Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Piasta, Shayne B.
Author's Email Address	piasta@psy.fsu.edu
URN	etd-06052008-134726
Title	Developing Emergent Literacy Skills: The Impact of Alphabet Instruction
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy
Department	Psychology, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Richard K. Wagner Committee Chair Carol McDonald Connor Committee Member Christopher J. Lonigan Committee Member Christopher Schatschneider Committee Member Mark H. Licht Committee Member
Keywords	Emergent Reading Letters Phonological Awareness Literacy Sounds Preschool Training Alphabet
Date of Defense	2008-05-14
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract Small group instruction was provided to preschool children (n = 58) to examine (1) potential benefits of systematic alphabet instruction as compared to typical preschool instruction, (2) the letter name-to-sound facilitation effect, (3) causal relations between alphabet knowledge and emergent literacy skill development, and (4) the influence of phonological processing abilities on alphabet knowledge development. Children were randomly assigned to receive letter name and sound training, letter sound training only, or numeracy training (serving as a treated control). Thirty-four 15 minute lessons were provided. Results suggest benefits of combined letter name and sound instruction in promoting children’s letter sound acquisition, possibly due to letter name-to-sound facilitation. Benefits did not generalize to other emergent literacy skills.
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