Vocabulary is uniquely and positively related to word reading and spelling in kindergartners after accounting for phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge fluency, and letter writing automaticity¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associationalr2·q3
Currency · newest study 2013 · checked against its sources 2026-10-18 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i? Vocabulary knowledge was uniquely and positively related to word reading (b = .16, p = .04) and spelling (b = .17, p = .05) once code-related skills were taken into consideration. → Kim 2013
Evidence¶
Kim 2013¶
Kim, Y.-S., Al Otaiba, S., Puranik, C., Sidler Folsom, J., & Gruelich, L. (2013). The contributions of vocabulary and letter writing automaticity to word reading and spelling for kindergartners. Reading and Writing. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-013-9440-9
q3 · i? · associational · r2
Structural equation modeling with 242 kindergartners tested unique relations of vocabulary to word reading and spelling; the model explained approximately .61 and .58 of total variance in word reading and spelling respectively. Standardized regression coefficients were small but significant; no effect size was printed.
"Vocabulary knowledge was also uniquely and positively related to word reading ( b = .16, p = .04) and spelling ( b = .17, p = .05) once phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge fluency, and letter writing automatic- ity were taken into consideration."
Discussion¶
Learner Variables¶
- Reading and Language — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
- Vocabulary — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
- Writing Skills — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
Related Claims¶
- A 1997 conference paper reports, citing Sticht, a positive correlation between preschool oral language skills and later reading achievement — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
- Letter writing automaticity is marginally related to spelling (b = .11, p = .06) but not uniquely related to word reading (b = -.07, p = .28) in kindergartners — related
- Phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge fluency are each uniquely related to both word reading and spelling in kindergartners — related
- Letter-writing fluency has a small unique concurrent relation to kindergarten compositional fluency but no significant relation to first-grade writing outcomes — related
- Children's expressive vocabulary is not uniquely related to either dimension of written composition after accounting for other variables — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
vocabulary-uniquely-related-word-reading-spelling-kindergarten |
title |
Vocabulary is uniquely and positively related to word reading and spelling in kindergartners after accounting for phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge fluency, and letter writing automaticity |
description |
Vocabulary is uniquely and positively related to word reading and spelling in kindergartners after accounting for phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge fluency, and letter writing automaticity |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2013 |
source_checked |
2026-10-18 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-07 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — kim-2013 |
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