Head Start (2016 - 2017)

Three-Year-Old Head Start Students’ Alphabetic Knowledge Study

Head Start - Preschool 3 year olds

This study was conducted using 188 Head Start three-year-olds enrolled in the 2014-2015, 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 school years. All enrolled students participated in the study regardless of ability or language. All students attended the half-day Audubon Head Start/Preschool in Ohio County School District, Hartford, Kentucky. Because many children in this Program live in rural areas, some did not attend their schools with regularity. Demographics

AN INDEPENDENT RESEARCH STUDY

Ethnicity

Grade Level Population Boys/Girls Assessment Instrument Reduced-cost Lunch ELL

Preschool 188 56 % / 44 % Z-BRA3 100% 1%

% 2 1 90

African American Asian Caucasian Latino/Hispanic Other

7 0

Methodology and Test Instrument Students were assessed using the Zoo-phonics Beginning Reading Assessment, Version 3 (Z-BRA3) in the first two weeks of school, at mid-term in January, and at the end-of-the-school year, in late May. Teachers, aides, and principals agreed to use the Zoo-phonics Multisensory Language Arts Program with fidelity. Children were asked to identify lowercase letters by letter shape and name, letter sound, the Zoo-phonics Allit- erative Animal Names and Body Signals. Uppercase letters and letter names are not taught to this age-group and capital letters were not tested at this time.

3 year olds

# of Letters

Head Start - Preschool Letter Names Letter Sounds Animal Names Body Signals Pre-Test Mid-Term Year-End

Figure 1. Lowercase Alphabetic Proficiency for 3-Year-Old Preschoolers

Analysis

A General Linear Model with Repeated Measures was used to deter- mine proficiency levels and gains between assessment periods for all cohorts. The significance level for all tests was set at p≤.05. - Descriptive statistics were used to compare proficiency levels within each cohort and subsequently disaggregated into gender groups. - T-tests were used to measure the differences between pre- and post-mean scores for each variable. - Data from two school years and within each cohort were aggregated.

AN INDEPENDENT RESEARCH STUDY

Head Start - Preschool

Findings Three-year-olds were initially taught lowercase letter shapes and sounds through a lowercase Animal Alphabet (animals directly drawn in the shapes of the lowercase letters), Alliterative Animal Names, and Body Signals (movement). Letter names and capital letters are not emphasized for this age-group in the Zoo-phonics instruction because the letter names may interfere with learning the letter sounds (letter names are sounds, also). Zoo-phonics focuses on lowercase letter shapes and sounds first be- cause they are used 95% of the time in text and speech. As evidenced in Figure 1, students showed significant gains of 14 to 16 letters in lowercase letter shapes and sounds, Alliterative Animal Names and Body Signals. Eight letter names were also learned by the end of the year. Significant growth occurred in each skill throughout the year, especially between the pre-test and the mid-year test in January. This early proficiency allowed 3-year-olds to learn more advanced phone- mic awareness skills, such identifying initial, medial and ending sounds in words, etc. Conclusion We concluded that the use of the Zoo-phonics Multisensory Language Arts Program jumpstarts the alphabet for preschool children and prepares them for kindergarten. This study demonstrates that alphabetic acquisition happens much earlier than generally expected of three-year-olds and does it through play, music, stories, drama, and purposeful movement.

3 year olds

For more information view the full study at: http://www.zoo-phonics.com/research

Four-Year-Old Head Start Students’ Alphabetic Knowledge – Half-Day Program

Head Start - Preschool 4 year olds

A cohort of 538 four-year-old preschoolers who attended the Audubon Head Start/Pre- school Program in Ohio County School District, Hartford, Kentucky were used in this study. Students attended half-day classes between two and five days a week and attended the Head Start/Preschool Program during the 2014-2015, 2015-2016 and 2016-17 school years. Because many children in this Program live in rural areas, some did not attend their schools with regularity.

AN INDEPENDENT RESEARCH STUDY

Demographics

Ethnicity

Grade Level Population Boys/Girls Assessment Instrument Reduced-cost Lunch ELL

Preschool 538 52 % / 48 % Z-BRA3 100% 1%

% 2 1 90

African American Asian Caucasian Latino/Hispanic Other

7 0

Methodology and Test Instrument Teachers conducted the pre-test during the first two weeks of school (September). Additional assessments were conducted at mid-term in January and at the end-of-the-school-year in late May. Students were assessed on alphabetic knowledge of lower- and uppercase letters (letter shapes, names, and sounds, Alliterative Animal Names and Body Signals). All students enrolled in the Head Start/Preschool Program were included in the study. Teachers, aides, and principals agreed to use the Zoo-phonics Multisensory Language Arts Program with fidelity.

4 year olds

# of Letters

Letter Names

Letter Sounds

Animal Names

Body Signals

Letter Names

Letter Sounds

Animal Names

Body Signals

Lowercase

Uppercase

Pre-Test Head Start - Preschool Mid-Term Year-End Figure 1. Lowercase and Uppercase Alphabetic Proficiency for 4 Year Old, Half-day Preschoolers

Analysis

A General Linear Model with Repeated Measures was used to determine proficiency levels and gains between assessment periods for all cohorts. The significance level for all tests was set at p ≤.05. - Descriptive statistics were used to compare proficiency levels within each cohort and subsequently disaggregated into gender groups. - T-tests were used to measure the differences between pre- and post-mean scores for each variable. Gains are reported by cohort and related gender groups. - Data from three school years were aggregated for analysis.

AN INDEPENDENT RESEARCH STUDY

Head Start - Preschool

Findings Significant growth occurred initially in lowercase letter names, sounds, Alliterative Animal Names and Body Signals, and, later in the year, in uppercase letter skills. The mean scores for lowercase letter sounds, Alliterative Animal Names and Body Signals showed a significant increase of about 15 letters by the end of the school year. Letter names also showed a significant increase of about 11 letters. In Zoo-phonics, lowercase letter shapes and sounds were stressed over letter names and uppercase letters because lowercase letters are used 95% of the time in text. Sounds are needed for sound blending, segmenting, reading, spelling and writing. The uppercase alphabet was introduced subsequent to near-mastery of the lowercase alphabet. Students gained an average of about 17 uppercase letters in sounds, Alliterative Animal Names and Body Signals during the course of the year. Student scores were notably stronger each successive year because of improved teacher proficiency and the large inclusion of students who received Zoo-phonics as three-year-olds in their preschool Head Start Program. The preschool students in this study showed strong growth in the alphabetic domain, demonstrating that the let- ter shapes and sounds of the lowercase alphabet can be learned easily and quickly, even in a half-day program. Strong associations among letter sounds, Alliterative Animal Names and Body Signals provided a consistent base for rapid recall and strategies for early reading without a total reliance on letter name-sound memorization, as is taught in other programs. Acquiring alphabetic knowledge prepared preschool children for more advanced academic concepts earlier, preparing them for kindergarten. These concepts included initial, ending and medial sounds, rhyming, sound segmenting and blending, reading of words, and word building. Conclusion We concluded that the use of the Zoo-phonics Multisensory Language Arts Program in a half-day preschool program (including Head Start students) resulted in strong and rapid learning of the alphabet for all children. Significantly, students also gained skills including sound blending, segmenting and early reading at an earlier age than offered through many traditional preschool programs. This study demonstrated that all children can learn the lowercase and uppercase alphabets quickly and easily in a fun, novel, playful and physical way.

4 year olds

For more information view the full study at: http://www.zoo-phonics.com/research