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HANDBOOK ON THE SCIENCE OF EARLY LITERACY
 Also Available

Handbook of Early Literacy Research, Volume 1

edited by Susan B. Neuman and David K. Dickinson

Handbook of Early Literacy Research, Volume 2

edited by David K. Dickinson and Susan B. Neuman

Handbook of Early Literacy Research, Volume 3

edited by Susan B. Neuman and David K. Dickinson

Knowledge Development in Early Childhood:

Sources of Learning and Classroom Implications
edited by Ashley M. Pinkham, Tanya Kaefer,
and Susan B. Neuman
Handbook on
THE SCIENCE OF
EARLY LITERACY

edited by
Sonia Q. Cabell
Susan B. Neuman
Nicole Patton Terry

Foreword by David K. Dickinson

The Guilford Press

New York London
Copyright © 2023 The Guilford Press
A Division of Guilford Publications, Inc.
370 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1200, New York, NY 10001
www.guilford.com

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, translated, stored in a

retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording,
or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Last digit is print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available from the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-4625-5154-5 (hardcover)

 For my sister, Salma, who has always inspired me to strive for greater heights.
                                —SQC

For all the families who contributed to our research.

You have enriched not only the science of literacy but also the researchers’ lives.
                                 —SBN

For my children, Nia, Tyson, and Jadon. You bring me joy.

                            —NPT
 About the Editors

Sonia Q. Cabell, PhD, is Associate Professor in the School of Teacher Education and the Florida Cen-
ter for Reading Research at Florida State University. Her research focuses on early language and lit-
eracy instruction, with a particular interest in the prevention of reading difficulties. Dr. Cabell has
authored approximately 80 publications, including peer-reviewed articles, books, book chapters, and
early childhood language and literacy curricula. She has served as Principal Investigator or co-Principal
Investigator on numerous federally funded grant projects. Dr. Cabell has been an advisor or consul-
tant for a variety of national organizations and state departments of education. She is a recipient of
the International Literacy Association’s Diane Lapp & James Flood Professional Collaborator Award
(with Tricia Zucker). Previously, Dr. Cabell worked as a second-grade teacher and literacy coach in
Oklahoma and Virginia.

Susan B. Neuman, EdD, is Professor of Teaching and Learning at New York University. Previously, she
was Professor at the University of Michigan and served as the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Elementary
and Secondary Education, in which role she established the Early Reading First program and the Early
Childhood Educator Professional Development Program, and was responsible for all activities in Title I
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Dr. Neuman has served on the Board of Directors of
the International Literacy Association and as coeditor of Reading Research Quarterly. She has received
two lifetime achievement awards for research in literacy development and is a member of the Reading
Hall of Fame and a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association. Dr. Neuman has pub-
lished over 100 articles and numerous books.

Nicole Patton Terry, PhD, is the Olive and Manuel Bordas Professor of Education in the School of
Teacher Education, Director of the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR), and Director of
the Regional Education Lab–Southeast at Florida State University. Prior to joining FCRR, she was
Associate Professor of Special Education at Georgia State University (GSU). Dr. Patton Terry is the
founding director of two university-based research entities where researchers collaborate with diverse
school and community stakeholders to promote student success: the Urban Child Study Center at GSU
and The Village at FCRR. Her work focuses on young learners vulnerable to experiencing difficulty
with language and literacy achievement in school, in particular, Black children, children growing up
in poverty, and children with disabilities. Previously, Dr. Patton Terry worked as a special education
teacher in Illinois.

vii
 Contributors

Stephanie Al Otaiba, PhD, Department of Teaching and Learning, Southern Methodist University,
Dallas, Texas
Anita Faust Berryman, PhD, program evaluator, Alpharetta, Georgia
Gary E. Bingham, PhD, Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education,
Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
Seyma Birinci, MA, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
Minnesota
Karalynn E. Brown, MEd, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Nebraska–Lincoln,
Lincoln, Nebraska
Adriana G. Bus, PhD, Faculty of Arts and Education, Norwegian Reading Centre, University of Stavanger,
Stavanger, Norway
Sonia Q. Cabell, PhD, School of Teacher Education, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Judith J. Carta, PhD, Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, Institute for Life Span Studies,
University of Kansas, Kansas City, Kansas
Kate Caton, MPA, College of Education and Human Development, Georgia State University,
Atlanta, Georgia
Janelle Clay, MS, College of Education, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
Donald L. Compton, PhD, Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Anne E. Cunningham, PhD, School of Education, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
Maura Curran, PhD, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Massachusetts General Hospital
Institute of Health Professions, Boston, Massachusetts
Nell K. Duke, EdD, School of Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tonia R. Durden, PhD, Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education,
Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
Ashley A. Edwards, PhD, Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Allison R. Firestone, PhD, School of Education, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
Veronica P. Fleury, PhD, School of Teacher Education, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Barbara R. Foorman, PhD, School of Teacher Education, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Nicole Gardner-Neblett, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Jorge E. Gonzalez, PhD, Department of Psychological, Health, and Learning Sciences,
University of Houston, Houston, Texas

ix
x Contributors

Amelia Wenk Gotwals, PhD, Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University, Lansing,
Michigan
Hope K. Gerde, PhD, Department of Teaching, Learning, and Culture, Texas A&M University,
College Station, Texas
Charles R. Greenwood, PhD, Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, Institute for Life Span Studies,
University of Kansas, Kansas City, Kansas
Nuria Gutiérrez, PhD, Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Annemarie H. Hindman, PhD, Department of Teaching and Learning, Temple University, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
Trude Hoel, PhD, Faculty of Arts and Education, Norwegian Reading Centre, University of Stavanger,
Stavanger, Norway
Tiffany Hogan, PhD, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Massachusetts General Hospital,
Institute of Health Professions, Boston, Massachusetts
HyeJin Hwang, PhD, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
Minnesota
Nneka Ibekwe-Okafor, PhD, Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, Boston University,
Boston, Massachusetts
Iheoma U. Iruka, PhD, Department of Public Policy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Hui Jiang, PhD, Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy, The Ohio State University,
Columbus, Ohio
Victoria Johnson, MA, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
Minnesota
Laura M. Justice, PhD, Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy, The Ohio State University,
Columbus, Ohio
Nenagh Kemp, DPhil, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania,
Australia
Panayiota Kendeou, PhD, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
Minnesota
James S. Kim, EdD, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Young-Suk Grace Kim, EdD, School of Education, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California
Ofra Korat, PhD, School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Susan H. Landry, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston,
Houston, Texas
Kathryn A. Leech, PhD, School of Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill,
North Carolina
Erica Lembke, PhD, Department of Special Education, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
Nonie K. Lesaux, PhD, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Julia B. Lindsey, PhD, Advanced Education Research Development Fund, Reading Reimagined,
Oakland, California
Jeannette Mancilla-Martinez, EdD, Department of Special Education, Vanderbilt University, Nashville,
Tennessee
Nancy C. Marencin, MEd, School of Teacher Education, Florida State, Tallahassee, Florida
Kristen L. McMaster, PhD, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
Minnesota
Douglas M. Mosher, EdM, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Susan B. Neuman, EdD, Department of Teaching and Learning, New York University, New York,
New York
H. N. Lam Nguyen, BSc, Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
 Contributors xi

Ellen Orcutt, MA, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,

Minnesota
Gene Ouellette, PhD, Department of Psychology, Mount Allison University, Sackville,
New Brunswick, Canada
Nicole Patton Terry, PhD, School of Teacher Education, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Beth M. Phillips, PhD, Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems,
Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Emily Phillips Galloway, EdD, Department of Teaching and Learning, Vanderbilt University,
Nashville, Tennessee
Shayne B. Piasta, PhD, Department of Teaching and Learning, The Ohio State University,
Columbus, Ohio
Sharolyn D. Pollard-Durodola, EdD, Department of Early Childhood, Multilingual, and Special
Education, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
Valeria M. Rigobon, MS, Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Rachel R. Romeo, PhD, Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology,
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
Meredith L. Rowe, EdD, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Dayna Russell Freudenthal, MEd, Department of Teaching and Learning, Southern Methodist University,
Dallas, Texas
Amber B. Sansbury, MEd, College of Education and Human Development, George Mason University,
Fairfax, Virginia
Ora Segal-Drori, PhD, Education and Early Childhood Department, Levinsky College of Education,
Tel-Aviv, Israel
Monique Sénéchal, PhD, Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Emma Shanahan, MEd, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
Minnesota
Susan M. Sheridan, PhD, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Nebraska–Lincoln,
Lincoln, Nebraska
Laura M. Steacy, PhD, School of Teacher Education, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Sarah Surrain, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston,
Houston, Texas
Nicole A. Telfer, MA, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County,
Baltimore, Maryland
Rebecca Treiman, PhD, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University
in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
Barbara A. Wasik, PhD, Department of Teaching and Learning, Temple University, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
Kelly Whalon, PhD, School of Teacher Education, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Crystal N. Wise, PhD, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois Chicago,
Chicago, Illinois
Tanya S. Wright, PhD, Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University, Lansing, Michigan
Gloria Yeomans-Maldonado, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center
at Houston, Houston, Texas
Mai W. Zaru, MEd, Department of Teaching and Learning, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas
Mónica Zegers, MA, School of Education, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
Tricia A. Zucker, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston,
Houston, Texas
 Acknowledgments

W e would like to express gratitude to the following editorial assistants, who are doctoral students in
Reading Education in the School of Teacher Education and in the Florida Center for Reading Research
at Florida State University: Sen Wang (lead), Jenny Passalacqua, Debbie Slik, and Rhonda Raines.
Their excitement for this volume was contagious, and their tireless work was much appreciated. In
addition to carefully reviewing individual chapters, they also helped to write the chapter summaries
that appear in the Introduction.

xiii
 Foreword

T his volume marks a watershed moment in the convergence of diverse fields of research around the
study of early development. Until the 1970s, early literacy was studied by scholars who were primar-
ily interested in reading instruction. Their chief goal was to determine how best to teach children to
read. They made several assumptions: Children learn to read as a result of formal instruction in school;
oral language plays no role in early reading; writing, while an important type of literate behavior, is
of secondary importance; and teachers can successfully teach children if provided the correct instruc-
tional materials. Research focused on typically developing, monolingual speakers of English from the
dominant culture in the United States. These fundamental assumptions began to be challenged in the
1980s, and over the ensuing 40 years the result has been an explosion of research that has yielded a
vastly broader, deeper, and more nuanced understanding of early literacy presented in this volume.
In the 1980s, research, mostly taking the form of small-scale qualitative studies, began to challenge
the dominant approach to literacy, viewing it as a fascinating capacity that develops in the years before
school as a result of adult support, biological maturation, and children’s efforts to construct an under-
standing of printed language. The hallmarks of literacy were noticed in prosody and word choices as
children pretended to read (Sulzby, 1985) and in nonstandard but predictable ways children began
writing (Richgels, 2002; Teale & Sulzby, 1986). Careful observation of parents as they conversed
with very young children during book reading (Snow, 1983) suggested that the origins of literacy can
be traced back into the toddler years, and that the home also might be a place where early literacy is
fostered (Tabors, Snow, & Dickinson, 2001). Preschools began to be viewed as potentially playing
a role in supporting both literacy-related language and early print knowledge (Dickinson & Smith,
1994), and with that understanding came realization of the need for professional development to help
teachers understand and foster literacy development (Dickinson & Caswell, 2007). As the origins of
literacy were traced back into the early childhood years, the impact of broad societal factors began to
be more apparent, with issues of income becoming salient. Near the turn of the century, an authori-
tative review of research (Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998) marked the coming of age of this new and
expanded view of the origins of literacy. During the first decades of the 20th century, research reported
in this volume built on and expanded our understanding of the emergence of literacy. Research has
moved beyond only studying typically developing, monolingual children to examining the literacy and
language development of children who speak languages other than English, are racially diverse, come
from many cultures, and have developmental disabilities. Over the past 20 years, a multitude of studies
has revealed how literacy emerges from a confluence of capacities that are fostered by early and last-
ing environmental supports, that have bidirectional effects on each other, and that contribute to later
reading comprehension (reviewed in Dickinson & Morse, 2019). These include language (Dickinson
& Porche, 2011; Rowe, 2008, 2012; Storch & Whitehurst, 2002), executive function (Blair & Raver,

xv
xvi Foreword

2015; Kuhn et al., 2014), and theory of mind (Muller, Liebermann-Finestone, Carpendale, Hammond,
& Bibok, 2012).
Chapters in this volume describe the latest advances in our understanding of the capacities children
are acquiring and how families support literacy from infancy through the early school years. Writing
development, now viewed as part of the constellation of literacy-related capacities that begin flourish-
ing in the preschool years and continue developing in the early school years, also is discussed from
multiple perspectives. Novel strategies for enhancing children’s opportunities to become fluent readers
by providing teachers with professional development at scale, by including content-rich material as
part of the curriculum, and by taking advantage of the affordances of digital tools also are addressed.
In summary, in this volume, the leading scholars from multiple disciplines report the sophisticated
approaches they employ to study how early literacy develops and promising strategies for fostering its
development among all children.

                                David K. Dickinson, EdD

                                Vanderbilt University

References

Blair, C., & Raver, C. C. (2015). School readiness and self-regulation: A developmental psychobiological
approach. Annual Review of Psychology, 66, 711–731.
Dickinson, D. K., & Caswell, L. (2007). Building support for language and early literacy in preschool class-
rooms through in-service professional development: Effects of the Literacy Environment Enrichment Pro-
gram (LEEP). Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 22(2), 243–260.
Dickinson, D. K., & Morse, A. B. (2019). Connecting through talk: Nurturing children’s development with
language. Brookes.
Dickinson, D. K., & Porche, M. V. (2011). Relation between language experiences in preschool classrooms
and children’s kindergarten and fourth-grade language and reading abilities. Child Development, 82(3),
870–886.
Dickinson, D. K., & Smith, M. W. (1994). Long-term effects of preschool teachers’ book readings on low-
income children’s vocabulary and story comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 29(2), 105–122.
Kuhn, L. J., Willoughby, M. T., Wilbourn, M. P., Vernon-Feagans, L., Blair, C. B., & the Family Life Project
Key Developers. (2014). Early communicative gestures prospectively predict language development and
executive function in early childhood. Child Development, 85(5), 1898–1914.
Muller, U., Liebermann-Finestone, D. P., Carpendale, J. I. M., Hammond, S. I., & Bibok, M. B. (2012).
Knowing minds, controlling actions: The developmental relations between theory of mind and executive
function from 2 to 4 years of age. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 111(2), 331–348.
Richgels, D. J. (2002). Invented spelling, phonemic awareness, and reading and writing instruction. In S. B.
Neuman & D. K. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook of early literacy research (Vol. 1, pp. 142–158). Guilford
Press.
Rowe, M. L. (2008). Child-directed speech: Relation to socioeconomic status, knowledge of child develop-
ment and child vocabulary skill. Journal of Child Language, 35(1), 185–205.
Rowe, M. L. (2012). A longitudinal investigation of the role of quantity and quality of child-directed speech
in vocabulary development. Child Development, 83(5), 1762–1774.
Snow, C. E. (1983). Literacy and language: Relationships during the preschool years. Harvard Educational
Review, 53(2), 165–189.
Storch, S. A., & Whitehurst, G. J. (2002). Oral language and code-related precursors to reading: Evidence
from a longitudinal structural model. Developmental Psychology, 38(6), 934–947.
Sulzby, E. (1985). Children’s emergent reading of favorite storybooks. Reading Research Quarterly, 20(4),
458–481.
Tabors, P. O., Snow, C. E., & Dickinson, D. K. (2001). Homes and schools together: Supporting language
and literacy development. In D. K. Dickinson & P. O. Tabors (Eds.), Beginning literacy with language:
Young children learning at home and school (pp. 313–334). Brookes.
Teale, W., & Sulzby, E. (1986). Emergent literacy: Reading and writing. Ablex.
Whitehurst, G. J., & Lonigan, C. J. (1998). Child development and emergent literacy. Child Development,
69(3), 848–872.
 Contents

Introduction 1
Sonia Q. Cabell, Susan B. Neuman, and Nicole Patton Terry

PART I. CONCEPTUALIZING THE SCIENCE OF EARLY LITERACY

CHAPTER 1 Simplicity Meets Complexity: Expanding the Simple View 9
of Reading with the Direct and Indirect Effects Model of Reading
Young-Suk Grace Kim

CHAPTER 2 Early Environmental Influences on Language 23

Meredith L. Rowe, Rachel R. Romeo, and Kathryn A. Leech

CHAPTER 3 Prioritizing Dual Language Learners’ Language Comprehension 32

Development to Support Later Reading Achievement
Jeannette Mancilla-Martinez

CHAPTER 4 Early Literacy, Response to Intervention, and Multi-Tiered 43

Systems of Support
Dayna Russell Freudenthal, Mai W. Zaru, and Stephanie Al Otaiba

CHAPTER 5 The Neuroscience of Early Literacy Development 60

Rachel R. Romeo

PART II. DEVELOPMENT AND INSTRUCTION

OF CODE-RELATED LITERACY SKILLS
CHAPTER 6 Learning the Code 73
Barbara R. Foorman

xvii
xviii Contents

CHAPTER 7 The Science of Early Alphabet Instruction: What We Do 83

and Do Not Know
Shayne B. Piasta

CHAPTER 8 Invented Spelling: An Integrative Review of Descriptive, 95

Correlational, and Causal Evidence
Monique Sénéchal, Gene Ouellette, and H. N. Lam Nguyen

CHAPTER 9 Early Spelling Development: Influences, Theory, 107

and Educational Implications
Nenagh Kemp and Rebecca Treiman

CHAPTER 10 Supporting Students’ Early Writing Development through 118

Data-Based Instruction
Kristen L. McMaster, Seyma Birinci, Emma Shanahan,
and Erica Lembke

PART III. DEVELOPMENT AND INSTRUCTION

OF MEANING-RELATED LITERACY SKILLS
CHAPTER 11 Language Is the Basis of Skilled Reading Comprehension 131
Laura M. Justice and Hui Jiang

