Lea M. McGee, EdD, is the Marie M. Clay Chair of Reading Recovery and Early Literacy at The Ohio State University. She studies the effects of preschool classroom interventions on preschool and kindergarten literacy achievement, the impact of kindergartners' "fingerpoint reading" on their first-grade text reading, young children's responses to literature, and the effects of a systematic approach to drama and retelling on kindergartners' comprehension and vocabulary development. Dr. McGee is coauthor of Teaching Literacy in Kindergarten, among other books.

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Donald J. Richgels, PhD, is Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus in Literacy Education at Northern Illinois University. His research interests are preschool and kindergarten classroom practice and the relationship between spoken language acquisition and literacy development.