Development of Reading and Spelling Finnish From Preschool to Grade 1 and Grade 2

This study had two aims: first, to investigate how emerging reading and spelling are interlinked when children move up from preschool to primary school and, second, to examine the antecedents of these skills. The study is part of the Jyvaskyla Entrance into Primary School Study in which 196 children 5 to 6 years of age were followed up every half a year during their transition from preschool to Grade 1 and Grade 2. The results show, first, that reading skills at the end of preschool and Grade 1 predicted subsequent spelling skills and, second, that the level of spelling skills at the beginning of preschool predicted the level of reading skills at the end of the preschool year and at the end of Grade 1. These results suggest that emerging reading and spelling form a recursive developmental pattern. The results show further that phonological awareness predicts reading and spelling in preschool, whereas letter knowledge contributes to both skills during Grade 1.