CHAPTER 12 Language Interventions in Early Childhood: Summary and 139

Implications from a Multistudy Program of Research
Beth M. Phillips

CHAPTER 13 Content Literacy: Integrating Social Studies and Language 151

Sharolyn D. Pollard-Durodola and Jorge E. Gonzalez

CHAPTER 14 Supporting Integrated Instruction in Science and Literacy 162

in K–2 Classrooms
Tanya S. Wright and Amelia Wenk Gotwals

CHAPTER 15 Leveraging Content-Rich English Language Arts Instruction 175

in the Early Grades to Improve Children’s
Language Comprehension
Sonia Q. Cabell and HyeJin Hwang

CHAPTER 16 Feeding Two Birds with One Hand: Instructional Simultaneity 186
in Early Literacy Education
Nell K. Duke, Julia B. Lindsey, and Crystal N. Wise

CHAPTER 17 Comprehension: From Language to Reading 196

Ellen Orcutt, Victoria Johnson, and Panayiota Kendeou
 Contents xix

PART IV. USING THE SCIENCE OF EARLY LITERACY

IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
CHAPTER 18 Measuring and Improving Teachers’ Knowledge 211
in Early Literacy
Anne E. Cunningham, Allison R. Firestone, and Mónica Zegers

CHAPTER 19 Professional Development in Early Language and Literacy: 224

Using Data to Balance Effectiveness and Efficiency
Annemarie H. Hindman and Barbara A. Wasik

CHAPTER 20 Using the Science of Early Literacy to Design Professional 236

Development for Writing
Hope K. Gerde and Gary E. Bingham

CHAPTER 21 Structuring Adaptations for Scaling Up Evidence-Based 253

Literacy Interventions
James S. Kim and Douglas M. Mosher

CHAPTER 22 Together We Can Do So Much: Aligned School 269

and Home Efforts Using a Multi-Tiered Systems
of Support Framework
Tricia A. Zucker, Gloria Yeomans-Maldonado, Sarah Surrain,
and Susan H. Landry

CHAPTER 23 Family Engagement for Early Literacy: Interventions That 283

Promote Family–School Partnerships
Karalynn E. Brown and Susan M. Sheridan

PART V. USING THE SCIENCE OF EARLY LITERACY TO SUPPORT EQUITY

CHAPTER 24 Literacy Architectures: Making the Case for Systems 297
of Learning and Teaching to Cultivate Readers
and Writers in Linguistically Diverse Schools
Emily Phillips Galloway and Nonie K. Lesaux

CHAPTER 25 The Development of Early Orthographic Representations 312

in Children: The Lexical Asymmetry Hypothesis and Its
Implications for Children with Dyslexia
Donald L. Compton, Laura M. Steacy, Nuria Gutiérrez,
Valeria M. Rigobon, Ashley A. Edwards, and Nancy C. Marencin

CHAPTER 26 Developmental Language Disorder: What It Is 325

and Why It Matters
Maura Curran and Tiffany Hogan
xx Contents

CHAPTER 27 Autism and Early Literacy: The State of the Science 336
Kelly Whalon and Veronica P. Fleury

CHAPTER 28 Multi-Tiered Systems of Support: An Approach for Reducing 347

Disparities in School Readiness and Increasing Equity
in Early Literacy and Learning Opportunities for
Young Children
Judith J. Carta and Charles R. Greenwood

CHAPTER 29 Factors Associated with Black Children’s Early Development 359

and Learning
Iheoma U. Iruka, Amber B. Sansbury, Nicole A. Telfer,
Nneka Ibekwe-Okafor, Nicole Gardner-Neblett, and Tonia R. Durden

PART VI. USING THE SCIENCE OF EARLY LITERACY

TO LEARN ACROSS BOUNDARIES
CHAPTER 30 Early Literacy in Everyday Spaces: Creating Opportunities 371
for Learning
Susan B. Neuman

CHAPTER 31 Digital Picture Books: Opportunities and Utilities 383

Adriana G. Bus and Trude Hoel

CHAPTER 32 e-Books with a Digital Dictionary as a Support for 397

Word Learning
Ofra Korat and Ora Segal-Drori

CHAPTER 33 Leveraging Research–Practice Partnerships to Support 408

Evidence Use in Early Childhood: Lessons Learned
from Atlanta 323
Nicole Patton Terry, Gary E. Bingham, Anita Faust Berryman,
Janelle Clay, and Kate Caton

Index 423
 Introduction
Sonia Q. Cabell, Susan B. Neuman, and Nicole Patton Terry

Tnational
he science of reading has been thrust into the
spotlight in recent years, with the media
the early skills that underpin both areas (e.g.,
oral language, alphabet knowledge)
calling attention to the troubling lack of knowl- • Broad views on the science of early literacy
edge teachers have about how early literacy devel- • Bridging the preschool and primary grades
ops and how to provide effective instruction. This research literatures
is particularly concerning for children who are
vulnerable to experiencing poor school readiness Although it is impossible to comprehensively
and early achievement outcomes in U.S. schools, include all topic areas and perspectives, this vol-
including children growing up in poverty and low- ume provides a solid base for those seeking to
income households, children in race- and ethnic- develop the next generation of scholars in the
minority groups, children who are dual language field of early literacy research across multiple
learners or who are multilingual, and children disciplines. It is our hope that it also provides
with disabilities. Although the COVID-19 global foundational knowledge on the science of early
pandemic has only amplified long-standing edu- literacy that will be essential for district leaders
cational disparities, it is likely that the long-term and organizations seeking to make change.
consequence for student achievement will be sub- The handbook is divided into six parts that
stantial. Now more than ever, it is essential that cover conceptualization, development and
those who are training to be researchers, profes- instruction (of both code- and meaning-related
sors, administrators, teacher leaders, and instruc- literacy skills), professional development and
tional coaches have informative, research-based family engagement, supporting equity across
sources that codify the accumulated science. populations, and learning across boundaries.
This volume, Handbook on the Science of Where applicable, we provide cross-references to
Early Literacy, presents accumulated scientific relevant chapters in the handbook.
knowledge about early literacy development and
instruction (preschool through grade 2) from
experts in the field who have conducted cutting- Contents of This Handbook
edge and transformative research.
Part I: Conceptualizing the Science of Early Literacy
As part of the handbook’s design, we purpose-
fully embraced the following: Part I of the volume presents theories and frame-
works that provide a basis for how to think about
• Interdisciplinary perspectives children’s early literacy development, including
• A range of populations and topics environmental influences and instructional pro-
• Both reading and writing research, along with cesses.

1
2 Introduction

In Chapter 1, Y.-S. Kim reviews the simple Foorman, in Chapter 6, discusses how chil-
view of reading (SVR) and its associated empiri- dren learn to encode and decode an alphabetic
cal evidence, and presents an expanded theoreti- orthography. She first describes the characteris-
cal model called the direct and indirect effects tics of the English alphabetic orthography. She
model of reading (DIER). She discusses several then explains how children learn to identify and
compelling hypotheses that stem from the hierar- recognize words and discusses both the SVR and
chical, interactive, and dynamic relations among the reading systems framework. She concludes
skills delineated by the DIER. with an examination of evidence-based instruc-
In Chapter 2, Rowe, Romeo, and Leech exam- tional practices and challenges to implementa-
ine environmental influences on children’s oral tion.
language development from birth through the In Chapter 7, Piasta focuses on one important
preschool period, to include vocabulary, syn- aspect of learning the code—alphabet knowl-
tactic, and pragmatic skills development. They edge. She discusses ways to support young chil-
emphasize the importance of social interactions dren’s alphabet knowledge, thoroughly reviews
in language development, explain neural mecha- the extant research base on instruction, and
nisms, and examine causal intervention effects outlines promising practices such as combining
that elucidate the importance of environmental letter-name and letter-sound instruction, includ-
influences on children’s language development. ing explicit instruction and embedded mnemon-
In Chapter 3, Mancilla-Martinez points out ics, and utilizing quicker pacing.
the diversity within the population of dual lan- In Chapter 8, Sénéchal, Ouellette, and Nguyen
guage learners (DLLs) and challenges the “at- provide a comprehensive review of invented spell-
risk” label often associated with DLLs. She ing. They first provide thorough descriptions of
argues for prioritizing the assessment of lan- children’s early spelling attempts, then synthesize
guage comprehension in the earliest grades to correlational studies that examine the associa-
allow children to use their full linguistic reper- tions among invented spelling, other important
toires and conceptual knowledge. early literacy skills, reading, and conventional
In Chapter 4, Russell Freudenthal, Zaru, spelling. Finally, they extensively review inter-
and Al Otaiba describe promising early literacy vention research that collectively demonstrates
interventions that can be used within response that invented spelling can play a causal role in
to intervention (RTI) and multi-tiered systems the acquisition of more advanced literacy skills.
of support (MTSS) approaches in kindergarten Likewise, Kemp and Treiman, in Chapter 9,
through third grade. Drawing on the SVR and take a deep dive into children’s spelling devel-
data-based decision making, the authors describe opment. They highlight the concept of statisti-
their theoretical and empirical framework, fol- cal learning and inner and outer visual forms of
lowed by an overview of the effects reported in writing, noting differences with existing stage or
recent studies of early literacy interventions. phase models of spelling. These differences have
Romeo, in Chapter 5, explains early literacy significant implications for spelling instruction.
development through the perspective of neu- In Chapter 10, McMaster, Birinci, Shanahan,
roscience. She introduces the neuroanatomy of and Lembke describe early writing assessment
the reading brain and how the brain develops and intervention research in grades 1–3 using
during literacy acquisition. She then discusses a data-based instruction (DBI) approach. They
individual differences in the neural architecture frame their chapter in the context of the SVR,
that supports reading, concluding that a better followed by an overview of DBI, then detail a
understanding of these differences can poten- program of research in which they applied these
tially reduce existing disparities in literacy devel- frameworks to support teachers’ individualiza-
opment. tion of writing instruction, including a discus-
sion of assessment and professional development
tools.
Part II: Development and Instruction
of Code-Related Literacy Skills
Part III: Development and Instruction
Part II provides insight into the development and
of Meaning-Related Literacy Skills
instruction code-related literacy skills, includ-
ing how children learn to decode and the role of Part III focuses on the development and instruc-
spelling in both reading and writing. tion of meaning-related literacy skills, empha-
 Introduction 3

sizing the language basis of comprehension and Write, and Synthesize. They also discuss profes-
examining language interventions in the early sional development to support teachers in their
childhood period. In addition, several chapters science talk.
advocate for integrated instruction to support Taking a complementary perspective of inte-
comprehension, with particular attention paid grating content-rich instruction into English lan-
to the integration of oral language and content guage arts (ELA), Cabell and Hwang (Chapter
knowledge. 15) discuss how this type of instruction can be
In Chapter 11, Justice and Jiang outline the leveraged to improve children’s language com-
connection between early language develop- prehension. They review the extant literature on
ment and later reading comprehension. They the impact of integrated approaches on children’s
argue that language is the basis for skilled read- vocabulary and comprehension, followed by an
ing, highlighting the work of the Language and examination of the effects of content-rich ELA
Reading Research Consortium (LARRC). This instruction more specifically.
body of work examined the dimensionality Integration of literacy instruction, however,
of language skills and the positive impact of a goes beyond language and knowledge, and
language-focused curricular supplement, focus- Duke, Lindsey, and Wise (Chapter 16) introduce
ing on explicit instruction of both lower- and instructional simultaneity, in which instruction
higher-level skills, on children’s language skills addresses multiple targets at once. In addition
and reading comprehension. to literacy and content-area knowledge integra-
In a similar vein, Phillips, in Chapter 12, tion, research demonstrates that multiple reading
summarizes an ongoing program of research foundational skills and language arts processes
on small-group, supplemental language-focused can be addressed simultaneously, along with the
interventions for children in preschool and kin- development of literacy bridging processes.
dergarten. Specifically, she discusses the devel- Orcutt, Johnson, and Kendeou, in Chapter 17,
opment and testing of three interventions that discuss comprehension as a generalized cognitive
target language broadly, including semantics, process and learning product. Because compre-
syntax, and narrative text structure and listen- hension is an important cognitive outcome across
ing comprehension. The interventions are built many contexts and media formats, it can be devel-
on a theoretical framework that emphasizes the oped early on through nonreading contexts and
child as an active language learner and include an transferred to reading comprehension later. The
emphasis on eliciting increasingly complex lan- authors discuss the inferential language compre-
guage from children. Phillips reports both proxi- hension (iLC) framework serving as a theoreti-
mal and distal impacts of these interventions on cal guide for designing curricula. They describe
children’s language skills, along with the modu- Inference Galaxy—a suite of instructional tools
lar nature of these impacts. using the iLC framework—and the evidence for
In Chapter 13, Pollard-Durodola and Gonza- its usability, feasibility, and promise.
lez highlight the project Words of Oral Reading
and Language Development (WORLD), a con-
Part IV: Using the Science of Early Literacy in
tent-enriched, interactive, shared book-reading
Professional Development and Family Engagement
intervention for young children that focuses on
social studies themes. Through scaffolded tex- Improving teacher knowledge and practice are
tual and extratextual conversations that simulta- important targets of professional development.
neously support children’s language and knowl- Moreover, teachers need guidance on promot-
edge, WORLD demonstrates a positive impact ing family engagement through school and
on monolingual English and DLL children’s home partnerships. Part IV examines the extant
learning. research on professional development and family
Wright and Gotwals, in Chapter 14, outline engagement.
their research focusing on the integration of sci- In Chapter 18, Cunningham, Firestone, and
ence and literacy in the early elementary grades as Zegers articulate the need for teachers to have
a way to promote learning across both domains. both early literacy subject-matter content knowl-
Taking a disciplinary literacy perspective, they edge and pedagogical content knowledge, syn-
describe the development and key components of thesizing the existing literature on the topic.
the SOLID Start curriculum, including the five They discuss the importance of conducting
instructional strategies of Ask, Explore, Read, professional development in small groups over
4 Introduction

extended periods of time and the need for both tional family engagement approaches. They then
well-designed, relationship-based professional explain the initial tests of this model that dem-
learning opportunities and precise measures that onstrate the promise of doing more with teachers
can evaluate their effectiveness. and parents together, rather than with interven-
Hindman and Wasik, in Chapter 19, point out tions in the school or the home setting alone. The
that professional development is a “linchpin” in authors end with a call for other researchers to
the translation of the science of early literacy to examine school-home MTSS that will further
classroom instruction. Their research is designed elucidate the potential of this approach.
to bolster language development by supporting Similarly, in Chapter 23, Brown and Sheridan
teachers in refining their linguistic interactions review the links between family engagement and
with young children by providing teachers with early literacy, describing two evidence-based
professional development to improve both their family–school partnership approaches. They
conceptual and procedural knowledge. The argue for a partnership model that is distinct
authors describe the development of their effica- from a parent involvement paradigm, character-
cious professional development model, refined ized by reciprocal relationships and complemen-
through multiple iterations over time and across tary roles among school and home systems.
varied contexts.
In addition to the importance of professional
Part V: Using the Science of Early Literacy
development in language instructional practices,
to Support Equity
teachers also benefit from professional devel-
opment in early writing practices. Gerde and In addition to the science informing professional
Bingham, in Chapter 20, detail a fully online development and family engagement efforts, in
professional learning program designed to pro- this section authors argue that the science of
mote early language and literacy skills through early literacy can be used to support equitable
high-quality writing instruction in preschool opportunities for all children.
classrooms. The authors also examine what the In Chapter 24, Phillips Galloway and Lesaux
science reveals about promoting early writing synthesize research focused on early literacy
development, then describe how it was used to skills, both code- and meaning-related, among
design professional learning, followed by the out- multilingual learners (MLLs) and describe con-
comes of engagement in professional learning for texts of literacy learning and teaching for MLLs.
teachers and children. Importantly, the authors attend to the ways
Although professional development research educational inequities shape literacy learning
has demonstrated efficacy across multiple areas opportunities for MLLs and argue for a careful
of early literacy, scaling up interventions in a way design of literacy architectures in schools, which
that can have a broader impact has been an ongo- are blueprints that create settings and systems of
ing challenge. In Chapter 21, Kim and Mosher learning and teaching to propel MLLs’ literacy
argue that the concept of structured adaptations development. They illustrate this idea using the
should play a more central role in models for scal- advanced literacy leadership framework, which
ing up evidence-based literacy interventions. Spe- has been adopted in large urban districts in the
cifically, they recommend that teachers receive United States.
guidance on how to make productive adapta- In Chapter 25, Compton, Steacy, Gutiérrez,
tions that maintain implementation fidelity and Rigobon, Edwards, and Marencin discuss lexical
build teachers’ motivation. Using four proof-of- asymmetry among children with dyslexia, which
concept case studies, they demonstrate that using refers to an uneven pattern of growth in the sub-
structured adaptations is a feasible and effective systems that comprise the orthographic lexicon.
approach, yielding principles that may generalize The authors hypothesize that lexical asymmetry
across different types of interventions. results in a reduction of successful self-teaching
Shifting from professional development efforts opportunities because of limited knowledge of
to family engagement, Zucker, Yeomans-Maldo- sublexical orthographic-to-phonological con-
nado, Surrain, and Landry (Chapter 22) argue for nections. Lexical asymmetry may also lead to
aligned school and home intervention efforts to processing only partial information from words
improve children’s learning. They first describe and a dependence on more global orthographic
a framework for early childhood MTSS, includ- processing, which limits the ability of children
ing the unique affordances of this over tradi- with dyslexia to develop advanced word reading
 Introduction 5

