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Differentiated instruction is a strategy for meeting the needs of diverse learners. In this article, we describe a differentiated instruction model and examine the effects on high-risk children. One hundred twenty-eight children and their teachers from 8 Head Start classrooms participated in the project. Teachers provided developmentally sequenced, tiered instruction primarily in small group formats. Children made gains on all areas assessed (vocabulary, emergent reading, alphabet knowledge, print concepts, phonological awareness, emergent math). A subgroup of higher risk children was defined as those who scored in the bottom 5th percentile on English vocabulary at the start of the school year. This higher risk group comprised 26% of the sample. Higher risk children made much larger gains on vocabulary over the course of the year than did their lower risk classmates and showed similar or slightly lower rates of change on other measures of early academic skills. Practical issues relating to the implementation of a differentiated instruction model are discussed. (Contains 2 tables and 3 figures.)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a preschool emergent literacy enrichment curriculum. Participants were 126 Head Start children, their teachers, and their parents. Matched centers were assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: experimental literacy, experimental math, or control. Teachers in both experimental groups implemented either literacy or math instruction in small groups on a daily basis, and parents and children completed supplementary learning activities at home. The control classroom implemented the ongoing Head Start curriculum. Children in the literacy condition showed the largest gains in phonemic awareness and emergent writing skills; they also made greater gains on emergent reading than did children in the math condition. There were no group differences on expressive vocabulary. Results are discussed in terms of curriculum design and practical issues involved in supporting preschools in the implementation of research-based instructional programs.

Underserved minority populations in the US Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI), Hawaii, and Alaska display disproportionate rates of childhood obesity. The region's unique circumstance should be taken into account when designing obesity prevention interventions. The purpose of this paper is to (a), describe the community engagement process (CEP) used by the Children's Healthy Living (CHL) Program for remote underserved minority populations in the USAPI, Hawaii, and Alaska (b) report community-identified priorities for an environmental intervention addressing early childhood (ages 2-8 years) obesity, and (c) share lessons learned in the CEP. Four communities in each of five CHL jurisdictions (Alaska, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Hawai'i) were selected to participate in the community-randomized matched-pair trial. Over 900 community members including parents, teachers, and community leaders participated in the CEP over a 14 month period. The CEP was used to identify environmental intervention priorities to address six behavioral outcomes: increasing fruit/vegetable consumption, water intake, physical activity and sleep; and decreasing screen time and intake of sugar sweetened beverages. Community members were engaged through Local Advisory Committees, key informant interviews and participatory community meetings. Community-identified priorities centered on policy development; role modeling; enhancing access to healthy food, clean water, and physical activity venues; and healthy living education. Through the CEP, CHL identified culturally appropriate priorities for intervention that were also consistent with the literature on effective obesity prevention practices. Results of the CEP will guide the CHL intervention design and implementation. The CHL CEP may serve as a model for other underserved minority island populations. Keywords Early childhood * Obesity prevention * Community-based * Pacific * Environment, Introduction Childhood obesity prevalence and its associated health complications have become a major national and global public health issue. Obese and overweight children are at risk for serious chronic illnesses [...]

Examined relationship between family literacy practices and mothers' beliefs about early reading instruction, and children's emergent literacy skills. Identified mothers with 'whole language' theories and mothers with phonics orientations. Found that mothers' implicit theories were associated with their modeling of literacy behaviors, helping their children write, and with children's independent exploration of writing and current levels of literacy skill. (Author/KB)

This study assessed the psychometric properties of an instrument designed to measure parents' beliefs about the goals and process of reading aloud to young children. 155 parents of children ages 2 to 5 years completed the Parent Reading Belief Inventory. The inventory's items formed a single factor with high scores reflecting beliefs consistent with current theories of language acquisition and emergent literacy. The inventory had acceptable internal consistency (coefficients alpha for the scales ranged from .50 to .85) and short-term test-retest reliability of .79. When parental education and income were controlled, inventory scores remained significantly correlated .36 with self-report measures of parents' own book-reading habits, .40 with children's interest in books, and .30 with children's exposure to joint book-reading activities. Scores also showed significant partial correlations with the observed frequency of parental questions (.65) and responsiveness to children's speech (.41) during bookreading sessions.

This study tests a model for conduct-related school failure in young adolescent boys. In this model, family characteristics and child antisocial behavior serve as predictors of school adjustment and academic performance. Ss were 206 youths and their families, followed from the 4th through 8th grades. Results indicated that low parental academic achievement was associated with ineffective discipline practices and child antisocial behavior in the 6th grade. Ineffective discipline had a direct and negative effect on boys' 7th-grade academic engagement. Boys' academic engagement, in turn, had a direct and positive effect on 8th-grade academic achievement. A smaller direct effect of parental achievement on child achievement was also found. Results are discussed in terms of research on parental influence on academic success and life span models of the development of antisocial behavior.

Investigates the role of intraverbal learning (a process through which semantic knowledge is acquired from purely linguistic information) in preschool children's acquisition of semantic concepts. Shows that the relative effectiveness of pictorial and intraverbal information depends on the child's age, the type of information supplied, and the manner in which comprehension is assessed. (HOD)

There is a well-documented relationship between behavior problems and preschool language disorders. In a recent study of 142 speech and language disordered children, almost 50 percent had psychiatric disorders, compared with 12 percent in the control group. In another study of 200 children with language delay, 53 percent were diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. Diagnosed psychiatric problems were found to be more prevalent among children with pure language disorders than those with pure speech or mixed speech and language disorders. Expressive language disorder (ELD) is a delay in expressive (speaking) rather than receptive (comprehension) language and nonverbal cognitive skills. This study contrasted 34 two-year-old ELD children with a similar group of normally developing children, to best examine links between language and behavior. Parent-child interactions were also observed because parental and teacher reports are subjective and not a pure source of behavioral assessment. The results showed significant group differences in two of the six behaviors evaluated: ELD children were often fearful or shy in new situations, and had more problems related to bedtime. The ELD group also expressed a higher rate of negative behaviors such as crying, screaming, hitting, and throwing toys. It was also observed that mothers of ELD children were more likely to use physical discipline, and mothers of non-ELD children engaged more often in conversation about things other than tasks. Parents of ELD children have previously been found to adjust their habits in speaking to the child on the basis of the child's ability to express himself rather than his ability to comprehend. The parents of the ELD children also rated their child's physical, intellectual, and emotional characteristics as less acceptable. The only other significant finding was a higher number of ear infections in the ELD children's medical histories than in the non-ELD group. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

The article features the Children's Healthy Living Program for Remote Underserved Minority Populations of the Pacific Region (CHL), a partnership among land grant colleges in the U.S. Affiliated Pacific region. The program responds to the high prevalence of non-communicable chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease and cancer. The objectives of the CHL include: to train health professionals and paraprofessionals and to incur at least one obesity prevention policy change.