This unique book presents a fouryear longitudinal study of the literacydevelopment of children attending an Austin Texas area elementary school. Thereading and ... » 

This unique book presents a fouryear longitudinal study of the literacydevelopment of children attending an Austin Texas area elementary school. Thereading and writing development of this microcosm of quotatriskquotchildren was followed as they progressed from first through fourth grade. Theauthor poses the question quotWhat skills and abilities of the child andwhat classroom factors appear to foster literacy development?quot Includedhere are the authors models of reading and writing acquisition andapplication of these models to six children three with literacy problems andthree with successful literacy development. Interviews with the children arepresented along with measures of their cognitive development and skillssamples of their reading and writing from and throughout the four year studyand an examination of their successes and failures in relations to the modelspresented in earlier chapters. Additionally one chapter examines schoolrelated factors that may play a role in the childrens reading development. Thebook is intended for graduate students at all levels and literacy researcherswho are interested in the process of literacy acquisition as it occurs in theschool setting. «