and spelling skills. The results of both compu- children learn beyond traditional boundaries,
tational and behavioral modeling that support with chapters focusing on learning: out of school,
these hypotheses is discussed, along a few sug- within digital contexts, and within the context of
gestions for targeted instruction. research–practice partnerships.
Curran and Hogan (Chapter 26) discuss a Neuman, in Chapter 30, discusses how liter-
common learning disability, developmental lan- acy learning can effectively take place outside of
guage disorder (DLD), its key characteristics, school contexts in hybrid spaces that foster lan-
comorbidities, and impact on children’s short- guage and content-rich learning through every-
and long-term outcomes. They outline a call to day interactions. Using a learning ecology frame-
action for both researchers and educators to best work, she provides several examples of how
support children with DLD in the early years. modest transformations in public spaces (e.g.,
In Chapter 27, Whalon and Fleury review laundromats, grocery stores, salons) can shape
the state of the science of early literacy for chil- novel learning opportunities for young children.
dren with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with Neuman also highlights how literacy learning
particular attention to the preschool period. can be distributed across time and resources in
Acknowledging that the extant literature base these multiple settings, contributing to a young
is still in its infancy, they describe findings from child’s overall learning ecology.
two independent research teams, both focused Bus and Hoel, in Chapter 31, discuss the
on interactive shared reading, which converge in promise of digital picture books by present-
the conclusion that to offset later reading com- ing evidence-based insights into which digital
prehension difficulties, quality early language enhancements are beneficial for children’s mean-
and literacy interventions are necessary for chil- ing making and incidental word learning. They
dren with ASD. then review research regarding digital books’
Carta and Greenwood, in Chapter 28, address potential impact on book-reading routines in
how MTSS in preschool can reduce disparities families with a particular focus on MLLs. The
in early literacy outcomes and increase equity chapter ends with a set of recommendations for
in learning opportunities for young children. enhancing and investigating the utility of digital
Acknowledging the challenges that early educa- books in the early years.
tion programs face in addressing the individual Relatedly, Korat and Segal-Drori (Chapter 32)
needs and strengths of children, the authors discuss how ebooks with digital dictionaries can
outline issues around access to quality Tier 1 promote word learning. They examine how these
instruction, culturally responsive measures to dictionaries can impact children’s vocabulary
identify children in need of additional support, development, including discussion on diction-
and Tier 2 interventions to address these needs. ary design, children’s independent ebook reading
In Chapter 29, Iruka, Sansbury, Telfer, Ibekwe- compared to adult–child printed book reading,
Okafor, Gardner-Neblett, and Durden challenge ebook reading with a dictionary together with an
researchers to center an anti-racist and equity adult, and use of the ebook with a dictionary by
lens when considering young Black children’s children with learning difficulties.
development. They implore others not to look at In Chapter 33, Terry, Bingham, Berryman,
ways to “fix” Black children and their families, Clay, and Caton discuss how robust research–
but rather to fix the racist systems and institu- practice partnerships can help to overcome
tions that continue to oppress and deny equitable systems-level obstacles for children who are
opportunities that promote and support Black vulnerable to experiencing difficulty in school,
children’s development and learning. through the use of research and evidence to
create change. In the context of Atlanta 323, a
research–practice partnership focused on cre-
Part VI: Using the Science of Early Literacy
ating a cohesive preschool to third-grade early
to Learn across Boundaries
learning system, the authors describe lessons
The final section of the handbook examines how learned, delineating both challenges and oppor-
the science of early literacy can be used to help tunities.
 PA R T I

CONCEPTUALIZING THE
SCIENCE OF EARLY LITERACY
 CHAPTER 1

Simplicity Meets Complexity

Expanding the Simple View of Reading
with the Direct and Indirect Effects Model of Reading

Young-Suk Grace Kim

Rpreting,
eading comprehension—understanding, inter-
and evaluating written texts—is a highly
linguistic comprehension processes; therefore,
decoding or word reading (D) and linguistic
complex construct that involves “the process comprehension (C) are two essential skills that
of simultaneously constructing and extracting contribute to reading comprehension (R = D ×
meaning through interaction and engagement C), and neither of them is sufficient alone (Gough
with print” (Snow, 2002, p. 413) and requires & Tunmer, 1986; Hoover & Gough, 1990).
“the most intricate workings of the human Decoding (called word reading hereafter) is the
mind” (Huey, 1968, p. 6). Given the ubiquitous skill to “read isolated words quickly, accurately,
demand of reading in contemporary informa- and silently,” and linguistic comprehension is the
tion-driven society, it is critical to understand the “process by which given lexical (i.e., word) infor-
skills that contribute to reading comprehension. mation, sentences and discourses are interpreted”
One of the theories of reading comprehension (Gough & Tunmer, 1986, p. 7; see revised defini-
that has garnered tremendous attention in the tions of these in Hoover & Tunmer, 2018).
last three decades is the simple view of reading The SVR is robustly supported across lan-
(SVR; Gough & Tunmer, 1986). In this chapter, guages and writing systems, and first and second
I review the SVR and associated empirical evi- language (L1 and L2) learners (e.g., for review of
dence. I then present a recent theoretical model evidence, see Florit & Cain, 2011; Kim, 2022).
called the direct and indirect effects model of Indeed, word reading and linguistic compre-
reading (DIER; Kim, 2017, 2020a, 2020b), hension are two powerful predictors of reading
which builds on and critically expands and inte- comprehension, explaining the vast majority of
grates the SVR and other theories and lines of variance in reading comprehension when con-
work. structs are measured with little measurement
error (i.e., using latent variables). For example,
Kim (2017) found that word reading and listen-
The SVR ing comprehension (comprehension of oral pas-
sages) explained 100% of the variance in reading
The central argument of the SVR is that read- comprehension for English-speaking students in
ing comprehension involves word reading and second grade. Similar findings were reported for

9
10 Conceptualizing the Science of Early Literacy

Korean-speaking children (Kim, 2015a), Norwe- and (4) low in word reading and low in linguistic
gian-speaking children (Hjetland et al., 2019), comprehension (low–low). This information then
and Romanian-speaking children (Dolean, Ler- informs instruction. For example, students with
vag, Visu-Petra, & Melby-Lervag, 2021). the high–low profile—high word reading and
The product term (D × C) indicates that both low linguistic comprehension—would need more
word reading and linguistic comprehension are intensive instruction on linguistic comprehen-
necessary, because 0 in either word reading or sion than word reading, whereas students with
linguistic comprehension leads to 0 in read- the low–high profile—low word reading and
ing comprehension—lack of either skill leads high linguistic comprehension—would have the
to unsuccessful reading comprehension (Gough opposite need. Students with the low–low pro-
& Tunmer, 1986; Kirby & Savage, 2008). The file—low word reading and low linguistic com-
product term also indicates moderation: The con- prehension—would need intensive instruction on
tribution of word reading to reading comprehen- both word reading and linguistic comprehension.
sion differs for individuals with low versus high
linguistic comprehension, and the contribution
of linguistic comprehension to reading compre- Expanding the SVR
hension differs for individuals with high versus
low word reading (see Hoover & Gough, 1990). Simplicity for a complex construct comes at a
Although this hypothesis was not supported cost, however, and there are several important
in cross-sectional studies (e.g., Joshi & Aaron, limitations of the SVR. First and foremost, the
2000; Lee & Wheldall, 2009), longitudinal stud- SVR does not present a full picture about reading
ies and cross-sectional studies with children in comprehension, as it does not specify sources and
different developmental stages of reading showed mechanisms for the development of word read-
differential importance of word reading versus ing and linguistic comprehension (Castles et al.,
linguistic comprehension as a function of reading 2018). Word reading and linguistic comprehen-
development: Word reading skill dominates read- sion are the “proximal” causes of reading com-
ing comprehension during the beginning phase of prehension (Gough & Tunmer, 1986, p. 8); that
reading development, whereas linguistic compre- is, word reading and linguistic comprehension
hension makes increasingly greater contributions are two necessary skills for reading comprehen-
as word-reading skill develops (Adlof, Catts, & sion from a 20,000-foot or bird’s-eye view (Kim,
Little, 2006; Hoover & Gough, 1990; Kim & 2020c). A 20,000-foot view helps describe read-
Wagner, 2015). ing comprehension in simple terms, but it pres-
The power of the SVR is its intuitive simplicity: ents a considerable challenge, as it does not fully
Intra- and interindividual differences in reading address the what question (what skills contribute
comprehension are explained by only two skills, to word reading and linguistic comprehension),
word reading and linguistic comprehension. nor does it address the why and how questions
This is a powerful way of thinking about read- (why and how skills relate to reading comprehen-
ing comprehension and a crucial way by which sion). No articulation on mechanisms entails no
the SVR has contributed to the field. This has a information about how to improve word reading
straightforward implication that is of high util- and linguistic comprehension. The SVR noted
ity: If success or difficulties with reading compre- the importance of phoneme–grapheme corre-
hension arise from word reading and linguistic spondence knowledge for word reading but was
comprehension (Catts, Adlof, & Ellis Weismer, silent about other factors such as morphological
2006; Hoover & Gough, 1990), both need to be awareness, factors that influence linguistic com-
assessed and taught. One way in which the SVR prehension, and the relation between word read-
is operationalized is through identifying indi- ing and linguistic comprehension. The simplicity
viduals’ strengths and needs according to their of the SVR has been subject to many criticisms
skills in word reading and linguistic comprehen- (e.g., Barrs, Pradl, Hall, & Dombey, 2008; Cas-
sion (Castles, Rastle, & Nation, 2018; Catts et tles et al., 2018; Cervetti et al., 2020; Duke &
al., 2006): (1) high in word reading and high in Cartwright, 2021; Kirby & Savage, 2008; Press-
linguistic comprehension (high–high), (2) high in ley et al., 2009).
word reading and low in linguistic comprehen- Second, a large body of research in the past
sion (high–low), (3) low in word reading and three decades has revealed that numerous lan-
high in linguistic comprehension (low–high), guage and cognitive skills and knowledge beyond
 Simplicity Meets Complexity 11

word reading and linguistic comprehension con- such as the SVR, the triangle model (Harm &
tribute to reading comprehension, including Seidenberg, 2004), construction–integration
text reading fluency, text structure knowledge, model (Kintsch, 1988), reading systems frame-
content/topic knowledge, inference, perspective work (Perfetti & Stafura, 2014), and automa-
taking, comprehension monitoring, morphologi- ticity theory (LaBerge & Samuels, 1974) into a
cal awareness, working memory, and attentional single unifying model. The DIER is a component
control. An outstanding question is whether skills model that specifies individuals’ skills and
and how these numerous constructs fit together knowledge (called component skills hereafter)
coherently with word reading and linguistic com- that contribute to reading comprehension, and
prehension. If word reading and linguistic com- the relations among skills. The skills develop via
prehension explain the vast majority of variance interactions between individual characteristics
in reading comprehension, are the other skills and multiple layers of environmental influences
and knowledge reported in the literature super- (e.g., home language and literacy environment,
fluous? Are they related to word reading and lin- formal instruction, policy; van Bergen, van der
guistic comprehension and if so, how? Leiji, & de Jong, 2014). The DIER explicitly spec-
Last, the SVR was ambiguous about the con- ifies the interactions between individual skills
structs of decoding and linguistic comprehen- and the immediate activity and task environment
sion, which led to various interpretations and (including assessment features and text charac-
approaches to measuring them (see Castles et teristics) in which reading is embedded (see the
al., 2018; Kirby & Savage, 2008). Particularly dynamic relations hypothesis below). Theories
relevant to this point is the construct of linguis- that focus on reading comprehension processes
tic comprehension—the earlier definition did have been well articulated before (e.g., Kintsch,
not provide a clear picture about how to opera- 1988; McNamara & Magliano, 2009; van den
tionalize it, nor did it recognize its complexity. Broek, Rapp, & Kendeou, 2005), and the DIER
Not surprisingly, linguistic comprehension has articulates the skills that are involved in and con-
been operationalized in multiple divergent ways, tribute to the comprehension processes.
including as vocabulary (e.g., Ouellette & Beers,
2010), syntactic knowledge or sentence skills
Component Skills of Reading Comprehension
(e.g., Yeung, Ho, Chan, & Chung, 2016), pas-
sage or story comprehension (e.g., Kim, 2015a, The skills that contribute to reading compre-
2017, 2020a, 2020b; Mancilla-Martinez, Kief- hension according to the DIER (see Figure 1.1)
fer, Biancarosa, Christodoulou, & Snow, 2011), are word reading; knowledge and awareness of
story retell (e.g., Shapiro, Fritschmann, Thomas, phonology, orthography, and morphology; lis-
Hughes, & McDougal, 2014), or various combi- tening comprehension; vocabulary; grammati-
nations of these (e.g., Adlof et al., 2006; Braze cal knowledge (morphosyntactic and syntactic
et al., 2016; Catts et al., 2006; Foorman, Koon, knowledge); higher-order cognitions and regula-
Petscher, Mitchell, & Truckenmiller, 2015; Ho tions (e.g., reasoning, inference, perspective tak-
et al., 2017; Lonigan, Burgess, & Schatschneider, ing, goal setting, comprehension monitoring, and
2018; Tunmer & Chapman, 2012). Together, this metacognitive strategies); background knowl-
rich body of literature revealed that oral language edge (content/topic knowledge, world knowl-
skills broadly contribute to reading comprehen- edge, and discourse and genre knowledge such
sion. However, inconsistency in measurement as text structure and genre-associated linguistic
has hindered development of a coherent picture features); text reading fluency, social–emotional
about the construct of linguistic comprehension, factors1 (e.g., reading motivation, attitude and
the relations among different aspects of oral lan- interest, efficacy, anxiety); and domain-general
guage skills, and the nature of their roles in read- cognitions or executive functions (e.g., working
ing comprehension. memory, inhibitory and attentional control). See
Kim (2020b) for a review of empirical evidence.

The DIER Architecture of Relations among Skills

The DIER (Kim, 2020a, 2020b) is an integrative The DIER does not simply catalogue skills.
theoretical model that builds on and integrates Instead, it specifies hierarchical, interactive, and
influential theoretical models and lines of work dynamic relations among skills.
12 CONCEPTUALIzING THE SCIENCE OF EARLY LITERACY

Social–Emo�onal Background
(e.g., Mo�va�on, Beliefs, Reading Comprehension (World, Content &
A�tude) Discourse) Knowledge

Text-Reading Fluency

Word Reading Ac�vity & Task Listening Comprehension

Environment
----------------- Higher-Order Cogni�ons & Regula�on
Hierarchical, (e.g., Inference, Reasoning, Perspec�ve
Orthography Interac�ve, & Taking, Monitoring)
Dynamic Rela�ons
Founda�onal Oral Language
Phonology Morphology Vocabulary & Gramma�cal/Syntac�c
Knowledge

Domain-General Cogni�ons or Execu�ve Func�ons

(e.g., Working Memory, Shi�ing, Inhibitory Control, A�en�onal Control)

FIGURE 1.1. The direct and indirect effects model of reading (DIER; Kim, 2020a, 2020b). The
majority of paths are shown as unidirectional, but they develop interactively (see text). Copy-
right © 2020 American Psychological Association. Reprinted by permission.

The hierarchical relations hypothesis states Wagner, 2015; see Figure 1.1). Text reading flu-
that lower-order skills support higher-order ency is a text-level reading skill that emerges
skills in a cascading manner. The skills in DIER and develops from word reading skill, but it is
are not a series of independent or disconnected a dissociable construct from word reading skill
constructs; instead, they are connected systemat- because it involves postlexical processing that is
ically in a chain of relations. Proximal predictors inherent in connected text reading (or reading in
of reading comprehension are text reading flu- context), but not in context-free word reading
ency, word reading, and listening comprehension, (or reading a list of words; Jenkins et al., 2003;
and these skills mediate the contributions of other Kim, 2015b; Wolf & Katzir-Cohen, 2001). The
skills to reading comprehension. Text reading postlexical semantic processing implies that text
fluency, widely known as oral reading fluency, is reading fluency draws on language comprehen-
one’s skill in reading connected texts with accu- sion over and above word reading (Kim, 2015b;
racy, speed, and expression (reading prosody; see Kim & Wagner, 2015).
National Institute of Child Health and Human The nature of mediation varies for word read-
Development, 2000) and is built on automaticity ing versus listening comprehension and depends
theory2 (Jenkins, Fuchs, van den Broek, Espin, & on the developmental phase of reading skill. In
Deno, 2003; Kim, 2015b; LaBerge & Samuels, the beginning phase of reading development
1974; Wolf & Katzir-Cohen, 2001). Although (e.g., beginning of grade 1 for English-speaking
extensive research has shown its strong relation children), word-reading and text-reading fluency
to reading comprehension (see Kim et al., 2021, are very strongly related and largely overlap.
for a review), text reading fluency has not been With reading development, text-reading fluency
explicitly accounted for in previous theoretical increasingly mediates the contribution of word
models of reading comprehension. In the DIER, reading to reading comprehension, leading to a
text reading fluency is specified as a mediator in complete mediation of text-reading fluency at a
the relation of word reading and listening com- later phase of reading development (e.g., grade
prehension to reading comprehension (Kim, 2 for English-speaking children; Kim & Wag-
2015b; Kim, Quinn, & Petscher, 2021; Kim & ner, 2015). In contrast, listening comprehension
 Simplicity Meets Complexity 13

