Various lines of research demonstrate that children do not need intensive phonics instruction to develop the functional command of letter/sound patterns that they need as readers. The fact that children normally learn highly complex processes and systems by merely interacting with the external world is perhaps the most important reason why…

Intended to help educators explain an instructional program to parents, this document presents and discusses the following ten statements reflecting traditional views about teaching reading: (1) Reading is a simple, passive mental process. (2) An efficient reader pronounces every word in the passage. (3) When children come to an unfamiliar word,…

The seventh edition of this book, like previous editions, is designed to give busy reading specialists, teachers, and students in reading education specific, concrete methods for locating and correcting reading difficulties. The book stresses the importance of direct instruction, motivational learning activities, and abundant practice in the act…

This booklet is part of a series of seven booklets designed to introduce aspects of effective reading instruction that should be considered when teaching reading to students with disabilities. It focuses on essential skill building and teaching activities related to developing a child's phonological awareness. The methods described of teaching…

This book addresses common questions to enable teachers to make informed decisions about the appropriateness of integrating phonological awareness activities into their language arts programs. The primary purpose is to call attention to recently published (mid to late 1990s) children's literature that can be used to foster children's…

Discusses the phonetic module that increases the rate of information flow, establishes the parity between sender and receiver, and provides for the natural development of phonetic structures in the individual. Cites evidence and function of this specialization and architectural relations between the two classes of modules. (Author/RT)

Based on the research on invented and developmental spelling, this book provides a practical way for teachers to study words with students. The framework of the book is keyed to the five stages of spelling or orthographic development so that it complements the use of any existing phonics, spelling, and vocabulary curriculums. The book presents…

Intended for those practitioners and parents who have heard the term "whole language" but who really know little or nothing about it, this booklet looks at the learning or acquisition of language, which includes the processes of thinking, listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Chapters in the book, after an introduction, are, as…

Designed for parents and teachers of students with dyslexia, this book uses accessible terms, charts, graphics, and lesson plans to provide step-by-step instructions for teaching reading. Part 1 of the book discusses different types of learning disabilities, followed by case studies that illustrate how children overcame each particular disability.…

Suggesting that beginning reading should be a combination of phonics instruction along with the "whole word" approach, this book presents 56 brief and concentrated units of study that demonstrate that both systems can work together to improve the process of learning to read. In all units in the book, learners have the opportunity to read complete…

To enable all children to learn to read with confidence and fluency, beginning reading instruction programs must offer balanced instruction that provides children with a variety of experiences. A full discussion of all the dimensions of a balanced program of beginning reading instruction is beyond the scope of this booklet. Rather, this booklet…

Intended for teachers in primary education, this book draws together the most helpful contemporary thinking and research evidence about the learning and teaching of reading, especially in relation to graphophonics, and shows how these findings can be translated into effective classroom practices. The book summarizes evidence on how children learn…

This book serves as a resource for teachers who want to implement a whole language curriculum. More than half of the material in this second edition is new. The first half of the book updates and revises the discussion of the reading process presented in the first edition while retaining the "think-it-through-yourself" format. The…

Reading failure can be eliminated by the year 2000 if reading teachers believe it can be done, can develop the new procedures needed to make their dreams come true, and are willing to make fundamental changes in how they teach reading. Phonic utility research clearly indicates that phonics instruction is neither dependable nor useful. The current…

Noting that both comprehension and decoding are used by effective readers and that both processes should be taught, this concept paper focuses on effective strategies for reading instruction. Following an introduction, the first section focuses on the conclusions drawn about word identification by reading researchers. Subsections include…