Describes the current situation in phonics instruction, citing recent studies supporting its effectiveness. (FL)

Reports on a study that investigated the ability of second grade students to listen to, infer, and produce the correct pronuciations of high-frequency words in a story-like context. (FL)

Shows two major handicaps in the anti-phonics movement which suggest that the future of the movement is doubtful: (1) the demonstrable weakness in both the theory and method of anti-phonics; (2) the increasing confidence that publishes and editors of widely used basal readers are placing in phonics. (BF/JH)

Studies of intensive phonics instruction are related to the issue of hyperlexia. Evidence on the incidence, frequency, and characteristics of hyperlexia does not support allegations that intensive phonics instruction interferes with development of reading comprehension skills. Hyperlexic children exhibit many symptoms of neurological impairment…

Groff argues against an IRA (International Reading Association) position statement assertion that no single method is the best for teaching reading, claiming that the phonics method results in the greatest reading achievement. The IRA Board of Directors replies that the position statement appropriately reflects the diverse views about reading held…

Disagrees with an earlier article in this journal about the dispute among reading-instruction specialists as to how phonics is best taught. Argues for direct and systematic phonics instruction. Presents a response to Groff, agreeing that children need explicit phonics instruction but arguing that an instructional approach that acknowledges the…

Discusses whether or not beginning readers learn phonics best through instructional approaches that teach students to sound out letters, spell words, or combine the two. Concludes that caution is in order as experimental research assessing the effectiveness of each approach has yet to be conducted. Suggests, in the interim, instruction should be…

Many ideas attributed to the whole-language approach are not new. Whole language demands that literacy instruction be indirect, unsystematic, and nonintensive and that scope-and-sequence charts be abandoned. Experimental research has judged the major tenets of whole language to be erroneous--a point accepted even by whole-language leaders favoring…

The criteria of 75 percent utility for phonetic rules to be used in reading instruction may be based on faulty logic. Once children achieve approximate pronunciation by applying phonetic rules, they usually can infer proper pronunciation. This supports teaching children to find and pronounce little words in larger unknown words. (MCK)

Numerous reviews of the experimental research conclude that phonics is indispensable in word recognition instruction. However, there have been numerous objections to phonics teaching over the years. Some of the intolerance of phonics teaching reflects a lack of knowledge about the subject. Critics suggest that phonics hinders children's learning…

Intended to help dispel several unsupported "myths" about reading instruction, this book analyzes a selected group of teaching practices that have been supported by reading experts but not by research findings. The "myths" discussed in the first 12 chapters of the book are as follows: (1) phonics hinders comprehension; (2) unpredictable spelling…

Intended for reading teachers and teacher educators, this book provides an analysis of 12 fallacious beliefs thought to be responsible for the perpetuation of ineffective and inappropriate approaches to reading instruction. The introduction looks at the dangers of the myths that underlie reading instruction, discusses how the myths arise out of an…