does not contribute to text-reading fluency in the tions and regulations, vocabulary, grammatical
beginning phase of reading development over knowledge, and domain-general cognitions (Fig-
and above word reading due to the large con- ure 1.1; see Kim, 2016, for a theoretical model
straining role of word-reading skills. As word- and a review of empirical evidence, and the map-
reading skills develop, the constraining role of ping of these skills with different mental rep-
word reading decreases, and individuals’ listen- resentations during comprehension processes).
ing comprehension begins to contribute to text- Clear and precise definition of listening compre-
reading fluency (Kim, 2015b). However, unlike hension has an important implication for mea-
word reading, text-reading fluency never com- surement. Strictly speaking, operationalizing lin-
pletely mediates the relation of listening compre- guistic comprehension as vocabulary or syntactic
hension to reading comprehension (Kim & Wag- knowledge without discourse comprehension of
ner, 2015) because postlexical comprehension oral texts does not fully test the SVR, because
processes captured in text-reading fluency tap listening and reading comprehension should be
shallow comprehension, not deep comprehension measured in an equivalent manner according to
(Kim, 2015b). This is a theoretically vital point, the SVR. Because reading comprehension is gen-
as this is precisely why text-reading fluency is a erally conceptualized and measured as compre-
dissociable construct from reading comprehen- hension of connected texts (sentences and pas-
sion (Kim, 2015b). Previous theoretical accounts sages; i.e., discourse), measurement of listening
acknowledged that text-reading fluency taps comprehension should be of connected texts, not
comprehension processes (Jenkins et al., 2003; of vocabulary or syntax. Listening comprehen-
Wolf & Katzir-Cohen, 2001), but they did not sion, vocabulary, and syntactic knowledge are all
articulate how text-reading fluency is different oral language skills, but they are different in hier-
from reading comprehension. archy, and vocabulary and syntactic knowledge
A crucial part of the hierarchical relations contribute to listening comprehension (Kim,
hypothesis is the specification of the skills that 2020a, 2020b).
contribute to word reading and listening com- The recognition of listening comprehension
prehension. Causal factors for word-reading skill as a discourse skill is a crucial point that allows
are phonological, orthographic, and morpho- unification of the SVR with other large bodies
logical awareness in line with the triangle model of work that revealed the contributions of many
(Adams, 1990; Harm & Seidenberg, 2004), skills (e.g., working memory, morphological
and their relative importance varies depending awareness, inference) to reading comprehen-
on the orthographic depth and linguistic and sion. According to the DIER, these skills are not
orthographic features of a focal language (see superfluous, but instead, they are necessary for
Kim, 2020a, 2020b). Importantly, the DIER the two powerful predictors according to the
also unpacks listening comprehension. Note that SVR, word reading and listening comprehension.
the term listening comprehension, not linguistic Phonological awareness, orthographic aware-
comprehension, is used in the DIER for theoreti- ness, and morphological awareness contribute to
cal precision and clarity of measurement. Listen- word reading; vocabulary, grammatical knowl-
ing comprehension refers to comprehension of edge, higher-order cognitions and regulations,
oral texts such as sentences and texts includ- and background knowledge contribute to listen-
ing multiutterance conversations, stories, and ing comprehension; and domain-general cogni-
informational texts (Kim, 2015a, 2016, 2020a, tive skills or executive functions contribute to
2020b). Listening comprehension is a discourse all. A heuristic that illustrates this idea is found
skill that is equivalent to reading comprehension in Figure 1.2. The structure of the building is
(Hoover & Gough, 1990; Kim, 2015a)—the only sustained by word reading and listening compre-
difference between listening and reading compre- hension, while text-reading fluency bridges word
hension is whether texts are oral or written. This reading and listening comprehension to reading
implies that listening comprehension involves comprehension. Word reading is built on the
the same complex construction and integration foundation of phonological, orthographic, and
processes as reading comprehension except for morphological awareness, while listening com-
word-reading processes involved in reading com- prehension is built on the foundation of higher-
prehension. This also means that listening com- order cognitions and regulations, vocabulary,
prehension, like reading comprehension, draws and grammatical knowledge. At the very founda-
on background knowledge, higher-order cogni- tion are domain-general cognitions or executive
14 CONCEPTUALIzING THE SCIENCE OF EARLY LITERACY

functions. Background (world, content and dis- (domain-general cognitions → phonological,

course) knowledge closely interacts with compre- orthographic, and morphological awareness →
hension and associated skills, and social–emo- word reading → text-reading fluency → reading
tional factors closely interact with reading skills comprehension). Many more pathways can be
(word reading, text reading such as text-reading specified when considering separately phonologi-
fluency and reading comprehension). cal, orthographic, and morphological awareness;
A corollary of the hierarchical relations vocabulary and grammatical knowledge; and the
hypothesis is a cascade or chains of relations; higher-order cognitions and regulations (e.g.,
that is, not all the skills are directly related to inference, perspective taking, monitoring), and
reading comprehension, and instead, they have when considering partial mediation pathways
direct and indirect relations via a series of inter- (e.g., listening comprehension → reading com-
connections. For example, phonological aware- prehension over and above text-reading fluency;
ness is important to word reading, which in turn working memory → higher-order cognitions over
is important to text-reading fluency and reading and above vocabulary and grammatical knowl-
comprehension. Therefore, the effect of phono- edge).
logical awareness on reading comprehension Decomposing component skills and specifying
is channeled through word reading and text- chains of relations reveal the nature of relations
reading fluency (i.e., phonological awareness → and mechanisms, making the invisible visible.
word reading → text-reading fluency → reading The hierarchical relations hypothesis implies
comprehension). The chains of connections for that once higher-order skills are accounted for,
domain-general cognitions/executive functions lower-order skills do not have direct relations
are via listening comprehension (domain-gen- or have reduced relations to reading comprehen-
eral cognitions → vocabulary and grammatical sion, because their relations to reading compre-
knowledge → higher-order cognitions → listen- hension are completely or partially mediated by
ing comprehension → text-reading fluency → higher-order skills. For example, phonological
reading comprehension) and via word reading awareness, orthographic awareness, and mor-

Reading Comprehension

Text-Reading Fluency

Content, World,
Comprehension
Word Reading

and Discourse
Listening

Knowledge

Social–
Emo�onal
Development

Emergent Literacy
iteracy Skills Higher-Order Cogni�on & Regula�on
(e.g., Inference, Perspec�ve Taking, Reasoning, Monitoring,
Orthography
raphy
Goal Se�ng, Self-Assessment, Self-Reinforcement)

Phonology Morphology Founda�onal Language Skills

Vocabulary, Gramma�cal Knowledge

Domain-General Cogni�ve Skills or Execu�ve Func�ons

(e.g., Working Memory, Inhibitory Control, A�en�onal Control)

FIGURE 1.2. A heuristic illustration of the DIER, which shows component skills and their hier-
archical relations. Interrelations among these skills are not fully shown.
 Simplicity Meets Complexity 15

phological awareness (Kim & Petscher, 2016) & Stafura, 2014; Stanovich, 1984), and that
or rapid automatized naming (Ho et al., 2017) language, cognitive, and reading skills develop
are not independently or directly related to read- interacting with one another via experience and
ing comprehension once word reading has been learning. Although the majority of arrows in
accounted for. Another example is the role of Figure 1.1 show one-way causal paths for clarity
working memory in reading comprehension. The- of hierarchical chains of relations, according to
oretically, the role of working memory in reading the interactive relations hypothesis, comprehen-
comprehension is robust (Daneman & Carpenter, sion processes are not either bottom-up or top-
1980; Kintsch, 1988). However, previous stud- down processes; instead, both bottom-up and
ies reported inconsistent findings about a direct top-down processes interact during reading (Sta-
relation of working memory to reading compre- novich, 1984). Moreover, the skills in Figure 1.1
hension. According to the DIER, this inconsis- have interactive or reciprocal developmental rela-
tency is explained by whether higher-order skills tions via experience and learning (including both
are accounted for, and this is exactly what was implicit and formal learning via instruction).
found: When higher-order skills were accounted For example, background knowledge, vocabu-
for, there was no longer a direct relation between lary, and grammatical/syntactic knowledge
working memory and reading comprehension influence listening and reading comprehension,
(Freed, Hamilton, & Long, 2017; Kim, 2015a, while exposure to texts (via either listening or
2017; Van Dyke, Johns, & Kukona, 2014). reading mode) helps develop background knowl-
Another illustration for the importance of edge, vocabulary, and grammatical/syntactic
specifying structural relations is a recent study knowledge, which, in turn, support comprehen-
on the relation between word reading and listen- sion (e.g., better comprehenders likely engage in
ing comprehension. Research on the SVR con- more reading, and the more they read, the more
sistently found that word-reading and listening- topic knowledge and genre knowledge they gain,
comprehension skills are not independent, but which contributes to better comprehension; e.g.,
they are moderately to strongly related (e.g., Quinn et al., 2020). Similarly, children with
Foorman et al., 2015; Hoover & Gough, 1990; advanced word reading generally experience
Kim & Wagner, 2015; Lonigan et al., 2018; Tun- better reading comprehension, which leads to a
mer & Chapman, 2012). For example, a longi- greater amount of reading, which leads to more
tudinal study with English-speaking students exposure to and practice of reading words, which
found the correlation from .43 in grade 1 to .53 improves word-reading and text-reading fluency,
in grade 4 (Kim & Wagner, 2015). Similar or which in turn contributes to reading comprehen-
stronger magnitudes were reported for Greek- sion. Experience- and learning-mediated interac-
speaking students (Protopapas, Simos, Sideridis, tive relations also apply to the relations between
& Mouzaki, 2012), Malay-speaking students higher-order cognitions (e.g., perspective taking)
(Lee & Wheldall, 2009), Korean-speaking stu- and comprehension (e.g., Kim, 2016); between
dents (Kim, 2020b), and Chinese-speaking stu- attentional control and learning (e.g., Masek et
dents (Ho et al., 2017; Joshi, Tao, Aaron, & al., 2021); between phonological, orthographic,
Quiroz, 2012). According to the DIER, the rela- and morphological awareness, and word reading
tion between word reading and listening com- (e.g., Bentin & Leshem, 1993; Chow, McBride-
prehension is largely explained by their shared Chang, & Burgess, 2005); between morphologi-
reliance on domain-general cognitions/executive cal awareness and vocabulary (e.g., Kieffer &
functions, and the connection of morphologi- Lesaux, 2012; McBride-Chang et al., 2008); and
cal awareness with vocabulary and grammatical between reading and social–emotional aspects
knowledge (see Figure 1.1). Therefore, domain- (e.g., Lepola, Salonen, & Vauras, 2000).
general cognitions and morphological awareness The dynamic relations hypothesis states that
should explain the relation between word read- the nature of relations is not static, but changes as
ing and listening comprehension. This is exactly a function of two factors: (1) development and (2)
what was found: The relation disappeared once activity and task environment (including assess-
domain-general cognitions and morphological ment and text characteristics). The dynamic rela-
awareness were accounted for (Kim, 2022). tions as a function of development are primarily
The interactive relations hypothesis states due to the development of word-reading skill.
that the language, cognitive, and reading sys- Word reading has a large constraining influ-
tems interact during reading processes (Perfetti ence on reading comprehension in the beginning
16 Conceptualizing the Science of Early Literacy

phase of reading development, but as word read- would not be as strong when comprehension is
ing develops, its constraining role decreases, and measured by a maze task or a free-recall task
listening comprehension and associated skills compared to when comprehension is measured
play greater roles in reading comprehension (see by a task that taps inferences and evaluations
the D × C idea of SVR; also see the dual-stream (e.g., asking questions that require inferences and
model of reading, Pugh et al., 2001). In other evaluations). Open-ended comprehension tasks
words, determinants of reading comprehension may also place higher demands on oral language
performance varies as a function of developmen- skills than tasks that do not require oral produc-
tal phase of reading skill. tion in response (Collins, Compton, Lindstrom,
The dynamic relations hypothesis as a func- & Gilbert, 2020).
tion of activity and task environment states Another important aspect in the dynamic rela-
that the nature of relations varies depending tions hypothesis is text characteristics. Texts
on factors such as reading activities (e.g., read- vary widely in their goals, content, and orga-
ing a novel for leisure vs. reading for learning), nizational and linguistic features (Kim, 2020a;
assessment features, and text characteristics. Mesmer, Hiebert, Cunningham, & Kapania,
Although this hypothesis is more about onto- 2021); therefore, text features would place dif-
logical considerations than epistemological or ferential demands on one’s language, cognitive,
conceptual considerations, ontological consider- and decoding skills. Texts with a high proportion
ations are explicitly stated in the DIER because of uncommon vocabulary would place a greater
of their critical bearing on theory and literature. demand on vocabulary knowledge than texts
Reading does not occur in a vacuum; depending with high-frequency vocabulary. Texts in a spe-
on the goal or nature of an activity, the compo- cific field would require field-specific vocabulary
nent skills are differentially utilized or tapped. and topic knowledge. Texts with many multi-
For example, reading for the purpose of learn- morphemic words would place greater demands
ing requires setting a high level of standards on morphological awareness for decoding and
of coherence and likely draws on attentional inferring meaning. One way to capture differ-
control, monitoring, and perspective taking to ences in text characteristics broadly is to cat-
a greater extent than reading for leisure. The egorize them as narrative versus informational
construct of reading comprehension is complex genres. Narrative texts are typically about social
and multidimensional, and demands required or interpersonal relationships involving a series
by activities and tasks (including assessment and of events; therefore, processes related to creat-
text features) vary in the multidimensional space ing a coherent mental representation in thematic
of language, cognition, and knowledge. Success- and causal structure involving events and char-
ful reading comprehension requires dynamic use acters are important in narrative comprehension
of resources depending on the nature of tasks. (Graesser, Singer, & Trabasso, 1994; Trabasso
With regard to the dynamic relations as a & Magliano, 1996). In contrast, informational
function of assessment features, particularly texts are about concepts and ideas and logical
notable is measurement of comprehension (both relations among them; therefore, creating a men-
reading and listening; see Francis, Fletcher, tal representation of the text content, including
Catts, & Tomblin, 2005; Keenan, Betjemann, connections and causal structure of ideas is more
& Olson, 2008). Comprehension is measured in important in comprehension of informational
multiple formats, such as open-ended, multiple texts (Kim, Dore, Cho, Golinkoff, & Amen-
choice, cloze, sentence verification, and retell dum, 2021). Thus, narrative texts in general
or free recall. If these different methods vary in would place a greater demand on understanding
the extent to which they draw on comprehension perspectives as an interpretive mechanism than
processes and associated skills, then the relations expository texts, which was indeed what was
of component skills to comprehension would dif- found in prior research (Kim et al., 2021).
fer. For example, evidence suggests that the maze Variation in text features, in addition to
task, where a word is missing every nth place, assessment format, is likely one reason that read-
and the free recall or retell task rely more on ing comprehension tasks vary in the extent to
decoding skills than language comprehension which they draw on word reading, vocabulary,
(Cao & Kim, 2021; Muijselaar, Kendeou, de and syntactic knowledge (Cutting & Scarbor-
Jong, & van den Broke, 2017). Then, the relation ough, 2006; Keenan et al., 2008). In addition,
of higher-order cognitive skills to comprehension the relations of component skills to reading com-
 Simplicity Meets Complexity 17

prehension vary depending on the equivalence ment and instruction. Broadly speaking, assess-
of texts or lack thereof in listening and reading ments should start with skills that are higher
comprehension tasks. Let us take an example of in the hierarchy and go down the hierarchy.
the relation of vocabulary to reading comprehen- For example, screening assessments for read-
sion in the presence of listening comprehension. ers beyond the beginning reading phase would
If vocabulary demands of texts in listening com- include reading comprehension; for beginning
prehension and reading comprehension tasks are readers, proximal predictors of reading com-
not substantially discrepant, vocabulary would prehension such as word reading, text-reading
not make an independent contribution to read- fluency, and listening comprehension should be
ing comprehension over and above listening included; and for prereaders, key predictors of
comprehension because the effect of vocabulary word reading such as phonological awareness,
on reading comprehension is captured in listen- orthographic awareness (e.g., letter knowledge),
ing comprehension (i.e., listening comprehension and morphological awareness, as well as lis-
completely mediates the relation of vocabulary tening comprehension should be assessed. The
to reading comprehension). In contrast, if read- hierarchical relations also inform diagnostic
ing comprehension texts place considerably assessments to identify the sources of difficulties
greater demands on vocabulary than do listen- for students who need additional attention. For
ing comprehension texts, vocabulary would be those with word-reading difficulties, diagnostic
directly related to reading comprehension over assessments should include phonological aware-
and above listening comprehension (see, e.g., ness, orthographic awareness (e.g., letter knowl-
Kim, Guo, Liu, Peng, & Yang, 2020, and Met- edge), and morphological awareness, as well as
sala, Sparks, David, Conrad, & Deacon, 2021). domain-general cognitions/executive functions.
Another important aspect of the dynamic rela- Diagnostic assessments for listening compre-
tions hypothesis is differential contributions hension difficulties should include higher-order
of component skills to reading as a function of cognitions, vocabulary, grammatical knowledge,
orthographic depth and linguistic characteristics and background knowledge, as well as domain-
(see Kim, 2020a, 2020b, for more details). For general cognitive skills.
example, in orthographically shallow orthogra- The hierarchical and interactive relations
phies, orthographic awareness and phonological hypotheses indicate that the skills in the DIER are
awareness play dominant roles in word reading. interconnected with one another. This implies that
In orthographies with morphophonological (e.g., for a maximal effect, instruction should address
English, Arabic, Hebrew, Korean) or morphosyl- the multiple skills in a concerted manner because
labic (e.g., Chinese) writing systems, morpholog- they bootstrap each other in development (Duke,
ical awareness additionally plays an important Lindsey, & Wise, Chapter 16, this volume). How-
role in word reading (e.g., McBride-Chang et al., ever, targeting instruction on specific skills iden-
2005). tified through systematic assessment does not
imply teaching skills in isolation. For example,
teaching phonological awareness with alphabet
Implications of the DIER
letters is more effective in improving word read-
Theoretical models, including the DIER, have ing than teaching phonological awareness alone.
important implications for instruction and Instruction of grapheme–phoneme correspon-
assessment (see Kim, 2020b, for greater details dences would be also reinforced with opportuni-
about implications). The first implication is ties to read decodable and authentic texts. Com-
that in order to develop reading comprehen- prehension instruction should also systematically
sion, students need opportunities to develop all address vocabulary, sentence structures, higher-
the skills specified in the DIER. It is important order cognitions, and background knowledge
to recognize that students’ strengths and needs in a carefully integrated manner, in addition to
are not uniform and differ across and within devoted time to teach each.
individuals. Then part and parcel of maximally The hierarchical and interactive relations also
effective teaching is accurate assessment of stu- indicate the importance of establishing foun-
dents’ needs and instruction that is tailored to dational skills and sustained support for devel-
identified needs (i.e., differentiated instruction). opment of skills to promote virtuous cycle and
The hierarchical relations hypothesis of the prevent vicious cycle (e.g., see the Mathew effect;
DIER informs a systematic approach to assess- Stanovich, 1986). In practice, this means that
18 Conceptualizing the Science of Early Literacy

