Letter-writing difficulty varies widely across letters, with O easiest and K hardest, and knowing the letter name raises per-letter probabilities substantially¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2014 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? For the full sample, letter O had the highest probability of correct writing (.89) and letter K the lowest (.10). → Puranik Cynthia S. 2014 q3 i? For 4-year-olds, 22 of 26 letters showed probability increases of 20% or more when the letter name was known. → Puranik Cynthia S. 2014 (2)

Evidence¶

Puranik Cynthia S. 2014¶

Puranik Cynthia S., Petscher Yaacov, Lonigan Christopher J. (2014). Learning to Write Letters: Examination of Student and Letter Factors. Journal of experimental child psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2014.07.009

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Random effects from Models 1 and 2 converted to per-letter predicted probabilities for the full sample and by age group; 5-year-olds ranged from .63 (Z) to .99 (O).

"Probabilities in Table 6 reveal a range of difficulty for the full sample, with the letter O having the highest likelihood of being written correctly (predicted probability = .89) and the letter K having the lowest probability of being written correctly (predicted probability = .10)."

Puranik Cynthia S. 2014 (2)¶

Puranik Cynthia S., Petscher Yaacov, Lonigan Christopher J. (2014). Learning to Write Letters: Examination of Student and Letter Factors. Journal of experimental child psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2014.07.009

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Conditional per-letter probabilities (Table 7) computed from Model 2 random effects, comparing children who knew versus did not know each letter's name; 23 letters showed 20%-or-more increases for 5-year-olds.

"Fully 22 of the 26 letters had increases of 20% or more in the predicted probability for 4-year-olds when the name of the letter was known."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Alphabet Knowledge and Print Awareness — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Letter-name knowledge strongly predicts correct letter writing, especially for 4- and 5-year-olds — related
• Letter-sound knowledge and phonological awareness are associated with letter writing, but much less strongly than letter-name knowledge — related
• Letter type, letter order, textual frequency, number of strokes, and symmetry did not substantially or consistently contribute to letter writing — related
• Vowels were easier for 3- and 4-year-olds to write than CV letters — related
• The first letter of the child's name was the only letter-level factor consistently associated with correct letter writing — related