article review 5

Predicting the integrated development of word reading and spelling in the early primary grades

The present longitudinal study examined the singular and integrated word reading and spelling development during the first two grades of Dutch primary education in relation to kindergarten precursor measures. Results show that both spelling and word reading development were highly stable and consistently autoregressive in nature. Both spelling and word reading development were best predicted by kindergarten measures of early literacy (i.e., phonemic awareness, grapheme-to-phoneme knowledge). Word reading development was additionally predicted by rapid naming. The integrated model for word reading and spelling development showed that reading and spelling were related, and that word reading level predicted subsequent spelling level in Grade 2 over and above the autoregressive prediction of spelling itself. The current study in the transparent Dutch orthography adds

to our knowledge on the integrated early reading and spelling development in orthographies other than the highly opaque English orthography, strengthening our knowledge about general underlying principles in literacy development.

the current study showed that word reading, spelling, and their determinants are closely linked to each other, already during the early phases of literacy development. Our results show that word reading and spelling are related, and that word reading is supportive for the prediction of subsequent spelling development in Grade 2. Not considering writing development in literacy research and education is at the expense of complete understanding of literacy development.