teaching of foundational skills of word reading tapping deep inferential and evaluative compre-
and comprehension should be not be delayed, and hension (Francis et al., 2005; Shanahan, Kamil,
one-time inoculation does not warrant success in & Tobin, 1982). Therefore, although results
reading skills. Although formal reading instruc- from these tasks provide valuable information
tion may not start until kindergarten or later, regarding a general picture about reading com-
the foundational skills that support word-read- prehension, reliance on these tasks alone would
ing development (e.g., phonological, morpho- not paint a precise picture of students’ reading
logical, and orthographic awareness) should be comprehension (e.g., Cao & Kim, 2021).
taught explicitly and systematically earlier. The
same principle applies to comprehension skill.
Listening comprehension as an equivalent skill Conclusion
to reading comprehension (except word-reading
skill) implies that comprehension is a continuum Reading is a complex phenomenon and thus
that develops in oral language contexts (listen- requires multiple theories to describe it. SVR
ing comprehension) and continues to develop in offers a bird’s-eye view of the reading phenom-
written language contexts (reading comprehen- enon and has an important place in the field.
sion). In fact, comprehension skill of complex However, it is insufficient to explain the complex
multiple texts with multiple viewpoints contin- nature of reading. DIER critically extends SVR,
ues to develop into adulthood (Chall, 1983). The putting flesh on SVR, and integrates other theo-
language and cognitive skills that contribute to ries and bodies of work to describe the landscape
comprehension are unconstrained, large-domain and details of skills that contribute to reading
skills that take a prolonged time to develop (e.g., comprehension, and the nature of their struc-
vocabulary, understanding multiple viewpoints). tural relations. It is important for a theoretical
Therefore, comprehension instruction should model to describe and specify the forest and
be an integral part of reading instruction in all trees. Future work across languages and develop-
grades, including primary grades and preschool mental phases is needed to test the propositions
years (see Orcutt, Johnson, & Kendeou, Chap- presented in DIER.
ter 17, this volume). For prereaders and begin-
ning readers, it is crucial that foundational skills
for word reading and comprehension, not those Acknowledgments
for either word reading or comprehension, are
taught concurrently in an explicit and systematic This work was supported by grants from the
manner. Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department
of Education (R305A130131; R305A180055;
The dynamic relations as a function of text
R305A200312) and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver
features suggest the importance of attending to
National Institute of Child Health and Human
text features in instruction and assessment. For Development (National Institute of Child Health and
example, even texts with the same readability Human Development [NICHD]; P50HD052120).
values result in different number of words read The content is solely the responsibility of the author
per minute (i.e., text-reading efficiency; Francis and does not necessarily represent the official views
et al., 2008); therefore, it is important to use of the funding agency.
equated texts, not simply following grade-level
texts and readability values, for progress-mon-
itoring assessment (e.g., Toyoma, Hiebert, & Notes
Pearson, 2017). Decoding, linguistic, content,
1. Individuals’ experiences of reading success and
and cognitive demands should also be carefully
difficulties is provisionally hypothesized to start
considered in planning and implementing teach- the interactive, bidirectional relations between
ing (e.g., Hiebert, Toyoma, & Irey, 2020). The social–emotional attitudes toward reading and
dynamic relations as a function of assessment reading skills (e.g., Chapman & Tunmer, 2003;
format also have implications. For example, see the interactive relations hypothesis).
maze tasks and free recall/retell are widely used 2. Although not explicitly represented in Figure 1.1,
as measures of reading comprehension in U.S. the DIER recognizes the importance of develop-
school settings (e.g., Dynamic Indicators of Basic ing automaticity and overlearning—effortless
Early Literacy Skills [DIBELS] and informal and efficient access and retrieval of informa-
inventory). However, these tasks are limited in tion—beyond text-reading fluency. The impor-
 Simplicity Meets Complexity 19

tance of automaticity, in addition to accuracy, Chow, B. W., McBride-Chang, C., & Burgess, S.
applies to all the skills, including word reading (2005). Phonological processing skills and early
(see Ehri, 2005), text reading (text-reading flu- reading abilities in Hong Kong Chinese kinder-
ency), sublexical skills (e.g., phonological aware- gartners learning to read English as a second
ness, letter knowledge, morphological aware- language. Journal of Educational Psychology,
ness), language skills (e.g., vocabulary, syntactic 97(1), 81–87.
knowledge), higher-order cognitions and regula- Collins, A. A., Compton, D. L., Lindstrom, E.
tions, and background knowledge. For example, R., & Gilbert, J. K. (2020). Performance varia-
automaticity of letter-sound knowledge facili- tions across reading comprehension assessments:
tates accessing and retrieving sounds associated Examining the unique contributions of text,
with each letter or grapheme, and blending them activity, and reader. Reading and Writing, 33,
to read words without placing high demands on 605–634.
working memory and attentional resources. Cutting, L. E., & Scarborough, H. S. (2006). Pre-
diction of reading comprehension: Relative con-
tributions of word recognition, language profi-
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 CHAPTER 2

Early Environmental Influences on Language

Meredith L. Rowe, Rachel R. Romeo, and Kathryn A. Leech

Tguage.
he science of early literacy begins with lan-
A large body of literature documents clear
hypothesis (e.g., Kuhl, 2007) highlights how
the infant brain benefits from contingent social
associations between young children’s oral lan- interaction early in life for language learning.
guage skills and their literacy development (Jus- As an example, one study revealed that Ameri-
tice & Jiang, Chapter 11, this volume). Decoding can infants who were exposed to Mandarin
skills are also essential for literacy but need to be in a series of book-reading sessions with a live
explicitly taught starting in the preschool years. Mandarin-speaking woman reading the books
Oral language skills, on the other hand, develop with them were able to learn how to discrimi-
from birth, and are highly influenced by envi- nate different phonemes in Mandarin. However,
ronmental experiences. We use the term oral lan- a separate group of American infants who were
guage skills broadly to refer to the various com- exposed to only a video of the same woman read-
ponents of language that children acquire over ing the same books in Mandarin did not learn to
the first 5 years, including phonology, vocabu- discriminate the sounds. Thus, it is not just the
lary, syntax, and pragmatic skills. In this chap- input that is necessary for phonological develop-
ter we provide a brief overview of the research ment in infancy, but the contingent social inter-
on environmental influences on oral language action that comes along with the input (Kuhl,
development, with a specific focus on the impor- 2010). Research with toddlers found similar
tant role of language input during social interac- results in which children were able to learn new
tions. Our review is limited primarily to typically verbs when interacting with a live experimenter
developing children learning a first language. or an experimenter in a contingent interaction
After summarizing the literature, we highlight over Skype; however, when watching and listen-
some of our recent work in this area and suggest ing to the same input on a yoked video, they did
directions for future research and implications not learn the new verbs (Roseberry, Hirsh-Pasek,
for intervention and instruction. & Golinkoff, 2014). However, beginning later in
the second year of life, once children’s cognitive
and language skills increase, they become able to
Background learn from nonsocial input, such as video, and
from overheard speech spoken to others (e.g.,
Infants Need Social Interaction
Akhtar, 2005). Yet despite these increasing skills,
to Learn a Language
research suggests that toddlers continue to ben-
Infants need to be exposed to language used efit most from speech used in contingent back-
around them to learn language, and it is essen- and-forth social interactions (Hirsh-Pasek et al.,
tial that this input is social. The social gating 2015).

23
24 Conceptualizing the Science of Early Literacy

Input and Vocabulary Development children who are exposed to input that is more
syntactically complex and contains more diverse
Young, preliterate children need to hear words
syntactic structures have faster growth over time
to learn those words. While there is experimen-
in their own productive syntax as measured by
tal evidence that children can pick up words
the mean length of utterances (MLU) produced
relatively quickly from single exposures (e.g.,
(Huttenlocher, Waterfall, Vasilyeva, Vevea, &
Carey & Bartlett, 1978), research on everyday
Hedges, 2010). Parents who use a larger propor-
parent–child interactions shows a developmen-
tion of complex sentences when interacting with
tal progression where in infancy there is a posi-
their preschool-age children have children who
tive association between repetition in the input
use a larger proportion of complex sentences in
and later vocabulary size (Newman, Rowe, &
those same interactions and perform better on
Ratner, 2016), yet in toddlerhood it is diversity a separate syntax comprehension assessment
in the input that is associated with vocabulary (Huttenlocher, Vasilyeva, Cymerman, & Levine,
growth (e.g., Rowe, 2012). In infancy, children 2002). In addition, preschool children in class-
are also more likely to learn words if they are rooms with teachers who use a larger proportion
used to label objects in the child’s line of atten- of complex sentences have greater increases over
tion (Yu & Smith, 2012), for example, label- the course of the school year in their syntactic
ing the “shoe” while the child is looking at the comprehension (Huttenlocher et al., 2002). This
shoe. Relatedly, toddlers learn more when lan- finding is important, because it rules out any
guage is used during episodes of joint attention potential genetic confounds, as the teachers are
in which caregiver and child are jointly interact- not related to the children. Thus, exposure to a
ing around a shared focus than from language variety of syntactic structures in the input is pos-
used outside of joint attention episodes (Toma- itively associated with children’s understanding
sello & Farrar, 1986), echoing the importance of and use of those structures.
of contingent social interaction discussed earlier. There is some evidence from short-term inter-
Preschoolers, with their more advanced cogni- ventions that the relationship is causal. For
tive and language skills, benefit from contingent example, use of passive sentences is relatively rare
conversations that are more challenging, in that in day-to-day input in English speaking families
they have an abstract focus (talking about future (e.g., Maratsos, Fox, Becker, & Chalkley, 1985),
plans or why dinosaurs are extinct) than those and passives prove challenging for children
that are more grounded in there here-and-now to comprehend. To test out whether increased
(e.g., Rowe, 2012). Indeed, experience with these exposure to the passive voice in the input would
types of decontextualized conversations in early promote syntactic development, Vasilyeva, Hut-
childhood is associated with kindergarten vocab- tenlocher, and Waterfall (2006) developed a
ulary, syntax, and narrative skills, as well as aca- book-reading intervention in which they inserted
demic language skills in adolescence (e.g., Demir, passive sentences into books, then tested whether
Rowe, Heller, Goldin-Meadow, & Levine, 2015; regular exposure to the passive stories (com-
Uccelli, Demir-Lira, Rowe, Levine, & Goldin- pared to the active stories) over a short period of
Meadow, 2019). Thus, across early development, time would influence children’s comprehension
children of all ages benefit from contingent back- of passive sentences on a separate assessment.
and-forth interactions, yet the complexity of the Indeed, they found significant positive increases
linguistic input should increase with age, as well in passive understanding for the children in the
as the abstractness of the topic of conversation passive book condition, suggesting that increas-
(e.g., Rowe & Snow, 2020). ing exposure to certain syntactic constructions
can cause an increase in understanding of those
constructions (Vasilyeva et al., 2006).
Syntactic Exposure and Development
While syntactic development follows a relatively
predictable course in early childhood, children do
Environmental Influences
vary widely in their syntactic skills at any given
on Pragmatic Development
age (e.g., Fenson et al., 1994) and language expo- Pragmatic development includes the ability to
sure still plays an important role. For example, use language socially to convey different intents,
exposure to verbs used in diverse sentence frames such as to pose a question or issue a command,
is found to support learning of those verbs (e.g., and to use language appropriately given the situ-
Naigles & Hoff-Ginsberg, 1995). More generally, ation, which often requires understanding the
 Early Environmental Influences on Language 25

perspective of a conversational partner. Children language development. This leads to an important

as young as 9 months of age are found to under- follow-up question: What factors contribute to
stand the communicative intentions of others this variation in language environments? Indeed,
(Stephens & Matthews, 2014), and beginning myriad factors play a role, including socioeco-
in infancy, through their uses of gesture, chil- nomic status (SES; often measured as parental
dren produce different intents such as “to give” income and/or education level), literacy skills, and
or “to direct attention” or “to provide informa- knowledge of child development, each of which
tion” (Bates, Camaioni, & Volterra, 1975; Lisz- positively relates to the amount and diversity of
kowski, Carpenter, & Tomasello, 2008). Across parent communication with children (e.g., Hart
early childhood there is large variation in chil- & Risley, 1995; Leung & Suskind, 2020; Rowe,
dren’s pragmatic development that is associated 2008; Rowe, Pan, & Ayoub, 2005). On the other
with, but distinct from, variation in other facets hand, factors such as maternal stress, depression,
of language development such as vocabulary financial hardship, and household chaos are typi-
and syntax (O’Neill, 2007). Studies looking at cally negatively associated with features of parent
caregiver uses of communicative intents with input found to promote language learning (e.g.,
children suggest that parents use a limited range Ellwood-Lowe, Foushee, & Srinivasan, 2022;
of intents with infants (i.e., directing attention, Evans, Maxwell, & Hart, 1999; Kaplan, Danko,
discussing joint focus of attention), and similar & Diaz, 2010; Rowe et al., 2005). Furthermore,
to lexical and syntactic input, they increase in whether the parents are bilingual and their beliefs
the diversity and sophistication of communica- about bilingualism affect the extent to which
tive intents produced as children age and increase children are exposed to one or more languages
in language ability (Pan, Imbens-Baily, Winner, at home and school (Surrain, 2021). For more on
& Snow, 1996). However, we do not have much language exposure and bilingual development, a
literature on the environmental factors that con- topic beyond the scope of this chapter, see Hoff
tribute to variation in pragmatic development or (2018) for a review. (For more on language and
on the specific pragmatic skills that are most rel- literacy development in dual language learners,
evant for later outcomes (e.g., Matthews, Biney, see Mancilla-Martinez, Chapter 3, and Phillips
& Abbott-Smith, 2018). Nonetheless, there are Galloway & Lesaux, Chapter 24, this volume.)
studies showing that engaging in certain types of
communicative acts/interchanges with children
promotes language development more broadly. Summary
For example, positive associations are found In summary, the research on parent input and
between parents’ use of conversation-eliciting child language development highlights the
utterances, such as wh-questions, and toddler’s importance of frequently engaging children in
language (e.g., Rowe, Leech, & Cabrera, 2017), back-and-forth extended conversations on top-
whereas negative associations are noted between ics of interest to them. Given these findings, our
parents’ use of utterances to direct their child’s recent work has focused on (1) trying to better
behavior and language learning (e.g., Rowe, understand the mechanisms underlying the rela-
Coker, & Pan, 2004; Tomasello & Todd, 1983). tionship between language exposure and lan-
Taken together, the findings are consistent with guage development, and (2) determining whether
the notion that using language in a way that helps parent input is malleable through intervention,
to engage children in extended back-and-forth
and if so, whether changes in input cause changes
conversations on more and more abstract topics
in children’s language development. We present
as they age is beneficial for developing conver-
some of our recent findings in each of these areas
sational skill and language development more
in the following section.
broadly (Rowe & Snow, 2020; Tomasello, 1988).

Why Do Home Language Environments Building on the Research to Understand

Vary So Much? Neural Mechanisms and Causal
Intervention Effects
In line with sociocultural theory (e.g., Bruner,
1983; Vygotsky, 1978), the previous review dem- Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms
onstrates how social interaction is at the core of
language development and that variation in chil- Children’s observable language development is
dren’s language exposure predicts variation in supported by the development of a complex neu-
26 Conceptualizing the Science of Early Literacy

robiological network that spans all four lobes words and conversational turns (Romeo, Leon-
of the cerebral cortex (for review, see Friederici, ard, et al., 2018; Romeo, Segaran et al., 2018),
2006). Current evidence overwhelmingly sup- consistent with several earlier studies of SES and
ports a gene × environment theory of brain devel- language experience (e.g., Rowe, 2018). SES was
opment, whereby a child’s genetics provide the also positively correlated with children’s lan-
blueprint for neural development, yet the child’s guage skills (a composite of receptive and expres-
early experiences shape individual differences sive vocabulary and morphosyntax). However,
in neural development (Boyce, Sokolowski, & after controlling for SES, conversational turns
Robinson, 2020). Indeed, the developing brain continued to predict unique variance in chil-
is remarkably plastic, and children’s early expe- dren’s verbal scores, and significantly mediated
riences—both favorable and adverse—influ- the relationship between SES and children’s
ence developmental trajectories of both brain verbal scores (Romeo, Leonard, et al., 2018;
structure and function, through a process called Romeo, Segaran, et al., 2018). No such relation-
“biological embedding” (Gabard-Durnam & ships were found with adult word count, suggest-
McLaughlin, 2020). A core topic of neurode- ing that after accounting for socioeconomic vari-
velopmental investigation is how early experi- ance, conversational experience is more strongly
ences become biologically embedded, and how linked to language development than the sheer
these brain changes in turn influence cognitive number of words heard.
and behavioral development. Specifically, for Turn-taking experience was also associ-
children’s language exposure to influence their ated with measures of children’s brain function
language development, presumably this must and structure. Using functional MRI (fMRI),
be mediated by one or more neurodevelopmen- children’s brain activation was measured dur-
tal mechanisms (Noble, Houston, Kan, & Sow- ing a story-listening task that indexes language
ell, 2012; Perkins, Finegood, & Swain, 2013). comprehension (Romeo, Leonard, et al., 2018).
Guided by theories of biological embedding, we Higher conversational turn experience was cor-
recently investigated these mechanisms in a series related with greater activation in Broca’s area, a
of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies region of the left inferior frontal gyrus known to
aimed at understanding relationships between be involved in speech and language processing.
SES, language exposure, and cognitive and brain Additionally, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI)
development. indexed the structural connectivity of white-
While most early studies of language exposure matter tracts between brain regions. Children
relied on hand-coding of videotaped parent–child who experienced more conversational turns also
interactions, typically, in a laboratory setting or exhibited greater fractional anisotropy—a mea-
in short home recordings, an increasing number sure of white-matter integrity and maturity—in
of studies utilize LENA (Language ENvironment the left arcuate and superior longitudinal fascic-
Analysis)—a small, 2-ounce recorder worn in a uli, which connect Broca’s area to other language
child’s shirt pocket that records full days of the regions in the brain development (Romeo, Sega-
child’s firsthand auditory experience (Gilkerson ran, et al., 2018). Each of these neural measures
et al., 2017). LENA software analyzes children’s independently mediated the relationship between
auditory environments, segments the speech, conversational turns and language scores, indi-
and estimates how many words the child heard cating both a functional and structural mecha-
spoken by an adult within earshot (“adult word nism linking language experience to language
count”), how many utterances were spoken by skill.
the child wearing the recorder (“child vocaliza- A partially overlapping sample of children
tion count”), and how many back-and-forth from the cross-sectional study also participated
conversational turns occurred between the child in a longitudinal examination of neural plastic-
and any adult with no more than 5 seconds pause ity in response to modifications to the language
(“conversational turn count”). A SES-diverse environment. Families were randomly assigned
sample of families with children ages 4–6 years either to a control group or to attend a 9-week
completed 2 days of LENA recordings, as well as family-based intervention designed to increase
lab-based measures of language skills and brain parent–child communication through “mean-
development. ingFULL,” responsive, and balanced language
Higher parental education and family income use (Neville et al., 2013). On average, families
were associated with greater numbers of adult who completed the intervention showed greater
 Early Environmental Influences on Language 27

