A study expands positive evidence for a new screening tool that directly engages preschool children during clinic visits to assess their early literacy skills. The tool, called The Reading House (TRH), is the first of its kind. It has the potential to identify reading difficulties as early as possible, according to researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
TRH is an assessment developed by John Hutton and his team for kids aged from 3 to 5. Screening takes just about five minutes and assesses performance levels for kids aged from 3 to 5. It addresses a significant gap in ways to screen early literacy skills efficiently and directly. The tool, which is fun for kids, could be used in places like primary care or preschool settings. The screening measures core skills typically appearing in the preschool age range, including vocabulary, rhyming, alphabet knowledge and print concepts. All are skills predictive of reading success and often associated with reading difficulties.
The study involved 70 healthy children – 34 boys and 36 girls---between 3 and 5 years old from various socioeconomic background. The children completed standardized tests of important literacy skills: vocabulary, rhyming arid rapid automatized naming. Fifty-two of these children also successfully completed MRI (磁共振成像), including the measurement of the gray matter surface of their brains. The thicker cortex (皮质), particularly in left-sided areas supporting language and reading, has been associated with higher skills that are predictive of reading outcomes.
Many children arrive at kindergarten unprepared to learn to read, especially those from minority and economically poor backgrounds---estimated at over 50% of children from disadvantaged backgrounds in the U. S. and over 25% overall. “By screening early during clinic visits, we can target effective interventions that help these children better prepare for kindergarten and improve reading outcomes –literally, snaping thein brains to read. ” said Hutton.
【小题1】What might be the purpose of creating TRH?| A．To identify the best reading apps for kids. |
| B．To develop preschool kids' literacy skills. |
| C．To discover kids' reading problems early. |
| D．To study key factors in kids' development. |
| A．It lacks reliability. | B．It has operational advantages. |
| C．It covers a wider target group. | D．It's modelled after conventional tools. |
| A．Older children from minority groups. |
| B．Younger children from economically advanced areas. |
| C．Children with complex cortical patterns in their brains. |
| D．Children with the thicker cortex in the left-sided areas of their brains. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Favorable. | C．Uncertain. | D．Conservative. |
