Intended to answer questions from practicing teachers, concerned parents, and college students about the sounds and spelling patterns of English, this book presents an overview of the structure of written words that shows readers how the sounds of English are paired with their spelling patterns. The book delineates the task of decoding written…

Research has shown that students can be taught to comprehend the material better while they are reading. Successful instruction of this type has usually focused on the teaching of comprehension strategies--that is, intentional actions students can use during reading to guide their thinking. Such strategies improve both understanding and memory.…

This article focuses on practical classroom ideas for enhancing early literacy learning by teaching a broad range of metalinguistic skills. These skills include phonemic and word awareness, but focus largely on syntactic and pragmatic skills in order to give children a richer understanding of language and its functions. Theoretical background is…

Most struggling readers, including those with reading disabilities, have difficulties recognizing printed words. This unique, lucidly written book synthesizes the research on how children learn to read words skillfully and translates it into step-by-step strategies for the classroom. The author demonstrates how to plan and implement a coordinated…

Reflecting the large amount of evidence linking children's progress in learning to read to their phonological awareness, this manual presents a program of phonological and phonological linkage activities, a set of reproducible record sheets, and 54 picture sheets used in the program. After an introduction and guide to the program, the manual…

Premised on the idea that spelling should be taught in the context of writing, this book is designed to enhance teachers' understanding of how their students learn to spell and to provide advice and practical activities for the day-to-day classroom program. The first part of the book provides specific information about management of the class…

This comprehensive resource can be used by teachers to align instruction with current standards and to give students the best possible foundation for reading achievement. Organized around the five essential components of reading instruction identified in the report of the U.S. National Reading Panel, this book: (1) Lays the groundwork for creating…

Developed for use in small groups, this unit of study is aimed at helping children in England who have reached Level 3 in English at Key Stage 2 but who may be making errors in spelling, particularly in the area of vowel choices. In this unit, pupils read realistic texts and investigate the spellings of words they find there. While spelling is the…

This lesson plan invites primary students to share their letter/sound knowledge in a small group and gives teachers an opportunity to assess knowledge in a meaningful context. Working with name cards, students share observations about their names and the names of their classmates. Extensions are appropriate for a range of primary-aged students.…

Current research increasingly highlights the role of early literacy in young children's development--and informs practices and policies that promote success among diverse learners. This handbook presents cutting-edge knowledge on all aspects of literacy learning in the early years. Volume 2 provides additional perspectives on important topics…

The author asserts that "Children benefit when teachers and parents reinforce the same concepts and ideas. For this to happen, teachers and parents must have some knowledge of what happens in the classroom and what happens at home that support reading acquisition." In this article, the author describes several strategies that teachers can share…

Noting that students write more freely if they feel confident about their spelling, this paper offers seven practical and effective ways that teachers can help their students become better spellers. The suggestions offered are as follows: (1) teach students that English spelling is systematic; (2) teach students which spellings are predictable;…

This article applies research findings to the teaching of phonics, and outlines four instructional steps: (1) introduce letter-sound correspondence in isolation, (2) teach students to blend sounds to read words, (3) provide immediate feedback on oral reading errors, and (4) provide extensive practice. (JDD)

In this book, Karen Tankersley provides a multiplicity of practical, research-based reading strategies tailored specifically for use with older students. These students may no longer have a reading class as part of the school day, but they are still developing their reading skills--and every teacher contributes to that effort. As in her previous…

Help young students master concepts of print, phonemic awareness, and alphabet knowledge--the key predictors of early literacy success and school readiness. This resource will show what children need to know about print in order to become successful readers, how to connect children's development with learning about print, and how to provide a…