increases in conversational turns but no changes opment and developmental milestones engage in
in the overall number of adult words or child parenting practices that are more promotive of
vocalizations (Romeo et al., 2021). Furthermore, children’s language and cognitive development
the magnitude of change in conversational turns (Garrett-Peters et al., 2008; Leung & Suskind,
was positively correlated with longitudinal corti- 2020; Miller, 1998; Rowe, 2008).
cal thickening in two regions: a large part of left In one intervention study (Leech et al., 2018),
inferior frontal gyrus, including Broca’s area, as we sought to increase abstract conversations
well as prefrontal regions known to be involved between parents and preschoolers. As discussed
in executive functioning (Diamond, 2013; Miller earlier, preschoolers’ oral language skills benefit
& Cohen, 2001), and the left supramarginal from caregiver input, which challenges them to
gyrus, a part of the parietal lobe that is known think and discuss abstract, nonpresent concepts.
to subserve language comprehension, phonologi- We refer to these conversations as decontextual-
cal processing, and social cognition (Tremblay ized language (Snow, 1991), which may include
& Dick, 2016; Oberhuber et al., 2016; Adolphs, discussions about the past or future, explana-
2009). Finally, growth the in the supramar- tions and definitions of new words, or engage-
ginal region mediated the relationships between ment in pretense. Decontextualized language is
changes in turn taking and children’s language a particularly appealing focus for intervention,
development (Romeo et al., 2021). This indicates because parents already use this type of language
that conversational turns support language devel- with their children and it can be embedded in
opment through cortical growth in language many routines such as play or mealtimes, the lat-
and social processing regions, and suggests that ter of which was the focus of this study (Beals,
socially motivated verbal interaction, rather than 1993, 2001).
passive language exposure, best supports brain Because asking parents to increase their
and language growth. decontextualized talk is a rather opaque message
to communicate, we devised an acronym called
READY Talk to provide parents with examples
Parent-Focused Interventions
of decontextualized talk in an accessible frame-
Intervention designs are especially important work. Each letter of READY stood for a differ-
in language research for theoretical and practi- ent type of decontextualized language (Recall
cal reasons. From a theoretical perspective, such past events, Explain new words and concepts,
designs help to establish causal effects of care- Ask lots of questions, Discuss the future), and a
giver input, because one can test whether the message to increase parents’ motivation and effi-
intervention—focused on only parents—leads to cacy (You can make a difference in your child’s
improved child outcomes. From a practical stand- academic success). To test the effectiveness of the
point, conversational interventions hold promise READY Talk program, 36 higher-SES parents
for large-scale implementation because they do of 4-year-old children were randomly assigned
not involve expensive materials, rather revolving to receive the program or to a control condition.
around enhancing existing conversation prac- Parents assigned to the intervention condition
tices in the home. Recently we have developed watched a 15-minute video, which consisted of
several light-touch interventions of this sort to an introduction to READY Talk and video mod-
improve child language by intervening around els of dyads using each type of READY Talk. All
socially contingent caregiver–child interactions parents then recorded one mealtime conversation
(Leech, Wei, Harring, & Rowe, 2018; Leech per week for the following month (four record-
& Rowe, 2020; Rowe & Leech, 2019). In these ings in total), which we transcribed and coded
studies, parents receive information about the for decontextualized language.
importance of conversations for oral language Findings indicated that parents who received
skills and strategies for how to engage in these the intervention used more than twice as much
conversations. The theory of change associated decontextualized language during home meal-
with these interventions is that increasing parent times than parents in the control condition.
knowledge may change the home language envi- Intervention effects were maintained across the
ronment and in turn improve children’s devel- study; at the final recording intervention par-
oping oral language capacities. This theory of ents’ decontextualized talk comprised 49.1% of
change is based on work showing that parents their total utterances versus 18.9% in the control
who are more knowledgeable about child devel- condition. Parents who received the interven-
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bands of decumbent hair upon the abdomen, which is more densely
pubescent on the first and second segments; and the four terminal
joints of the posterior tarsi are conterminous with their plantæ.

NATIVE SPECIES.
1. longicornis, Linnæus. 6-7 lines. (Plate VI. fig. 2 ♂♀.)
longicornis, Kirby.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
This genus derives its name from the great length of the antennæ
in the male,—εὖ, good or great, κέρας, horn. The name of the genus
is usually given from some female characteristic, or from a
peculiarity common to both sexes, or irrespective of any direct
application, but here we find it deduced from a feature exclusively
masculine. Instances of the first class we see in Colletes, Halictus,
Andrena, Dasypoda, Panurgus, Saropoda, Ceratina, Cœlioxys,
Chelostoma, Heriades, Anthocopa, and Apathus; of the second class
we have Prosopis, Sphecodes, Macropis, Anthophora, Nomada,
Melecta, perhaps Epeolus, according to Latreille’s idea, Stelis,
Anthidium, Osmia, and Bombus; the third class comprises in our
series merely Cilissa, and in this series the male characteristics that
have suggested the name are just as few, being limited to the
present genus. But the males among the bees exhibit in many cases
strong and striking peculiarities which distinguish them from their
partners. Exclusively of the general distinction expressed in their
organic difference by the possession of one additional joint to the
antennæ and one more segment to the abdomen than is exhibited in
the females, we find in many cases in these two parts of their
structure very marked singularities. Great sexual differences in the
length of the antennæ are not restricted to the present genus; in
fact, in most of the genera, this is the first striking feature, but
which becomes conspicuously so in some species of Sphecodes, in
most of the Halicti, in some Nomadæ, in Chelostoma, Osmia,
Apathus, and Bombus. In Eucera and Sphecodes, each joint of the
flagellum is slightly curved, and in the former the surface of those
joints appears compounded of hexagons. In Chelostoma the
antennæ, besides being longer than in the female, are also very
much slighter and slightly compressed, and have a structure capable
of curling upon itself; in the female of this genus the organ is
clavate; and in Osmia, besides their length, in one species the male
has a fringe of hair attached to one side along the whole of the
organ. In other cases, where the antennæ are not remarkably longer
in the male they have extra development by becoming thicker, as in
Melecta; and in Megachile the terminal joint of their antennæ is
laterally dilated and compressed. In scarcely any case are they
geniculated at the scape in the male, as they are in the female. The
other genera with clavate antennæ have the same structure in both
sexes, as in Panurgus and Ceratina. Remarkable peculiarities in the
terminal ventral segment or segments of the male may be found
most conspicuously developed in Halictus, Cœlioxys, Anthidium,
Chelostoma, Heriades, Osmia, Apathus, Bombus, and Apis. In
Cœlioxys and Anthidium, and some of the Osmiæ, this sex is further
furnished with a series of projecting spines, processes, or serrations
at the apex of the terminal dorsal segment. In Chelostoma, the
ventral structure of the male is very singular, the apex being adapted
to a mucro at the base which permits the insect to curl up this
portion of the body similarly to its antennæ, the furcated extremity
of the abdomen fitting, when thus folded, upon the mucro. It is as
well to draw observation to these peculiarities, which give additional
interest to the study of the group.
The genus Eucera appears in May and June. In some parts they
are found in large colonies; although I have seen them abundant I
never found them in this gregarious condition, and I have usually
discovered them frequenting loamy and sandy soils; they burrow a
cell six or eight inches deep, form an oval chamber at its extremity,
which as well as the sides of the cylinder leading to it they make
extremely smooth, and by some process prevent its absorbing the
mixture of honey and pollen which they store for the supply of the
larva, and each contains but one young one. These, having full fed,
lie in a dormant state throughout the winter and do not change into
pupæ until mid-spring, and speedily transform into the imago,
which, until fully matured, is closely in every part and limb covered
with a thin silky pellicle, wherein it lies as in a shroud, but at its
appointed time, regulated by some influence of which we have no
cognizance, active life becomes developed, it then casts off its
envelope and comes forth to revel in the sunshine, in close
companionship with a partner which its instinct promptly teaches it
to find. The largest of our native Nomadæ is its parasite the N.
sexcincta, and which seems wholly restricted to it, but which is often
even rare in places where the Eucera abounds. The female, like
those of the rest of the bees, is no time-waster, but flies steadily to
and fro in her occupation of provisioning her nest, and the male
often accompanies her in these expeditions, gallantly winging about
with extreme velocity as if to divert his sedulous companion in the
fatigue of her toil, by his evolutions and his music, which is very
sonorous. And on a fine May day it is extremely pleasant in a
picturesque situation to sit and watch the operations of these very
active insects. In their recent state, when just evolved from the
nidus, they are very elegant, being covered with a close silky down,
which labour and exposure soon abrades. It is said that this bee
deserts her nest when she finds the stranger’s egg deposited on the
provender laid up in store, or when she meets with the Nomada
within, which sometimes lays two eggs in one cell. To this she does
not deliver battle, as does the Anthophora to Melecta, but patiently
vacates the nest, leaving it to the service of the parasite, which is
also supposed to close it herself, having been caught with clay
encrusted upon her posterior legs. For the accuracy of this
supposition I cannot vouch, never having observed the
circumstance, nor have I seen reason to abandon the idea that the
parasite has no instinct for labour of any kind,—the presence of the
clay being, I expect, merely accidental, for it is notorious that these
insects have an overruling predilection for keeping themselves
extremely clean.
 †† With three submarginal cells to the wings.
Genus 11. Anthophora, Latreille.
(Plate VI. fig. 3, and Plate VII. fig. 1.)
Apis ** d, 2 a, Kirby.
Gen. Char.: Head transverse, nearly as wide as the thorax; vertex
depressed; ocelli placed in a curved line upon its posterior margin;
antennæ short, subclavate, basal joint of flagellum globose, its
second joint longer than the scape, very slender, the rest of the
joints subequal; face flattish; clypeus protuberant; labrum quadrate,
convex; mandibles distinctly bidentate and obtuse; cibarial apparatus
very long; tongue very long, transversely striated, and with a small
knob at the extremity; paraglossæ about one-third the length of the
tongue, acuminate; labial palpi slender, more than half the length of
the tongue, membranous, the basal joint as long again as the
remainder, the second joint very slender and very acute; the two
terminal joints very short and subclavate, inserted before the
extremity of the second joint; labium short, one-fourth the length of
the tongue, its inosculation concave; maxillæ hastate, not so long as
the tongue; maxillary palpi one-third the length of the maxillæ, six-
jointed, the basal joint very robust, the rest filiform, the second the
longest, and all the rest decreasing in length and substance. Thorax
oval, densely pubescent, which conceals its divisions; metathorax
truncated; wings with three submarginal cells, closed, the second
receives the first recurrent nervure in its centre, and the third, which
bulges externally, receives the second at its extremity; legs setose,
the exterior of the posterior tibiæ and plantæ moderately so, and
the interior of the latter also densely setose; the second joint of the
posterior tarsi inserted beneath and within the termination of their
plantæ; the claw-joint longer than the two preceding; claws bifid,
the inner tooth distant from the external. Abdomen ovate,
subpubescent, the fifth segment densely fimbriated and the terminal
segment with an emarginate appendage.
In the MALES the antennæ are very similar, but the mandibles are
more acutely bidentate, and with the exception of the form of the
legs, the general aspect is like the female; the legs, although setose,
are less conspicuously so, the intermediate tarsi in the first section
of the genus being longer than the rest of the entire leg, and are
fringed externally with very long hair, or it is restricted to the plantæ
of that leg and then it is short and very rigid; the entire limb
stretched out extends beyond the widest expansion of the superior
wings. The ABDOMEN is also less retuse than in the female, at its basal
segment.
In the second division of this genus, of which Anthophora furcata
may be considered to be the type, the general habit is precisely the
same, but the insects are not so pubescent, and there is a greater
similarity between the sexes. The intermediate legs also, although
long in the male, are not so extremely long as they are in the first
section.

NATIVE SPECIES.

§ Males with elongate tufted intermediate tarsi, and differing from female in
colour.
1. retusa, Linnæus, ♂ ♀. 6 lines. (Plate VI. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.)
Haworthana, Kirby.
Haworthana, Curtis, viii. 357.
2. acervorum, Fabricius, ♂ ♀. 6-8 lines.
retusa, Kirby.

§§ Males without elongate tufted intermediate tarsi, concolorous

with their females.
3. furcata, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 5-6 lines. (Plate VII. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.)
furcata, Kirby.
4. quadrimaculata, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 4-5 lines.
vulpina, Kirby.
subglobosa, Kirby.
 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
The name ἄνθος, φὼρ φωρὸς, flower-rifler, would be as suitable
for any other genus of bees, and therefore may be classed with
those names which have no explicit signification.
The two divisions which our native species of this genus form,
might very consistently constitute two genera, differing so much as
they do both in habit and habits. In the first section the males totally
differ from their females, the latter being black and the pubescence
of their partners fulvous, and whose intermediate legs are so much
longer, and are decorated besides with tufts of hair upon their
plantæ, neither peculiarity being found in those of the second
section, which conform more regularly to the ordinary type of
structure. The first section also nidificate gregariously, forming
enormous colonies which consist of many hundreds; whereas the
second are solitary nidificators, and at most half-a-dozen may be
found within as many square yards of territory, and one species, the
A. furcata, diverges considerably from the ordinary habits of the
genus, and closely approaches those of the foreign genus Xylocopa,
but its structure necessarily retains it within the boundaries of the
genus. All these insects exhibit the peculiar characteristic of the
Scopulipedes, in the insertion of the second joint of the posterior
tarsi at the very bottom of their plantæ, conjunctively with the
polliniferous scopa, placed externally upon their tibiæ and plantæ, in
which characteristics the Andrenoid Macropis remarkably resembles
them, and which I have noticed in my remarks upon that genus.
The first section burrows in banks, where their colonies are
extremely numerous. In the tunnels which they form they construct
several elliptical cells which they line with a delicate membrane of a
white colour, formed by a secretion or saliva derived from the
digestion of either the pollen or the honey which they consume.
Each cell when formed is stored as usual, and the egg deposited,
and then it is closed. There is but little variation in these processes
among all the solitary bees, excepting in the case of the artisan bees
and the more elaborate processes of Colletes, in which, however, the
casing is merely thicker, arising from several layers of the coating
membrane. The perfect insects make their appearance during the
spring and summer months, their successive maturity being the
result of the previous summer and autumn deposit of eggs. They
pass the winter and spring in the larva state, and undergo their
transformations into pupa and imago with but slight interval, and
only shortly before the appearance of the perfect insect. When first
presenting themselves they are certainly very handsome insects, and
if carefully killed preserve their beauty for many years in the cabinet.
I have found the retusa, Linn., (Kirby’s Haworthana,) in enormous
profusion at Hampstead Heath, indeed, so numerous were they, that
late in the afternoon, upon approaching the colony, they, in
returning home, would strike as forcibly against me as is often done
by Melolontha vulgaris or Geotrupes stercorarius. In equal
abundance I have found the A. acervorum at Charlton, where I have
experienced a similar battery. This is the insect which Gilbert White,
in his letters from Selborne, describes as having found in numbers at
Mount Caburn, near Lewes, a spot I have often visited in my
schoolboy days. This section is subject to the parasitism of the
genus Melecta, whose incursions are very repugnant to them, and
which they exhibit in very fierce pugnacity, for if they catch the
intruder in her invasion they will draw her forth and deliver battle
with great fury. I have seen both the combatants rolling in the dust,
the combat and escape made perhaps easier to the Melecta by the
load the Anthophora was bearing home. Upon the larva also of this
bee it is said that the larva of the Heteromerous genus Meloë is
nurtured; this I have never been able to verify, but I believe the fact
is fully confirmed. This beetle is closely allied to the Cantharides, or
blister-beetles, and it itself exudes a very acrimonious yellow liquid
when touched or irritated. Two of the Chalcididæ also infest their
larvæ, which they destroy; one is the Melittobia, named thus from its
preying upon bees; it, like the majority of its tribe, is exceedingly
minute, and of a shining dark green metallic colour. It is peculiar
from having its lateral eyes simple, and in possessing besides three
ocelli. The other genus is Monodontomeris, an equally small insect,
which, although living upon the larva of Anthophora, is equally
preyed upon by that of the Melittobia. The universal scourge,
Forficula, is a great devastator of these colonies, where, of course, it
revels in its destructive propensities.
The insects of the second division I have never been able to track
to their burrows, but have always caught them either on the wing or
on flowers, especially upon those of the common Mallow, and I have
found both species all round London. They are said also to frequent
the Dead Nettle (Lamium purpureum). The A. quadrimaculata
burrows in banks, and its processes are scarcely different from those
of the preceding species, only its habits are solitary. In flight it is
exceedingly rapid, and thus much resembles Saropoda. But the A.
furcata bores into putrescent wood, in which it forms a longitudinal
pipe subdivided into nine or ten oval divisions, separated from each
other by agglutinated scrapings of the same material, very much
masticated, the closing of each forming a sharp sort of cornice; each
of these cells is about half an inch in length, and three-tenths of an
inch in diameter, the separations between them being about a line
thick. These pipes or cylinders run parallel to the sides of the wood
thus bored, an angle being made both at its commencement and its
termination, and thus the latter permits the ready escape of the
developed imago nearest that extremity, which being the first
deposited, that cell being the first constructed, it necessarily
becomes the first transmuted, and thus has not to wait for the
egress of all above it.
All these insects are usually accompanied by their partners in their
flight, and their amorous intercourse takes place upon the wing.

