Children's Early Text Construction

Clotilde Pontecorvo, Margherita Orsolini, Lauren B. Resnick

• Contents: C. Pontecorvo, M. Orsolini, L.B. Resnick, Introduction. Part I:Written and Oral Forms in Children's Language.C. Pontecorvo, M. Orsolini, Writing and Written Language in Children's Development. E. Sulzby, Roles of Oral and Written Language as Children Approach Conventional Literacy. M.B.M. Abaurre, The Rhythms of Speech and Writing. M. Orsolini, P. Di Giacinto, Use of Referential Expressions in 4-Year-Old Children's Narratives: Invented Versus Recalled Stories. C. Zucchermaglio, N. Scheuer, Children Dictating a Story: Is Together Better? Part II:Writing as a System of Representation.L.T. Landsmann, Three Accounts of Literacy and the Role of the Environment. J-M. Besse, An Approach to Writing in Kindergarten. E. Ferreiro, C. Pontecorvo, C. Zucchermaglio, PIZZA or PIZA? How Children Interpret the Doubling of Letters in Writing. R. Simone, Reflections on the Comma. E. Ferreiro, C. Zucchermaglio, Children's Use of Punctuation Marks: The Case of Quoted Speech. Part III:Learning Different Uses of Written Language.P. Boscolo, The Use of Information in Expository Text Writing. C. Pontecorvo, R.M. Morani, Looking for Stylistic Features in Children Composing Stories: Products and Processes. A. Teberosky, Informative Texts of Young School Children. L. Tornatore, Uses of Written Language in Primary School: Codifying, Recording, and Interpreting. Part IV:Written Language in Educational Contexts.M.P. Formisano, Literacy in First Grade: Traditional and Experimental Situations. M.P. Conte, L.P. Rampelli, V. Volterra, Deaf Children and the Construction of Written Texts. W.H. Teale, M.G. Martinez, Reading Aloud to Young Children: Teachers' Reading Styles and Kindergartners' Text Comprehension. Y.M. Goodman, Readers' and Writers' Talk About Language.

"...would serve well as a means for researchers who are familiar with information-processing perspectives on children's writing....covers many topics....is worthy of consideration by anyone who wants to think seriously about how to study children's acquisition of literacy. Readers who are not familiar with the work of this volume's European coeditors and chapter authors will do well to learn what they have been doing."—Contemporary Psychology"...the 18 chapters offer a number of interesting methods of analyzing qualitative data....impressive scope in exploring different cultures, different types of written products, and different aspects of language and discourse."—American Journal of Psychology"Children's Early Text Construction explores 'the rich structure of meanings involved in the word text' and represents an important addition to our understandings about children becoming literate..."—Harvard Educational Review