Abstract
The first goal of this study was to examine young children's developing narrative comprehension abilities using theory-based, authentic measures of comprehension processes. The second goal was to examine the relations among young children's comprehension abilities and other early reading skills. Children ages 4 and 6 listened to or watched two authentic narratives. We measured their comprehension of these narratives as well as vocabulary and skills associated with word decoding. The results revealed that even the younger children were sensitive to the underlying structure of the narratives and that this sensitivity increased with age. Measures of narrative comprehension were not consistently correlated with skills associated with word decoding, such as phonological awareness. The results are discussed in terms of theoretical models of comprehension and of reading development. Practical implications of the findings are also explored.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 327-365 |
| Number of pages | 39 |
| Journal | Reading Psychology |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 2008 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported by grants from the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA); the Center for Cognitive Sciences, University of Minnesota; and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD-07151). Paul van den Broek received support through the Golestan and Lorentz fellowships from The Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study and from the Guy Bond Endowment for Reading Research, University of Minnesota.