Genus 12. Saropoda, Latreille.

(Plate VII. fig. 2 ♂♀.)
Apis ** d, 2, a, Kirby.
Gen. Char.: Head transverse, as wide as the thorax, very
pubescent; ocelli placed in a triangle, the anterior one low towards
the face; vertex slightly concave; antennæ short, filiform, basal joint
of flagellum globose, the second joint subclavate and the longest,
the rest short and equal; face flattish, short; clypeus forming an
obtuse triangle, slightly convex; labrum quadrate, with the angles
rounded; mandibles obtusely bidentate; cibarial apparatus long;
tongue very long and slender, but gradually expanding towards half
its length and then as gradually tapering to the extremity and
terminating in a small knob, its sides throughout being fimbriated
with short delicate down; paraglossæ one-third its length,
membranous, very delicate, and tapering to a point; labial palpi
slender, membranous, the joints conterminous, the basal joint more
than half the length of the tongue, the remainder short, the second
the longest of these three, and all tapering to the pointed apical
one; labium scarcely one-third as long as the tongue, rather broad,
bifid at its inosculation; maxillæ nearly as long as the tongue,
gradually diminishing from its basal sinus to a point at its extremity;
maxillary palpi four-jointed, about one-third the length of the
maxillæ, the basal joint short, robust, the second tapering from its
base to the third joint, which is rather shorter and subclavate, the
terminal joint slender. Thorax very pubescent, rendering its divisions
inconspicuous; scutellum and post-scutellum lunulate and convex;
metathorax truncated; wings as in Anthophora, with three marginal
cells closed, the second forming a truncated triangle, and receiving
the first recurrent nervure near its centre, the third bulging
outwardly and receiving the second recurrent nervure at its
extremity; legs very setose, especially the posterior tibiæ externally,
and their plantæ both externally and internally, but the setæ are
longer on the exterior of the joint, the second joint of these tarsi
inserted beneath, and before the termination of their plantæ, the
terminal joint longer than the two preceding; claws bifid, the inner
tooth distant from the apex. Abdomen subovate, very convex,
truncated at its base, where it is densely pubescent, the fifth
segment fimbriated with stiff setæ, and the terminal segment having
a central triangular plate with rigid setæ at its sides.
The MALE scarcely differs, excepting in the characteristic sexual
disparities of slightly longer antennæ, and considerably longer
intermediate tarsi, whose apical joint is very clavate.

NATIVE SPECIES.
1. bimaculata, Panzer. ♂ ♀. 4-5 lines. (Plate VII. fig. 2 ♂ ♀.)
bimaculata, Kirby.
rotundata, Kirby.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
The name of this genus is as applicable to the subsection as to the
genus itself, σάρος, brush, ποûς ποδὸς, a foot, in allusion to their
polliniferous posterior legs.
We have but one species, but it is very characteristic; for, although
retaining several of the features of the second division of
Anthophora (in the colouring of the face it participates with the
males of both divisions), yet has it still a marked physiognomy of its
own; it retains the normal colouring of bees generally, but its
strongest distinction from that division of Anthophora is the
shortness of the antennæ in the female, as in the length of the
intermediate legs of the male it would seem to form a link between
the two divisions, could a distinct genus stand in such a position,
and would almost import the necessity of elevating that division to
generic rank, as hinted at in the observations under Anthophora. In
the large development of its claws it seems to point to an economy
somewhat differing from that second division, but nobody appears to
have traced it to its nidus. I have often captured it at Battersea upon
the Mallow, together with A. quadrimaculata, but the singular
velocity of its flight might indicate a very distant domicile,—in a few
minutes it could traverse miles. The electrical vivacity and rich
opaline tint of its eyes has been often observed, but this,
unfortunately, fades with death; yet so marked is it that it has called
forth the distinct observation of a Panzer and a Kirby. Besides the
Mallow it has been observed to frequent the Heaths, and were its
habits better known would be found, I have no doubt, to visit many
other flowers, for Curtis took it in the Isle of Wight sleeping in the
great Knapweed, Centaurea scabiosa. I have never caught it laden.
I have hazarded the conjecture in a different part of this work that
the music of the bees might be attuned to a musical scale by
associating the different species in the due gradation of their varying
tones. Here we have one of the most musical of the tribe,—not a
monotonous dull sleepy hum, but a fine contralto, the very Patti
amongst the bees. But it is rapidity of motion which in them
intensifies the note they chant, and the velocity of the flight of this
insect is something remarkable. They dart about with almost the
rapidity of a flash of lightning, and this swiftness of approach and
retreat modulates their accents.
Under the head “Macropis” I have pointed to some strong
resemblances between this genus and that.

Genus 13. Ceratina, Latreille.

(Plate VII. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.)
Apis ** d 2, a, Kirby.
Gen. Char.: Head transverse, convex, glabrous; ocelli placed in a
triangle on the vertex, which is, as well as the face, convex;
antennæ short, subclavate, each inserted in a separate deep cavity
in the centre of the face, the first joint of the flagellum globose, the
second the longest of all and slender at its base, but all gradually
enlarging to the extremity; clypeus very gibbous; labrum quadrate,
convex; cibarial apparatus long; tongue long and tapering, and with
a minute knob at its extremity; paraglossæ obsolete; labial palpi
three-fourths as long as the tongue, the two first joints membranous
and diminishing in width, the second joint rather shorter than the
basal one and acute at its extremity, and externally before its
termination the two very short terminal ones are inserted; labium
half the length of the tongue, with a lozenge-shaped inosculation;
maxillæ as long as the tongue, broad at the base, whence it abruptly
acuminates to the slender apex; maxillary palpi six-jointed, filiform,
the three first joints subequal, the three terminal gradually
decreasing in length. Thorax oval, glabrous; prothorax inconspicuous;
mesothorax with a central basal groove, the bosses conspicuous and
shining; scutellum and post-scutellum lunulate; metathorax
subtruncate; wings with three submarginal cells and a fourth slightly
commenced, the second in the form of a truncated triangle, the third
considerably larger than the second, and each receiving a recurrent
nervure just beyond the centre; legs plumose but not densely so,
the hair very long within the posterior tibiæ, but denser and shorter
on its exterior; the posterior plantæ also plumose, and all the joints
of the posterior tarsi conterminous; claws bifid. Abdomen glabrous,
subclavate, very convex above and flat beneath, subtruncate at the
base, and the basal segments slightly constricted.
The MALE scarcely differs, excepting in the clypeus being less
gibbous, the legs not plumose, and the sixth segment of the
abdomen carinated in the centre towards its extremity, and
impending over the seventh, which is transversely gibbous, then
depressed, and with an obtuse process at its extremity.

NATIVE SPECIES.
1. cærulea, Villers, ♂ ♀. 2-3 lines. (Plate VII. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.)
cyanea, Kirby.
2. albilabris, Fabricius, ♂ ♀. 2½ lines.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
This genus is named from the presence of a little horn between its
antennæ, κερατίνη, a horn. Some foreign entomologists, especially
Latreille and Le Pelletier de St. Fargeau, have considered it to be
parasitical, but that it is not so we have the authority of the Marquis
Spinola, of Genoa, confirmed by the testimony of Mr. Thwaites, a
very accurate observer, in the vicinity of Bristol, where the insect is
not at all uncommon, although extremely rare in most other parts,
and consequently usually a desideratum to cabinets, from its great
beauty both of form and colour, notwithstanding that it is so very
small in size. It has also been found in other localities, as at
Birchwood, where the late Mr. Bambridge used to take it, and as
near London as Charlton, at both which places I have no doubt it
might frequently be found were it carefully looked for, but the
practised entomological eye is often wanting to detect an insect
unless it be conspicuously present. Its usual nidus is a bramble or
briar stick, from which it excavates the pith, and this it has been
frequently observed doing, and both sexes have been repeatedly
bred from such sticks. We have no notice of any peculiarity in its
mode of forming its cells, which may resemble that of such wood-
boring genera as Chelostoma and Heriades, although its structure
would intimate a closer affinity to the habits of the exotic genus
Xylocopa; nor is there extant any account of the process or time
occupied in the development of its young. Spinola’s notion, from not
seeing the sufficiency of the hair upon the posterior tibiæ for the
purpose, assumed that the pollen was conveyed home on the
forehead and between the antennæ, he having caught an insect
with some pollen accidentally incrusted there in the insect’s honey-
seeking excursion. The hair upon these legs is very sparse, it is true,
but then it is very long, and the quantity of pollen required for the
nurture of the larva is evidently small, from its having been observed
that the store upon which the egg is deposited is semi-liquid, thus
preponderating in the admixture of honey.
That it has not been caught laden with pollen upon its legs has no
weight against the fact of its non-parasitism, for it is not always that
the excursions of bees are made for the purpose of collecting pollen.
Honey is as necessary to their economy—and in this case perhaps
more so—as pollen, and the only way to determine the fact of its
carrying pollen, corroboratively, would be when knowing that one of
these bees has visited a bramble stick—its presumptive nidus,—to
watch the stick very patiently for the insect’s return from every
journey until it came back laden; the presence of pollen upon its legs
would surely be indicated by the difference of its colour from the
ordinary dark hue of the little labourer.
We have already noticed bees with metallic hues among the
Halicti, and there are slight indications of it in some of the Andrenæ,
for instance, in the A. cinerea and the A. nigro-ænea, etc., but in
none hitherto so absolutely is it exhibited as in this genus. The
prevalent colour of the bees, that is to say, the ground colour of the
integument, and not the fleeting one of the pubescence, is black or
brown, but here we have a positive metallic tinge, which we shall
again come across in many shades and hues in the genus Osmia.
A second species of the genus was brought from Devonshire by
Dr. Leach, and is in the collection of the British Museum, but no
other specimens of the same species have since been found.
The only flower which it has been noticed that they frequent is the
Viper’s Bugloss (Echium vulgare).

Subsection 2. Nudipedes (naked-legged cuckoo-bees).

a. With three submarginal cells to the wings.
Genus 14. Nomada, Fabricius.
(Plates VIII., IX., X.)
Gen. Char.: Head transverse; ocelli in a triangle on the vertex;
antennæ filiform, scarcely geniculated, the scape short, the basal
joint of the flagellum subglobose, the second joint clavate, the
remainder subequal; face flat, or slightly concave, carinated
longitudinally in the centre between the insertion of the antennæ;
clypeus subtriangular, convex, deflected at the lateral angles; labrum
subcircular, very gibbous and protuberant; mandibles acute or
subbidentate; tongue long, acute; paraglossæ about one-fourth its
length, acute; labial palpi two-thirds the length of the tongue, the
two basal joints membranous, the basal one as long as the rest
united, and tapering to its extremity, the second joint less than half
the length of the first, and not wider at its base than the apex of the
first joint, and tapering like that to its end, where it is acute, the
third joint short, subclavate, and the terminal one-half the length of
the preceding, very slender and linear; labium about one-half the
length of the tongue, and at its inosculation produced obtusely in
the centre; maxillæ subhastate, about the length of the tongue;
maxillary palpi six-jointed, the basal joint short, robust, subclavate,
the second the longest, and with the rest tapering in substance and
diminishing in length to the extremity, the terminal joint being very
little shorter than the preceding. Thorax ovate; prothorax
inconspicuous, or distinct and angulated laterally; mesothorax
glabrous, deeply punctulated; its bosses conspicuous and prominent;
scutellum divided into two very prominent tubercles; post-scutellum
linear, convex; metathorax with a triangular space at its base, and
declining to the insertion of the abdomen; wings with three
submarginal cells, and a fourth very slightly commenced, the first as
long as the two following, and each of which receives a recurrent
nervure about its centre; legs subspinose externally on the tibiæ,
and not polliniferous; claws of tarsi small and not bifid. Abdomen oval,
glabrous, shining; terminal segment triangular, with its sides ridged.
The MALE scarcely differs, excepting in sometimes being more
profusely adorned with colour, but this is not always the case, the
female being often the most ornate. There are very slight differences
in the antennæ in the sexes, which may be readily associated
together.

NATIVE SPECIES.

§ With filiform antennæ.

 1. sexfasciata, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 5-6 lines. (Plate VIII. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.)
Schæfferella, Kirby.
connexa, Kirby.
2. Goodemana, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4-5 lines. (Plate VIII. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.)
? succincta, Panzer.
3. alternata, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4-5 lines.
Marshamella, Kirby.
4. Lathburiana, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4-5½ lines. (Plate VIII.fig. 2 ♂ ♀.)
5. varia, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 4-4½ lines.
varia, Kirby.
fucata, Kirby.
6. ruficornis, Linnæus, ♂ ♀.
ruficornis, Kirby.
leucophthalma, Kirby.
flava, Kirby.
7. lateralis, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 4-4½ lines. (Plate X. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.)
8. ochrostoma, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4-4½ lines. Hillana, Kirby.
9. signata, Jurine, ♂ ♀. 4-5 lines. (Plate IX. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.)
10. borealis, Zetterstedt, ♂ ♀. 3½-5 lines.
11. lineola, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 4-6 lines.
cornigera, Kirby.
subcornuta, Kirby.
Capreæ, Kirby.
sexcincta, Kirby.
12. xanthosticta, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 2-2¾ lines.
13. flavoguttata, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 2-3 lines. (Plate IX. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.)
14. furva, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 2-2½ lines.
rufocincta, Kirby.
Sheppardana, Kirby.
Dalii, Curtis.
15. Germanica, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 4 lines.
ferruginata, Kirby.
16. Fabriciana, Linnæus, ♂ ♀. 3½-5 lines. (Plate IX. fig. 2 ♂ ♀.)
Fabriciella, Kirby.
quadrinotata, Kirby.
17. armata, Schaeffer, ♂ ♀. 5-5½ lines.
 Kirbii, Stephens.

§§ With subclavate antennæ.

18. Jacobeæ, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 4-4½ lines. (Plate X. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.)
Jacobeæ, Kirby.
flavopicta, Kirby.
19. Solidaginis, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 3½-4 lines. (Plate X. fig. 2 ♂ ♀.)
picta, Kirby.
rufopicta, Kirby.
20. Roberjeotiana, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 3 lines.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
This genus was named by Fabricius from the Nomades, a pastoral
Scythian tribe, in allusion to the assumed wandering habits of the
insects, and it is the fact indeed that they are usually found leisurely
hovering about hedge-rows, or the banks enclosing fields, or about
the metropolis or nidus of any bee upon which they are parasitical.
They are the gayest of all our bees, their colours being red or yellow
intermixed with black, in bands or spots; they are also very elegant
in form, which is after the type of that of the most normal
Andrenidæ, and to which they have a further affinity by the silence
of their flight, and by their parasitism upon many of the species of
that subfamily. From their very general resemblance to wasps in
colour they are often mistaken for wasps, and are popularly called
wasp-bees, although they have none of the virulence of that
vindictive tribe, for although all the females are armed with stings,
they are not prompt in their use, or if roused to defence the
puncture is but slight. In addition to their prettiness of colour and
elegance of form, they have a further attraction in the agreeable
odours they emit, sometimes of a balmy or balsamical, and
sometimes of a mixed character, and often as sweet as the pot-
pourri, and occasionally pleasantly pungent. A fine string of
specimens of the several species is a great ornament to a collection,
but to secure this in its perfection some care is required in the mode
of killing them. Their colours are best permanently retained by
suffocating them with sulphur, which fixes the reds and yellows in all
their natural and living purity. My method was in my collecting
excursions to convey with me a large store of pill-boxes of various
sizes, and as I captured insects in my green gauze bag-net, I
transferred them separately to these boxes. When home again I
lifted the lids slightly on one side and placed as many as would
readily go beneath a tumbler, and then fumigated them with the
sulphur. This is a better plan than killing them with crushed laurel-
leaves, for it leaves the limbs much longer flexible for the purposes
of setting, whereas the laurel has a tendency to make them rigid,
and this rigidity is extremely difficult to relax, whereas the setting of
those killed with sulphur, if they are kept in a cool place, may be
deferred for a few days, until leisure intervene to permit it, and even
then if they become stiffened they are readily relaxed for the
purpose.
A division might very consistently be established in the genus by
the separation of those which have subclavate antennæ, and the
segments of whose abdomen are slightly constricted; these also are
more essentially midsummer insects, and usually frequent the
Ragwort. This is the only genus of parasites amongst the true bees
whose parasitism is directed exclusively upwards in the scientific
arrangement; the parasitism of all the rest of the genera of
Nudipedes bears upon the genera below them in the series. Some of
the species of the Nomadæ attack more than one species or one
genus, but the majority are strictly limited to but one genus and one
species. The genera obnoxious to this annoyance are Andrena,
Halictus, Panurgus, and Eucera; the latter two have but one of these
enemies each, the Nomada Fabriciana infesting the Panurgus
Banksianus, and the N. sexfasciata frequenting the Eucera
longicornis. Under Panurgus I have alluded to the relative abundance
of the parasite at the metropolis of its sitos. As far as known, the
other species are thus distributed. Those frequenting several
indifferently are the Nomada alternata, Lathburiana, succincta, and
ruficornis, which are found to infest Andrena Trimmerana, tibialis,
Afzeliella, and fulva, without displaying any choice; whereas others
confine themselves to one sitos exclusively: thus Nomada
ochrostoma limits itself to Andrena labialis; N. Germanica to A.
fulvescens; N. lateralis to A. longipes; N. baccata to A. argentata; N.
borealis to A. Clarkella; N. Fabriciana to Panurgus Banksianus; and
N. sexfasciata to Eucera longicornis. Observation has not yet fully
determined whither each species of Nomada conveys its parasitism;
several infest the Halicti, especially the smaller species; the
association of these it is difficult to determine; I have usually found
several of the small Halicti burrowing together in the vertical surface
of an enclosure bank, and several of the small Nomada hovering
cautiously opposite, now alighting and entering a burrow, then
retreating backwards and winging off. I lost patience in
endeavouring to combine the species by the aid of blades of grass or
slight straws thrust into the aperture, but the crumbling nature of
the soil frustrated my wishes, and I abandoned the attempt. This
field of observation is widely open to the exertions of observing
naturalists, and the novelty of their discoveries would well reward
the toil of the undertaking, for it would not be long before they
gathered fruit.
 Genus 15. Melecta, Latreille.
(Plate XI. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.)
Apis ** a, Kirby.
Gen. Char.: Head transverse, scarcely so wide as the thorax; ocelli
in a triangle on the vertex; antennæ filiform, rather robust, and but
slightly geniculated, the scape not longer than the two following
joints, the second joint of the flagellum the longest and clavate, the
rest short, nearly equal, and the terminal one laterally compressed
at its extremity; face flat, very pubescent; clypeus short transverse,
lunulate, convex; labrum irregularly gibbous, obovate; mandibles
strongly bidentate; tongue long, slightly expanding towards the
middle and thence tapering to the extremity, and with a central line;
paraglossæ scarcely half the length of the tongue, almost setiform,
but robust at the base; labial palpi more than half the length of the
tongue, the two first joints membranous and very slender, the first
longer than the rest united, the second about half the length of the
first, and terminating acutely, the third not more than one-fourth the
length of the second, and inserted laterally before its termination,
the fourth about as long as the third, and, like it, subclavate, both
being more robust than the second; labium not half the length of the
tongue, and acutely triangular at its inosculation; maxillæ
subhastate, not quite so long as the tongue; maxillary palpi five-
jointed, about one-third the length of the maxillæ, the basal joint
clavate, short, and robust; the second elongate, subclavate, the
remainder gradually but slightly diminishing in substance and length,
the terminal not so long as the basal joint. Thorax very retuse, and
its divisions scarcely distinguishable; scutellum bidentate;
metathorax abruptly truncated; wings with three closed submarginal
cells, the second the smallest, irregularly triangular, and receiving
the first recurrent nervure just beyond its centre, the third
submarginal considerably larger than the second, sublunulate, but
angulated externally and receiving the second recurrent nervure
about its centre; the legs robust and spinulose, especially the tibiæ
externally (where they are very convex) and the femora beneath;
the claws short, strong and bifid. The Abdomen conical, truncated,
and retuse at its base, the apical segment with a central triangular
plate ridged laterally, and fimbriated at its sides with strong setæ.
The MALE scarcely differs in personal appearance, excepting that its
antennæ are more robust and its ornamental pubescence is more
profuse, its posterior tibiæ very robust and almost triangular, and the
terminal segment of its abdomen slightly emarginate and concave at
its extremity.

