The objective of this investigation was to examine how instructional practices in 107 first- and second-grade classrooms in 17 high poverty schools moderate the impact on literacy outcomes of literacy-related skills students bring to the classroom. Ratings of teaching effectiveness and time allocation to literacy activities were obtained. Twenty…

This study developed a teacher knowledge survey that measured teacher knowledge of reading-related concepts. Use with 41 second- and third-grade teachers and then 103 third- and fourth-grade teachers found significant associations among teachers' knowledge, classroom reading achievement levels, and teachers' observed teaching competence. The…

First and second graders (n=285) received one of three types of classroom reading programs: (1) direct instruction in letter-sound correspondence; (2) less direct instruction in sound-spelling patterns; and (3) implicit instructions in the alphabetic code while reading connected text. Results show advantages of reading programs that emphasize…

Eighty children in first grade classes differing in the amount of letter-sound instruction daily were administered tests of phonemic segmentation, reading, and spelling three times during the year. No classroom differences in phonemic segmentation were found, but classrooms with more letter-sound instruction showed more spelling and reading…