The impact of a writing programme on reading acquisition of atrisk first grade children

Abstract

Our aim was to assess the impact of a writing programme on the reading acquisition of first graders considered at-risk of developing reading difficulties. Eighteen children from six classrooms of three primary schools attended this programme. Their results on literacy tests at the end of the first trimester were very low when compared to those of the remaining 91 children attending the same classrooms. This programme, based on a socio-constructive approach, had 12 sessions. In each session, children were asked to discuss the writing of words and sentences until they reached an agreement. The adult's role was to guide and question children along their process of discovery and reflection. The dynamics that occurred during the sessions and the adult's help (scaffolding) were characterized. At the end of the programme, children who underwent the intervention reached similar reading results as the remaining children in the classrooms.