This study investigated the effect of preschool-wide, teacher-implemented, phoneme-focused phonological awareness (PA) and letter-sound knowledge (LSK) instruction, on raising code-based school-entry reading readiness for children with Spoken Language Difficulties (SLD) and Typical Development (TD), when supported by weekly coaching by trainee…

Research has indicated that a large percentage of primary-grade students who struggle in reading have not achieved full competency in the foundational reading competencies (word recognition and fluency). In this article, the author argues that more intensive instruction of the foundational competencies is needed and proposes a simple lesson…

Reading has been found to not only build student motivation but to increase community involvement in education (Hudson & Williams, 2015). Children who grow into lifelong readers were less likely to be incarcerated, became more successful members of society, and created greater futures for themselves and their families (Obama, 2013). With…

An audit was completed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) based on the curriculum audit model developed by Armstrong, Stahl, and Kantner (2015). The audit examined text readiness and text expectations in UAF developmental reading courses and 100-level general-education and career-technical education courses, how well these text…

Literacy standards in early childhood education have recently foregrounded emergent reading processes along with recommended oral language and literacy pedagogies that includes reading aloud informational and literary picturebooks (National Institute for Early Education Research, 2006). To understand how reading pedagogy makes a difference in…

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not a child's chronological age at the onset of kindergarten influences foundational literacy skills and if there is an impact on long-term reading achievement. Research indicates that there are several factors that influence school readiness and the foundational literacy skills that must be…

This investigation explored the relationship between educator preparation programs and teachers' perceptions of instructional readiness in foundational literacy skills. This study also examined the impact that early childhood, elementary, and specialty endorsement education programs of study, reading methods courses, and clinical field experiences…

Novice special education teachers have become an integral part of the public and private school systems throughout Pennsylvania. This mixed-methods research study explored the expertise and preparedness of current novice special education teachers. A combination of an electronic survey questionnaire and phone and face-to-face interviews were…

In this technical report we document the development and piloting of the Learning Receptiveness Assessment (LRA) Greenhouse for Prekindergarten. This technological tool was designed to prevent reading disabilities by supporting effective "assessment-guided instructional decision-making" by Preschool teachers. The LRA Greenhouse comprises…

There are 26 letters in the English language. These letters, in various combinations, represent the 44 sounds in the language. Teaching students the basic letter-sound combinations gives them access to sounding out approximately 84% of the words in English print. There needs to be equal amounts of time need to be spent on teaching the meanings of…

Grounded in the simple view of reading, this study tracked the development of print-processing skill in high-, average-, and low-achieving readers at six time points across grades 1-3. Results showed large between-group differences in sight vocabulary, oral reading accuracy, and oral reading rate that remained stable from beginning of first grade…

This paper presents preliminary findings about how literacy is taught at the elementary level in three grade-one classrooms in Jamaica. While this might seem rudimentary, there is a dearth of information in Jamaica about how teachers teach reading and writing. We attempted to fill this gap by conducting an exploratory small-scale qualitative case…

This study examined the benefit of utilizing one-item academic and one-item behavior readiness teacher-rated screeners at the beginning of the school year to predict end-of-school year outcomes for middle school students. The Middle School Academic and Behavior Readiness (M-ABR) screeners were developed to provide an efficient and effective way to…

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between mothers' self-efficacy beliefs, their preschool children's home learning environments, and literacy skills. A sample of 112 mother-child dyads was recruited from Head Start centers in rural and urban communities. The measures included maternal self-efficacy and maternal perceptions of…

This article details a qualitative case study of 24 preschool children engaged with step-by-step drawing instruction provided by five educators as they developed their fine motor skills and drew detailed objects using the Drawing Children Into Reading curriculum (Halperin, W. A. (2011a). "Project 50 preschool manual." South Haven, MI:…