Study: preschool helps literacy skills

A study says prekindergarten teachers are doing a good job overall in teaching early literacy skills, but should focus more on vocabulary instruction and exercises that build self-control as part of a broader curriculum. This finding is based on assessment of a cohort Michigan 3- and 4-year-olds attending preschool. Michigan State researcher Lori Skibbe and colleagues are among the first to directly assess self-regulation in this age group. Researchers found children who spent two years in preschool did better in literacy skills: learning the alphabet and understanding how letters come together to form words.
Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 2011, Vocabulary, Self-Control Crucial in Early Literacy Skills, Study Says