A Comparison of Paired Kinesthetic Movements and With-in Stimulus Pictures on Literacy Skills Acquisition with Young Children.

Reading difficulties during childhood often continue during adulthood and result in adverse effects. Multisensory instructional programs, which use combinations of mnemonics, are commonly used to teach literacy skills. Experiments 1 and 2 compared the efficacy, generalization, and maintenance of and preference for a letter sound intervention with young children. Experiment 1 compared the effects of within-stimulus pictures to kinesthetic movements, both combined with a traditional drill (TD) flashcard method, on letter–sound acquisition using a single subject multielement design in seven children ages 4 to 5 years old. Letter–sound acquisition in these seven students was compared to matched control participants who did not experience the intervention. Experiment 2 compared the effects of kinesthetic movements to pictures and movements, both combined with a TD flashcard method, on letter–sound acquisition using a single subject multielement design in three children ages 3 to 5 years old. In general, pairing letters with movements was the most efficacious method, but all interventions were more efficacious than no intervention. The number of letters correct during maintenance and generalization probes to more complex reading skills did not significantly differ between interventions in either experiment. Nevertheless, there was a significant difference between intervention and probe-only conditions on generalization effects. Efficacy of the intervention did not correspond with preference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]