tive—the idea that minority children are inherently
deficient or pathologic in some way—toward adopt-
ing race-homogenous frameworks, looking at within-
ethnic-group variability, and the particular influence
of the cultural context. A focus on intragroup and cul-
tural differences rather than racial differences has
more potential explanatory power for behavior and
developmental processes. This movement has the po-
tential to decrease the perpetuation of traditional no-
tions of racial categories and subsequent stereotyping
and racism, might legitimize race as a scientifically
valid variable in behavioral research, and may lead to
a meaningful recognition of social, economic, and
cultural factors that contribute to differences in chil-
dren’s behavior and development.
See also: AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHILDREN; ASIAN-
AMERICAN CHILDREN; HISPANIC CHILDREN;
SOCIAL CLASS
Bibliography
Fraser, Steven, ed. The Bell Curve Wars: Race, Intelligence, and the Fu-
ture of America. New York: Basic, 1995.
Helms, Janet E. ‘‘Why Is There No Study of Cultural Equivalence
in Standardized Cognitive Ability Testing?’’ American Psycholo-
gist 47 (1992):1083–1101.
Herrnstein, Richard J., and Charles Murray. The Bell Curve: Intelli-
gence and Class Structure in American Life. New York: Free Press,
1994.
Jensen, Arthur R. Genetics and Education. New York: Harper and
Row, 1972.
McLoyd, Vonnie C., and Laurence Steinberg, eds. Studying Minority
Adolescents: Conceptual, Methodological, and Theoretical Issues.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1998.
Montagu, Ashley. Race and IQ. New York: Oxford University Press,
1999.
Ogbu, John U. ‘‘Black Education: A Cultural-Ecological Perspec-
tive.’’ In Harriette Pipes McAdoo ed., Black Families. Beverly
Hills, CA: Sage, 1988.
Steele, Claude M. ‘‘A Threat in the Air: How Stereotypes Shape In-
tellectual Identity and Performance.’’ American Psychologist 52
(1997):613–629.
Teper, Shirley. Ethnicity, Race, and Human Development: A Report on
the State of Our Knowledge. New York: Institute on Pluralism
and Group Identity of the American Jewish Committee, 1977.
LeShawndra N. Price
READING
Reading can be an activity of extremes; either a per-
son read or he cannot. What has to happen to be able
to read? Why is it easy for some children and difficult
for others? Reading is not an unlearned skill, such as
talking, that starts developing at birth. The ability to
read and write does not develop by itself; a child
needs instruction to be able to read. When and where
should that reading instruction begin?
The Emergent Reader: The Infant and
Toddler Years
In the first few months after birth, children begin
to play with sounds. Their cooing turns to babble as
they attempt to imitate the sounds that they hear.
They love to play games such as pat-a-cake and peek-
a-boo, and manipulate objects. Adults need to talk to
babies using simple language and acknowledge their
language attempts to support their oral language de-
velopment. It is during this time of play that infants
begin their pathway to reading.
First readings with infants should include card-
board books, which are sturdy and allow the infant to
handle the book without concern about pages being
ripped. Most readings with a toddler center around
vocabulary building, such as by asking him to point
to different items in a picture. Toddlers can identify
more items through this type of labeled reading than
by actually talking. A toddler might not be able to
voice the word if you point to an elephant, but if you
ask him to show you an elephant, he will be able to
point to a picture of one. As toddlers increase their
vocabulary, they begin to imitate language around
them by speaking in simple sentences; ‘‘I want cook-
ie,’’ ‘‘I go bye-bye,’’ and ‘‘I have book’’ are a few exam-
ples. This oral language is the foundation for the
development of literacy.Precursors to Reading: The Preschool
Years
To encourage vocabulary development, it is im-
portant for children to be engaged in meaningful
conversations with others. Children need to exchange
ideas about their feelings and thoughts. Children are
often imitators of what they see and hear, and they
need to experience reading and writing behaviors
that will encourage their interest in and enjoyment of
reading and writing.
Among the first words that children recognize or
read are those found on fast-food signs, the names of
their favorite foods and favorite toys, the names they
use for their parents, and their own name. To encour-
age reading, children need to be exposed to print
every day; during this daily reading, print concepts
are introduced that are necessary for the preschooler
to learn to read. These concepts are understood when
a child can:- show where the front of a book is;
- realize that there are words on a page;
- point to the words as they are read;
- understand that one reads from left to right;
- show where the story starts on a page; and
- show the beginning and ending of a word.
342 READING