| Abstract: | The discourse skills of 31 low-income and 30 middle-income kindergarten children (mean ages 5 yrs 2 mo and 5 yrs 4 mo) from the same classrooms were examined in 2 experiments. In each experiment a nonverbal demonstration of comprehension of the discourse material was assured before Ss were asked to express that same material verbally to another child. In Exp I, Ss were read stories that they acted out with props. When comprehension was assured they were asked to paraphrase the story to another. In Exp II, Ss were either shown or instructed verbally how to open an attractive box. When comprehension was assured they were asked to teach the "trick" to a blindfolded adult. Results from both experiments indicate that although it took the low-income Ss somewhat longer to comprehend the information, the greatest difference between the groups was in the ability to communicate information that they already knew. Low-income Ss produced less relevant information on both tasks, although this did not appear to be related to linguistic complexity or sheer output. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
