Richard Ely|Allyssa McCabe
The language play of kindergarten children
University of Massachusetts Lowell|Harvard University
play long hypothesized serve important social emotional cognitive functions although existence language play documented types functions language play naturalistic settings received scant attention study childrens classroom language play relationship measures literacy metalinguistic develop ment examined twenty kindergarten children observed audiotaped one hour following observation period children administered test early reading ability tera word definition task riddle explication task language play found 23 childrens utterances positively correlated riddle explication task childrens ability explicate riddles correlated positively tera scores young childrens language play represents important aspect metalinguistic literacy development