Relations between print exposure and literacy skills: New evidence from Grade 1–5

This study had two main aims: (a) to develop checklists adapted for the French culture and the age of the children whose level of print exposure (PE) was to be assessed and (b) to analyse the impact of print exposure on various literacy skills. The checklists consisted of Titles, Magazines, and Authors (targets and foils). The children's responses decreased from Titles to Magazines to Authors. With children in first grade and their parents (Expt 1), we established that PE shows links to socio‐economic status. In a longitudinal study conducted in Grade 1 (Expt 2), a hierarchical regression indicated that PE predicts variance in word reading after age, phonological skills, and letter knowledge have been partialled out. In older children (Expt 3), and only in Grades 4–5, PE accounts for unique variance in word recognition, in word spelling, and, finally, in vocabulary, after chronological and lexical age have been controlled for.