Rhythmic timing at school entry as a predictorof poor word reading and spelling at end ofgrade 1Kjersti LundetræNorwegian Reading Centre, University ofStavangerkjersti.lundetre@uis.noCo-authors: Jenny Thomson, University ofSheffield; Per Henning Uppstad, University ofStavanger; Oddny Judith Solheim, University ofStavangerRhythm plays an organisational role in theprosody and phonology of language, andchildren with dyslexia have been found todemonstrate poor rhythmic perception. Thisstudy seeks to explore whether students’performance on a simple rhythm task at schoolentry can serve as a predictor of whether theywill face difficulties in word reading and spellingat end of grade 1. Although the link betweenrhythmic perception and dyslexia is wellestablished in literature, less is known aboutrhythmic timing before onset of formal readinginstruction and prediction of reading andspelling one year later. The participants were 516Norwegian 6-years-old first graders randomizedas controls in the longitudinal RCT On Track (n =1171).Rhythmic timing and pre-reading skills weretested individually at school entry (T1) on adigital tablet. On the rhythm task, the studentswere told to tap a drum appearing on the screento two different rhythms (2 Hz paced and 1.5Hz paced). Children’s responses were recordedas they tapped on the screen with their indexfinger. At the end of grade 1 (T2), children withdifferent levels of rhythmic timing from T1were compared on word reading and spelling.Students’ performance on a simple rhythm taskat school start can predict poor word readingand spelling skills at the end of grade 1. Thelowest performing 10% of the students on thetask of rhythmic timing performed significantlyworse on word reading and spelling at the endof grade 1, compared to the average-performinggroup (Cohens’d >.6). The results indicate thata simple measure, as used in this study, candetect children at risk for reading difficulties atthe onset of reading instruction at age 6.
