Upper elementary readers who persist with reading difficulties face both academic and emotional challenges when they do not make reading gains equal to their peers. Decades of research has shown that persistent treatment resisters respond positively to a systematic multisensory phonics intervention. In my action research study, I examined how 5th…

The role of phonics instruction in early reading development has been the subject of significant conjecture. Recently, England implemented a phonics screening check to assess the phonetic decoding of 6-year-old students, to ensure that all students master this foundational literacy skill and attain adequate phonemic awareness in the early years of…

This paper analyzes the lasting impacts of a project aimed at teaching children how to read and write at age 6. Using a Difference-in-Differences methodology, the results show that it is not enough to get children literate at age 6 to secure lasting effects; the instruction process is also an important factor: Only pupils exposed to the Phonics…

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) has updated its 2009 intervention report for SuccessMaker®, a set of computer-based courses designed to supplement regular K-8 reading instruction. The program is designed to improve skills in areas such as concepts of print, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, grammar, and…

The effectiveness of phonological instruction with 6 deaf students in an oral program was investigated. In a previous investigation (Syverud, Guardino, & Selznick, 2009), promising results had been obtained in a case study in which the Direct Instruction curriculum titled "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" (Engelmann, Haddox, & Bruner,…

Success for All (SFA)[R] is a whole-school reform model that includes a reading, writing, and oral language development program for students in prekindergarten through eighth grade. Classroom reading instruction is delivered in daily 90-minute blocks to students grouped by reading ability. Immediate intervention with tutors who are certified…