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This study aimed to describe 1-year changes in students' vocabulary in written narratives. Secondary aims included examination of accuracy and the relationship between lexical diversity and achievement. Participants included 749 students in first through eighth grades. Within-subjects 1-year change in diversity, productivity, and accuracy was examined across time points by grades. Findings indicated there was significant change in lexical diversity in early elementary grades with decreases in the proportion of spelling errors. There was significant change in the proportion of different words to total words in upper grades. Students' lexical diversity was moderately related to performance on standardized measures of achievement. Findings support the use of lexical measures as a tool to examine and describe written language growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Reading attitudes are recognised as an influencing factor on the language and literacy achievement of school age monolingual English-speaking children. The relationship between reading attitudes and achievement in young Spanish-speaking English Learners (ELs) remains understudied. Purpose:The aim of the current study was to describe reading attitudes of young Spanish-speaking ELs and to examine the relationship between attitudes and language performance. Method:The investigators utilised the Elementary Reading Attitudes Survey (ERAS) with 204 participants: 100 ELs in kindergarten and 104 in first grade. Investigators administered standardised measures of language and literacy performance. Correlational analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between attitudes and performance on language assessments. Findings:Significant mean differences were observed between girls and boys, with girls showing more positive attitudes towards recreational reading. Phonological awareness skills showed a significant strong correlation with academic reading attitudes for children in kindergarten. Spanish receptive vocabulary showed significant positive correlation with reading attitudes. No significant grade differences were found in overall mean reading attitudes. Conclusions:Overall, students in both grades demonstrated generally positive attitudes towards reading, despite potential language barriers. Findings substantiate a positive relationship between reading attitudes and receptive vocabulary, and phonological awareness skills in young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]