A b s t r a c t This thesis is a part of the project concerning risk factors of manifestation of specific learning disabilities in children at risk of dyslexia. Specifically, it deals with the development of morphology in children with family history of specific learning disabilities. Children in preschool and early school age have been repeatedly within three years tested with a diagnostic tool called Test of morphological awareness based on the Test of language (Žlab, 1992). The aim of the study was to map the development of several sub-areas of morphological skills (gender forms, plural nouns, past tense and 3rd person singular verb, adjectives derivation and grammatical agreement). Several issues were concerned. First, whether the development of children in this age group is still ongoing and so if the performance is improving. Second, whether there are differences in the development of children from an intact group (with normal speech development) and a risk group (children from families where at least one parent has suffered from specific learning disabilities). Third, whether is the development influenced by intelligence or sex. Performance of children was also assessed qualitatively with respect to specific language features included in the monitored areas of morphology. The conclusions of each...

A b s t r a c t This thesis is based on two projects which follow one another and which deal with study of development of language and literacy skills in children at risk of dyslexia. The thesis describes the development of morphological awareness in children with specific language impairment. The level of morphological awareness was repeatedly tested during three years at children in preschool and early school age with the Test of morphological awareness. This method was prepared on the basis of Žlab's Test of language awareness (1992) and maps development of several subareas of morphological skills - gender forms, plural nouns, past tense and third person singular verb, adjective derivation and gramatical agreement. Several issues were concerned. First, whether the development of children in this age group is still ongoing and whether the Test of morphological awareness can measure this ongoing. Second, whether there are differences in the performance of children from normal speech development group (control group) and specific language impairment children group, where according to the disorder the morphological deficits can be expected. Qualitative analysis of observed subareas of morphology was also performed. The conclusions of analysis are discussed in the context of theoretical approaches, current...

xiii, 137 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Research suggests that development of the alphabetic principle is a critical factor in learning to recognize words and becoming a successful reader. The alphabetic principle encompasses both the understanding that relationships exist between letters and sounds and the application of these relationships to reading words. This study investigated the degree to which different measures of the alphabetic principle were predictive of later reading development. These measures were examined in the context of Ehri's phase theory of sight word development to investigate how different behaviors associated with the alphabetic principle fit within a developmental framework. Two cohorts of students (109 kindergarteners, 212 first graders) participated in this study from spring of 2007 until late fall of 2008 (58 second graders, 121 third graders). The predictive powers of single and combined measures of the alphabetic principle were analyzed using sequential regression. Results indicated that each measure explained significant between-student variation in performance on measures of word reading fluency, oral reading fluency (ORF), vocabulary, and reading comprehension. A measure of letter-sounds embedded in nonsense words appeared to have more utility for the prediction of reading outcomes than a measure of letter-sounds presented in isolation. Additionally, including a measure of nonsense words with a measure of letter-sounds embedded in nonsense words increased the predictive power of the model over and above the predictive power of letter sounds alone. Growth on ORF served as an additional criterion for the purpose of investigating the methodology of measuring growth. Two conceptualizations of growth were explored: raw score change over time and individual rates of growth over time (slope). Correlations and sequential regression were used to evaluate the relationship between raw score change and measures of the alphabetic principle. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) was used to model individual slopes on Lexile measures of ORF (LORF). In general, raw score change appeared largely unrelated to measures of the alphabetic principle. HLM analyses revealed that individual differences in slope on LORF were minimal and not very reliable, making the prediction of these differences difficult. Recommendations for future research and implications for practice are discussed. / Committee in charge: Roland Good, Chairperson, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Kenneth Merrell, Member, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Leanne Ketterlin Geller, Member, Educational Methodology, Policy, and Leadership; Jean Stockard, Outside Member, Planning Public Policy and Management

The thesis deals with predicting, as one of the basic reading strategies applied through out the reading lessons in primary school. The major objective of this study is to identify the main principles of successful application of this strategy in the field, in the terms of all three involving aspects: the teacher, the student and the text. The thesis consists of a theoretical and empirical part. The theoretical part defines the key principles of the mental process when the reader is making predictions. This part deals with the theoretical framework and analyzes related terms to that issue. The practical part presents gathered data from the action research that involves plans of model reading lessons aimed at the strategy of predicitng and my own teaching practice that has been finally reflected. The results of this research provide some support for teachers who decide to implement the strategy into their literature lessons. KEYWORDS didactics of literature, early literacy, reading literacy, reading strategies, reading comprehension, predicting, critical thinking

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