{"id":2490,"date":"2018-10-29T14:13:15","date_gmt":"2018-10-29T18:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/healthsciences\/writeonnc\/?page_id=2490"},"modified":"2025-08-13T11:38:33","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T15:38:33","slug":"preschool-writing-project","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/healthsciences\/writeonnc\/preschool-writing-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Preschool Writing Project"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Preschool Writing Project: July 2017 \u2013 June 2021<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

An Examination of Response to Intervention in the Early Writing Skills of At-Risk Preschoolers<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. Department of Education, Institute for Education Sciences<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0R305A170529<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Newsletters<\/span><\/h2>\n
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\nWrite On, 2019 PDF<\/a><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
\nWrite On, 2020 PDF<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Information<\/span><\/h2><\/h1>\n
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Who participated?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Children who attended Head Start centers in two local counties participated in the project. They enrolled two years prior to entering kindergarten and participated for up to 3 years.<\/p>\n

What are we investigating?<\/span><\/h2>\n

The primary purpose of this project was to establish a stronger scientific foundation for educational practice within early literacy by utilizing recent advances in cognitive science and neuroscience to examine:<\/p>\n

(1) the impact of an established empirically supported intervention (Phonological Awareness+Letter Knowledge: PA+LK) on the developmental trajectories of writing skills in preschool children susceptible to early learning difficulties;<\/p>\n

(2) whether improvements in selected cognitive abilities (i.e., fine-motor, language-based functions), but not others (i.e., executive functions) mediate the effects of treatment on writing outcomes; and,<\/p>\n

(3) whether treatment is moderated by child (cognitive ability) or contextual (home and classroom literacy environment) factors.<\/p>\n

Want to learn more?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Meet the Team<\/a>\u00a0, check out our\u00a0Publications,<\/a>\u00a0or Contact Us<\/a> for more information.<\/div>\n

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Summary<\/span><\/h3>\n
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\"PreschoolWe provided instruction using the empirically supported lesson plans from the PA+LK approach, beginning at age 3, with preschoolers who were deemed typically developing or susceptible to challenges with literacy. The children at risk were randomly assigned to either a no-treatment group or a treatment group. The treatment group participated in evidence-based lessons targeted to improve emergent early literacy skills, for two consecutive years. The sessions focused on phonological awareness, developing letter knowledge, and print skills. The non-treatment groups participated in book-based reading and activities.<\/p>\n

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Frequently Asked Questions<\/span><\/h2><\/h1>\n
How long was the study?<\/strong><\/div>\n
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