NATIVE SPECIES.
1. punctata, Fabricius, ♂ ♀. 6 lines. (Plate XI. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.)
? Atropos, Newman.
? Lachesis, Newman.
2. armata, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 6-7 lines.
punctata, Kirby.
? Tisiphone, Newman.
? Alecto, Newman.
? Clotho, Newman.
? Megæra, Newman.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
Named from μέλι, honey, λέγω, I collect; which is scarcely the
case, for the parasites, although they may indulge in the luxury of
honey as epicures, or resort to it as a repast, cannot be said to
collect it, for it is only the labouring bees that truly collect it for the
purpose of storing.
These insects are extremely handsome, their ground-colour being
intensely black, brightly shining on the abdomen, upon the segments
of which it is laterally ornamented with silvery pubescent tufts and
spots; the black legs are also variously ringed with similar silver
down. The great variation these spots and markings undergo—from
what cause we know not—has induced several entomologists to
consider them as distinct species. But the strongest varieties so
rarely recur with identical ornaments, and as almost all can be
closely connected together in a regular series by interlacing
differences impossible to divide, it would be certainly incorrect,
without stronger characteristics, to raise such fugitive variations to
specific rank. Whether the curious spines of the scutellum which
they possess furnish a more certain character is doubtful, for we find
all such processes equally liable to variation in size and form. What
can be the uses of these spines? They can hardly be for defence,
although an entomologist has said that a male which he held
endeavoured to pinch by that means. We find similar processes in
the same situation in Cœlioxys, equally a parasitical genus; but the
former genus infests the Scopulipedes and the latter the
Dasygasters, whose economies are so very different, and thus it can
hardly be supposed to have reference to habits. In Epeolus and
Stelis the same part is mucronated, a tendency to which we see in
the Nomadæ with subclavate antennæ. Under Anthophora I have
given an account of the pugnacious spirit of these insects in their
contests with the sitos, and it is necessary to be cautious in handling
them, as they sting very severely. Our two native species are
parasitical upon the two species of the first division of Anthophora,—
those which are gregarious. The circumstance of Melecta being often
caught with many of the extremely young larvæ of Meloë upon it
seems to confirm the fact of this coleopterous insect preying upon
Anthophora, as it may be thus assumed to prey simultaneously upon
the larva of Melecta. I have never captured these insects upon
flowers, nor can I trace what flowers they frequent, although
Latreille tells us, in the name he has imposed, that they are honey
collectors; but Curtis reports that he has found the genus upon the
common furze or whin (Ulex Europæus).

Genus 16. Epeolus, Latreille.

(Plate XI. fig. 2 ♂ ♀.)
Apis ** b, Kirby.
 Gen. Char.: Body glabrous. Head transverse, vertex convex; ocelli
placed in a triangle on its summit; antennæ short, linear, the joints
of the flagellum subequal; face flat, carinated longitudinally in its
centre between the insertion of the antennæ; clypeus transverse,
lunulate, convex, margined anteriorly; labrum transversely ovate,
with a small process in the centre in front; mandibles bidentate, the
internal tooth minute, the external robust and broad; tongue rather
long, more than twice the length of the labium, tapering to its
extremity; paraglossæ short, about one-fourth the length of the
tongue, broad at the base, and acuminate towards the apex; labial
palpi more than half the length of the tongue, the basal joint longer
than the three following, membranous, and gradually decreasing to
the second, which is one-third the length of the first, and acute at its
apex, where the third subclavate joint is articulated, the terminal
joint considerably shorter than the third; labium not more than one-
third the length of the tongue, and trifid at its inosculation, the
central division being hastate; maxillæ subhastate, more than one-
half the length of the tongue; maxillary palpi consisting of one
robust short conical joint inserted in a deep circular receptacle.
Thorax subglobose; prothorax conspicuous, with its lateral angles
slightly prominent; mesothorax with its bosses prominent; wing-
scales large; scutellum transverse, gibbous, margined posteriorly,
slightly mucronated laterally, slightly depressed in the centre, and
impending over the post-scutellum, which is inapparent; metathorax
abruptly truncated; wings with three submarginal cells, and a fourth
feebly commenced, the first as long as the two following, the second
subtriangular, and receiving the first recurrent nervure about its
centre, and the third lunulate, and receiving the second recurrent
nervure also about the centre; legs short, stout, the tibiæ slightly
spinulose externally; claws very small, short, robust and simple.
Abdomen obtusely conical, truncated at the base, its terminal segment
triangular, and the lateral margins slightly reflected.
The MALE scarcely differs, excepting in the usual male
characteristics, and that the apical segment of the abdomen is
rounded and margined.
 NATIVE SPECIES.
1. variegatus, Linnæus, ♂ ♀. 3-4 lines. (Plate XI. fig. 2 ♂ ♀.)
variegatus, Kirby.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
It is difficult to assign a reason for the name of this genus, or to
trace an applicable derivation from ἐπίαλος, for the insect in no way
suits, either directly or by anti-phrase, any of the significations of
this word. It is one of the prettiest of our little bees, and is
parasitical upon the Colletes Daviesiana, and it may be found in
abundance wherever the metropolis of this species occurs. There is
one special locality near Bexley, in Kent, a vertical sandbank within a
few hundred yards of the village, where I have always found it in the
spring months, and have there taken it as numerously as I wished. I
have already alluded, in another part of this work, to the uniformly
greater beauty of the parasitical bees, to those which they infest,
and their exceedingly different appearance in every case excepting
in that of the genus Apathus. We might have expected that they
would have been disguised like these, the better to carry on their
nefarious practices, but what can well be more dissimilar than
Epeolus and Colletes, or than Nomada and all its supporters, and the
same of Melecta, Cœlioxys, and Stelis. These facts puzzle
investigation for a reason; nor will the perplexity be speedily solved.
All that we can surmise is that there must be a motive for it, for
wherever we successfully elicit her secret from the veiled goddess,
we invariably find the reason founded in profound wisdom. In some
cases the mystery seems devised to test our sagacity, but it cannot
be so here, for the most palpable and plausible cause that would
suggest itself in the supposition of its being for the guardianship and
apprisal of the sitos is often contravened, as in this instance, by it
and its parasite living in great harmony together, again by the
desertion of its nidus by Eucera in favour of the parasite, although
itself is a very much more powerful insect; but in the cases of
Panurgus, Halictus, and Andrena, they all live well reconciled to the
intrusion of the stranger’s young, and this, without their
enumeration, may be adopted as nearly the universal case. The
hostility of Anthophora, previously noticed, is an almost insulated
case of the contrary. The form of these insects does not promise
much activity, and we accordingly find that they are slow, heavy, and
indolent; yet they must be cautiously handled, for they sting acutely;
but indeed it is not well ever to handle insects whose markings, as
we find them in these, consist of a close nap, as evanescent as the
down upon a plum, and of course the fingers carry it readily off, and
disfigure the beauty of the little specimen. When their special habitat
is not known they may often be found upon the blossoming Ragwort
in the vicinity, or upon the Mouse-ear Hawkweed (Hieracium
murorum) within whose flowers they are frequently observed
enjoying their siesta.

b. With two submarginal cells.

Genus 17. Stelis, Panzer.
(Plate XI. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.)
Apis ** c, 1 β, Kirby.
Gen. Char.: Body glabrous, much punctured. Head transverse,
curving posteriorly to the thorax, where it is angulated laterally;
ocelli in a triangle at the summit of the vertex; antennæ short,
slender, filiform, scarcely geniculated, the scape about as long as the
three first joints of the flagellum, all the joints of which are subequal
but slightly increasing in length towards the apical one, which is a
little compressed laterally; face entirely flat; clypeus transverse,
rather convex; labrum elongate, convex; mandibles robust,
tridentate, the external tooth considerably the stoutest; cibarial
apparatus long, tongue three times as long as the labium, slightly
inflated in the centre, and terminating in a small knob; paraglossæ
very short, not more than one-sixth the length of the tongue and
acuminate; labial palpi about two-thirds the length of the tongue,
the two first joints membranous, the basal one the most robust, and
both tapering to an acute apex, shortly before which the two very
short subclavate terminal joints articulate; labium about one-third
the length of the tongue, its inosculation trifid, the central division
considerably the longest and truncated at its extremity; maxillæ
subhastate, nearly as long as the tongue, acutely acuminated
towards their apex; maxillary palpi very short, two-jointed, the basal
joint subclavate and slightly the longest, and inserted in a circular
cavity, the terminal joint short ovate. Thorax subglobose; prothorax
inconspicuous; mesothorax very convex; scutellum lunulate, very
gibbous, and impending over the post-scutellum and metathorax,
mucronated laterally; metathorax abruptly truncated; wings with two
submarginal cells, and a third very slightly commenced, the two
subequal, the second being the largest and receiving the first
submarginal cell near its commencement and the second at the
inosculation of the terminal transverso-cubital nervure; legs short,
moderately stout, the tibiæ very slightly setose externally; claws
short, bifid, the internal tooth near the external. Abdomen oblong,
truncated at its base, very convex above and flat beneath, deflexed
towards its extremity, and the terminal segment almost rounded,
being very slightly produced in the centre and margined.
The MALE scarcely differs, excepting in the usual male
characteristics, and by the apical segment being obsoletely
tridentate.

NATIVE SPECIES.
1. aterrima, Panzer, ♂ ♀. 4-4½ lines.
punctulatissima, Kirby,
2. phæoptera, Kirby, ♂ ♀. 4-4½ lines. (Plate XI. fig. 3 ♂ ♀.)
3. octomaculata, Smith, ♂ ♀. 3 lines.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
 The name of this genus may be derived from στελὶς, a sort of
parasitical plant, perhaps mistletoe, if we could be sure that Panzer
imposed it after being aware of the parasitical nature of these bees.
It is true his book (the ‘Revision’) was published in 1805, and Kirby,
who first intimated a suspicion of such cuckoo-like habits in some of
the bees, published his in 1802; therefore it might have been given
in allusion to that peculiarity of their economy, but it may also be
from στηλὶς, a little column, in application to their cylindrical form. In
but few of the parasitical bees do we know the precise nature of
their transformations, I have therefore been obliged to be silent
upon this point of their natural history, and I have nothing to state of
its nature in these, although I expect there is much uniformity with
but slight modifications in all. The species of this genus are
parasitical upon the Osmiæ; thus the S. phæoptera is found to infest
the O. fulviventris, and the S. octomaculata intrudes itself into the
nests of O. leucomelana, both of which occur tolerably abundantly
near Bristol. I have no doubt that the south-west and west of
England, if well searched, would yield many choice insects.
It is singular that bee-parasitism does not prevail throughout all
the genera of bees, some being subject to it and others not. Thus
the genera Colletes, Andrena, Halictus, Panurgus, Eucera,
Anthophora, Saropoda, Megachile, Osmia, and Bombus have all
parasites, whereas the genera Cilissa, Macropis, Dasypoda, Ceratina,
Anthidium, Chelostoma, Heriades, Anthocopa, and Apis have none,
as far as we yet know; and some of the genera of parasites frequent
two or more genera indifferently, whilst others are restricted to a
single one; also some of the species of the parasitical genera infest
indifferently several of the species of the genus to which their
parasitism is mainly limited; other species have a more
circumscribed range and do not visit the nests of more than a single
species. What law may control all these seeming anomalies we
cannot discover,—it may possibly be scent that guides them, and this
may control their parasitism by indicating the species they are
taught by their instinct to be most suitable from the quality of the
pollen with which it supplies its own nest, to be that which is best
adapted for the nurture of their young. It is not likely that we shall
very speedily lift the veil from these mysteries, but they are
suggestive of observation which in seeking one thing may fall upon
another equally interesting.
I have usually caught these insects settled upon the leaves of
shrubs, especially of fruit bushes, particularly that of the black
currant, upon which, in a favourable locality, many bees, as well as
numerous small fossorial Hymenoptera may be found in genial
weather. I have never caught them upon flowers, nor do I know
what flowers they frequent. The end of May, if warm, and
throughout June, they are usually found most abundantly.

Genus 18. Cœlioxys, Latreille.

(Plate XII. fig. 1 ♂ ♀.)
Apis ** c 1 α, Kirby.
Gen. Char.: Body subglabrous. Head transverse, concave posteriorly
to fit the anterior portion of the thorax; ocelli in a triangle on the
vertex; antennæ filiform, short, subgeniculated, the basal joint of
the flagellum globose, the second subclavate, and all from the
second subequal, the terminal joint compressed laterally; face flat,
very pubescent; clypeus ovate, concavely truncated in front, its
surface convex; labrum oblong, with its sides parallel, but with
lateral processes at its articulation; mandibles broad, quadridentate;
cibarial apparatus long, the tongue very long, nearly three times the
length of the labium, linear but slightly inflated in the centre, and
thence tapering to its extremity, and slightly covered with a very
short down; paraglossæ wholly wanting; labial palpi membranous,
the two first joints long, the second slightly the longest, and both
tapering to the extremity of the second, which is acute, and has the
third joint, which is very short and subclavate, articulated before the
extremity, with the terminal one of equal length, and rounded at the
apex, appended to it; labium about one-third the length of the
tongue, its inosculation trifid and equal, and the central division
acute; maxillæ subhastate and acuminate, not quite so long as the
tongue; maxillary palpi very short, three-jointed, the basal joint the
smallest, the second the most robust, and the terminal one ovate.
Thorax subglobose; prothorax inconspicuous; mesothorax convex;
wing-scales large; scutellum produced horizontally, and impending
over the post-scutellum and metathorax, and having at each lateral
extremity an acute, slightly-curved tooth projecting backwards;
metathorax abruptly truncated; wings with two submarginal cells
and a third commenced, the first slightly the longest, the second
receiving both the recurrent nervures, the first near its
commencement, and the second close to its termination; legs
slender, spinulose externally on the tibiæ; claws rather long, slender,
and simple. Abdomen very conical, truncated at the base, its segments
slightly constricted, the apical one long, superficially carinated
longitudinally in the centre, and much deflexed.
The MALE scarcely differs, excepting that the whole of the front of
the head is more densely pubescent; the mandibles are deeply,
acutely, and nearly equally tridentate, the terminal segment of the
abdomen is variously mucronated or toothed at its apex, these
processes pointing backwards, and the penultimate segment is more
or less produced laterally.

NATIVE SPECIES.
1. conica, Linnæus, ♂ ♀. 4-5 lines.
quadridentata, Linnæus, ♂.
quadridentata, Kirby, ♂.
2. simplex, Nyland, ♂ ♀. 5 lines.
conica, Kirby.
conica, Curtis, viii. 349.
Sponsa, Smith, ♂.
3. umbrina, Smith, ♂ ♀.
4. rufescens, St. Fargeau, ♂. 4-6 lines.
5. vectis, Curtis, ♂ ♀. 5-6 lines. (Plate XII. fig. 1 ♂ ♀)
6. inermis, Kirby.
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