Effects of semantic integration training on the recall of pictograph sentences by children in kindergarten and first grade

Examined the effects on 30 kindergarten (mean age 5.6 yrs) and 30 1st-grade (mean age 6.6 yrs) children of semantic integration training in the context of a pictograph sentence memory task, which eliminates the usual orthographic barrier to word recognition. 10 kindergarten and 10 1st-grade Ss were assigned to each of 3 training groups: a sentence enaction group, a sentence control group, and a practice control group. The sentence enaction group, was trained to utilize a 2 component strategy (i.e., read the pictograph sequence as a sentence and act out its meaning with available toys), and the sentence control group was taught only the 1st component. The practice control group recalled the same sets of sentences without any strategy training. The sentence enaction group performed significantly better on initial and maintenance posttests than did the sentence control group, whose scores were in turn higher than those of the practice control. Significant grade effects indicated that 1st-grade Ss initially scored higher than kindergartners, and both grades responded similarly to the sentence and enaction instructions. Concurrent measures of strategy use established that training effects were due to application of the instructed strategies. The successful generalization of the sentence component of the strategy by both sentence groups to a serial version of the pictograph sentence task and the emergence of a spontaneous sentence strategy in the practice control group highlight the effectiveness of this specific component. (35 ref)