research with learners of a variety of languages and writing systems, revealing underlying similarities. Discussions of how orthography is and should be taught are incorporated into each chapter, making the book of interest to educators as well as to psychologists, cognitive scientists, and linguists. This book is unique in the range of topics and languages that it covers and the degree to which it integrates linguistic insights about the nature of writing systems with discussions of how people learn to use these systems. It is written in a scholarly yet accessible manner, making it suited for a wide audience.

Contents

Contents ; Preface ; Symbols and Abbreviations ; Abbreviations ; General Symbols ; Phonetic Symbols ; 1 Introduction ; 1.1 Writing as a Tool ; 1.2 Orthographic Knowledge as a Part of Writing ; 1.2.1 Cognitive Resources and Technical Tools ; 1.2.2 Social Implications of Nonstandard Spelling ; 1.3 How Can Orthographic Knowledge Be Achieved? ; 1.3.1 Discovery Learning and the Whole-Language Approach ; 1.3.2 Direct Instruction and the Phonics Approach ; 1.4 Spelling and Reading ; 1.5 Orthographic Reform ; 1.6 Past Work on Writing Systems and How They Are Learned ; 1.7 Our Approach ; 2 Writing Systems ; 2.1 Outer Form of Scripts ; 2.2 What Writing Systems Represent ; 2.2.1 Representing Ideas: Semasiography ; 2.2.2 Representing Speech: Glottographic Writing ; 2.2.2.1 Representing Words and Morphemes: Logography ; 2.2.2.2 Representing Syllables: Syllabary ; 2.2.2.3 Representing Phonemes: Alphabetic Writing ; 2.2.2.4 Representing Subphonemic Features: Featural Writing ; 2.2.2.5 Mixed Writing Systems ; 2.3 How Writing Represents Meaning ; 2.3.1 How Semasiographies Represent Meaning ; 2.3.2 How Glottographies Represent Meaning ; 2.4 Composition of Characters ; 2.4.1 Composing Semasiograms ; 2.4.2 Composing Logograms ; 2.4.3 Composing Letters ; 2.5 Underrepresentation ; 2.6 Arranging Multiple Characters ; 2.6.1 Lines and Pages of Text ; 2.6.2 Grouping of Characters ; 2.7 Conservatism in Writing ; 2.8 Sound Change and its Effects on Writing ; 2.8.1 Types of Sound Change ; 2.8.2 Effects of Sound Change on Writing ; 2.9 Which Language Do We Write? ; 2.10 Conclusions ; 3 Learning and Teaching ; 3.1 Statistical Learning ; 3.2 Learning through Language ; 3.3 Implicit and Explicit Knowledge ; 3.4 Learning of Language and Learning About Language ; 3.5 Formal and Informal Teaching ; 3.6 Conclusions ; 4 Theories ; 4.1 Rote Memorization ; 4.2 Dual-Route Theory ; 4.3 Constructivism ; 4.4 Phase Theory ; 4.5 Connectionist Theories ; 4.6 IMP ; 4.7 Methods of Testing the Theories ; 4.8 Conclusions ; 5 Graphic Form ; 5.1 Surface Properties of Writing ; 5.2 Learning About the Surface Properties of Writing ; 5.2.1 Artificiality and Two-Dimensionality ; 5.2.2 Iconicity ; 5.2.3 Sequentiality and Directionality ; 5.2.4 Knowledge About Units ; 5.2.5 Differences Among Types of Writing ; 5.2.6 Differentiating Writing From Pictures and Numbers ; 5.2.7 Summary ; 5.3 Theories ; 5.4 Teaching ; 5.5 Conclusions ; 6 Symbolic Function ; 6.1 Learning That Writing Stands for Something Outside Itself ; 6.2 Learning What Writing Stands For and How ; 6.3 Theories ; 6.4 Conclusions ; 7 The Order of the Alphabet ; 7.1 Principles in Ordering ; 7.1.1 Arbitrary Ordering ; 7.1.2 Principled Ordering ; 7.1.2.1 Deletions ; 7.1.2.2 Insertions ; 7.1.2.3 Reordering ; 7.1.2.4 Other Scripts ; 7.2 When and How Children Learn About Alphabet Order ; 7.2.1 Oral Methods ; 7.2.2 Alphabet Books ; 7.2.3 Learning About Alphabet Order at School ; 7.3 How Does Knowledge of Alphabet Order Influence