| Summary: | This study investigated one-to-one correspondence as a basic cognitive function of young children, by examining its application to children's counting and to their recognizing words in beginning reading. Over the course of nine months, data was gathered on a total of forty children in three settings: preschool (3.5-4.5 years), ECS (4.5-5.5 years) and grade one (5.5-7 years). As the purpose of the study was to generate hypotheses, rather than test them, an observational, rather than experimental, design was used. Children's ability to match spoken number words to objects when counting was compared to their ability to match spoken words with their written counterpart in an attempt to discover an underlying learning pattern based on one-to-one correspondence. One-to-one correspondence in reading and the child's concept of word were explored through the use of the child's own words in a key vocabulary approach based on the model of Sylvia Ashton-Warner. The responses of three children, referred to as "key incident children," were described in fuller detail as they highlighted certain points of the study. Three major hypotheses were proposed. The first suggests a developmental continuum in a child's counting that may have a parallel continum in her reading. The second hypothesis proposes that a certain level of one-to-one correspondence in counting may be a prerequisite for beginning reading and the third deals with the possible predictive nature of the relationship. The practical value of a better understanding of one-to-one correspondence in children for teachers of both normal and special needs children is discussed. Limitations of the study and suggestions for further research are included. === Education, Faculty of === Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of === Graduate
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