DEVELOPMENTAL SKILLS RELATED TO WRITING AND READING ACQUISITION IN THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES - SHARED AND UNIQUE FUNCTIONAL-SYSTEMS

Multiple measures of the fine motor system, the orthographic system, the phonological system, the working memory system, the verbal intelligence system, the writing system, and the reading system were administered to 300 students in grades 4, 5, and 6. Results showed that the writing system and the reading system share many of the same orthographic, phonological, and working memory sub-processes but the patterns of concurrent relation between these sub-processes and writing and between these subprocesses and reading differ. These results are consistent with the view that writing and reading draw upon the same as well as unique cognitive systems.