Children? ; 7.4 Conclusions ; 8 Symbol Shapes ; 8.1 Principles That Underlie Systems of Symbol Shapes ; 8.1.1 Economy ; 8.1.2 Conservatism ; 8.1.3 Beauty ; 8.1.4 Expressiveness ; 8.1.5 Similarity ; 8.1.6 Contrast ; 8.1.7 Redundancy ; 8.1.8 Summary of the Principles That Underlie Systems of Symbol Shapes ; 8.2 Learning and Use of Shapes as Graphic Objects ; 8.2.1 Learning About the Similarities Among the Shapes of Writing ; 8.2.2 Learning About Contrasts Among the Shapes of Writing ; 8.2.3 Production ; 8.2.4 Learning Variant Forms of Shapes ; 8.3 Nonarbitrary Links Between Symbol Shapes and Functions ; 8.4 Formal and Informal Teaching ; 8.5 Theories ; 8.6 Conclusions ; 9 Letter Names ; 9.1 Principles That Underlie Systems of Letter Names ; 9.1.1 Phonetic Iconicity ; 9.1.2 Legality ; 9.1.3 Similarity ; 9.1.4 Contrast ; 9.1.5 Economy ; 9.1.6 Conservatism ; 9.1.7 Other Principles ; 9.1.8 Summary of Principles That Underlie Systems of Letter Names ; 9.2 Learning the Phonological Forms of Letter Names ; 9.3 Do Children Benefit From the Phonetic Iconicity of Letter Names? ; 9.4 Should Children Learn Letter Names? ; 9.5 Names of Auxiliary Marks ; 9.6 Theories ; 9.7 Conclusions ; 10 Early Spelling in Phonographic Writing Systems ; 10.1 Do Beginners Spell Using One Symbol for Each Syllable? ; 10.2 Letter Names and Early Spelling ; 10.2.1 Spellings With Whole Letter Names ; 10.2.2 Partial and Inexact Matches to Letter Names ; 10.2.3 Conclusions About Letter Name Spellings ; 10.3 Other Labels ; 10.4 Phonological Analysis and Classification ; 10.4.1 Consonant Cluster Onsets ; 10.4.2 One Versus Two Sounds ; 10.4.3 Final Consonant Clusters ; 10.4.4 Other Ambiguities Involving Phonemes ; 10.4.5 Suprasegmental Features ; 10.5 Beyond Phonology ; 10.6 Teaching ; 10.7 Conclusions ; 11 Complex Spellings ; 11.1 Beyond the Regular Word Versus Exception Word Dichotomy ; 11.2 Conditioning by Neighboring Segments ; 11.2.1 Coda-to-Vowel Conditioning ; 11.2.2 Onset-to-Vowel Conditioning ; 11.2.3 Vowel-to-Onset Conditioning ; 11.2.4 Vowel-to-Coda Conditioning ; 11.2.5 Do Rimes Have a Special Status? ; 11.2.6 Extended Spellings of Intervocalic Consonants ; 11.2.7 Summary of Results on Conditioning by Neighboring Segments ; 11.3 Conditioning by Position ; 11.4 Conditioning by Stress ; 11.5 Conditioning by Morphology ; 11.5.1 Influences of Morphology on Spelling ; 11.5.2 Summary of Results on Morphological Conditioning ; 11.6 Other Types of Conditioning ; 11.7 Unconditioned Inconsistencies ; 11.8 Other Complexities ; 11.8.1 Homographs ; 11.8.2 Words With More Letters Than Phonemes ; 11.8.3 Additional Complexities ; 11.9 Summary of Findings on Learning of Complex Patterns ; 11.10 Teaching ; 11.11 Conclusions ; 12 Punctuation and Capitalization ; 12.1 Punctuation ; 12.1.1 Punctuation Marks ; 12.1.2 Word Separation ; 12.2 Capitalization ; 12.3 Teaching ; 12.4 Conclusions ; 13 Conclusions and Extensions ; 13.1 Evaluation of Theories of the Learning of Orthography ; 13.2 Broader Influences of Knowledge About Writing ; 13.2.1 Influences on Reading ; 13.2.2 Influences on Language ; 13.2.3 Influences Outside of Language ; 13.2.4 Summary of Writing's Influences ; 13.3 Instruction About Orthography ; 13.3.1 Teach Patterns ; 13.3.2 Include Activities That Focus Attention on Writing Itself ; 13.3.3 Provide Feedback After Errors ; 13.3.4 Don't Assume Too Much ; 13.3.5 Teach Teachers as Well as Children ; 13.3.6 It's Just Orthography ; 13.4 Assessing Children's Spelling ; 13.5 Differences Between Children ; 13.6 Final Words ; References

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