Abstract

State standards require kindergarten students to produce expository writing, but little research has been done regarding their abilities in this area. This study describes expository writing samples of 47 typically developing (TD) kindergarteners and 43 kindergarteners with developmental language disorder (DLD). The Expository Language Measures (ELM) Flow Chart and the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT) software were used to detail the language complexity and text structure features the children in the sample produced. When comparing TD and DLD children's expository written samples, no significant differences in the language and text structure measures were found. It is important to continue acquiring data regarding young children's abilities to produce expository written language. Identifying norms and areas of weakness promotes the creation of more specific and effective teaching and intervention methods.

Degree

MS

College and Department

David O. McKay School of Education; Communication Disorders

Rights

https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/

Date Submitted

2022-06-17

Document Type

Thesis

Handle

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd12406

Keywords

expository language, writing, kindergarten, typically developing, developmental language disorder

Language

english

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