The Role of Shared Reading in the Development of Phonological Awareness: A Longitudinal Study of Middle to Upper Class Children

Many researchers and educators have assumed that variability in the home literacy environment above that which is thought to be adequate for normal reading development will not have an effect on individual differences in reading development. In order to test this assumption, 97 fourand five‐year old children identified to be from homes likely to provide an advantaged HLE were followed for one year. Results from hierarchical regression indicated that variability in shared reading interactions was significantly related to growth in phonological awareness even after accounting for the effects of age, oral language, and phonological awareness at time one. Support for cumulative exposure as an important aspect of the HLE was also found.