The present study investigated children’s orthographic knowledge in the context of a game. Sixty children (2nd to 4th grade) were asked to play hangman with the researchers in individual sessions. The unit of analysis was the number of trials required to finish the game. The results suggested that children’s answers varied significantly according to the type of word presented rather than schooling. Most children were able to make an appropriate use of their orthographic knowledge although they found difficulties in explaining their reasoning.
orthographic knowledge; written language; children