The contribution of early home literacy activities to first grade reading and writing achievements in Arabic

This longitudinal study assessed the literacy development of native Arabic-speaking children from kindergarten to the end of first grade, focusing on the role of home literacy activities (mother-child shared book reading and joint writing). The contribution of these activities in kindergarten to children's reading and writing at the end of first grade were evaluated, controlling for family SES and children's early skills (vocabulary and letter naming). Eighty-eight Arabic-speaking children and their mothers participated in the study. Results revealed that family SES, children's early skills and home literacy activities in kindergarten correlated with children's achievements at the end of first grade. Joint writing contributed significantly to children's literacy in first grade and the contribution of shared reading was almost significant. Joint writing was found to contribute to children's literacy achievements in first grade beyond book reading. The study extends our knowledge on literacy acquisition in Arabic, highlighting the significance of early parent-child literacy activities as a predictor of Arabic-speaking children's literacy achievements in school.