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Morning Message Time: An Exploratory Study in Head Start

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Abstract

This exploratory study examined the Morning Message, an activity that is widely practiced in many early childhood curricula but has almost no empirical data to support its effectiveness. In total, 7 Head Start teachers and the 59 four-year-old children in their classrooms participated in this study. Using a qualitative observation system, we examined Morning Message time in these classrooms, including teachers’ and children’s talk about these texts. Results revealed variation in both the messages that teachers wrote and their presentation and discussion of these texts with children. In addition, multilevel regressions revealed selective relations between Morning Message practices and children’s skills, with talk about letters linked to children’s letter learning over the Head Start year. This study fills a significant gap between practice (where Morning Message is increasingly accepted) and research (where virtually no data on this technique are available) and provides a coding system that can be used to collect more extensive information in the future.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Early Reading First Grant S359B060081 from the United States Department of Education to Temple University. Statements made in this article do not necessarily represent the views of the research sponsor. We gratefully acknowledge the participation of Head Start teachers, administration, and children and the literacy coaches. We also thank Ms. Amber Erhart and Ms. Mary Lou Heron for their support with the development and implementation of the coding system.

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Correspondence to Annemarie H. Hindman.

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Hindman, A.H., Wasik, B.A. Morning Message Time: An Exploratory Study in Head Start. Early Childhood Educ J 40, 275–283 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-011-0459-8

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