Abstract

Children who have not developed normal levels of abstract thought were randomly divided into four groups. One group was taught to select odd objects from sets of objects, to insert objects into the appropriate place in a s eries, and to conserve number. A second group was taught letters and letter sounds (kindergarten literacy). A third group was taught numeracy, and a fourth social studies. The group taught abstractions matched the literacy group in literacy and exceeded it in numeracy, matched the numeracy group in numeracy and exceeded it in literacy, and exceeded the social studies group in both literacy and numeracy. It appears that mastering these forms of early abstract thought enables children to understand classroom lessons better and hence improves their academic progress.