We use a genetically sensitive design to examine the relationship between language and nonverbal ability at 4 and a half and reading skills at 7 years of age in a sample of more than 1,000 children participating in the Twins Early Development Study. We find that nonphonological as well as phonological measures of early language make significant…

Reports on an experience using a science theme to achieve literacy targets in an elementary classroom. (WRM)

Purpose: This study examined the effect of phonological awareness intervention that focused on syllable and rhyme awareness on the acquisition of literacy and the development of phonological awareness skills 2 years post intervention. The longitudinal study compared two groups of children from deprived socioeconomic backgrounds in the United…

It is now well-established that there is a causal connection between children's phonological skills and their acquisition of reading and spelling. Here we study low-level auditory processes that may underpin the development of phonological representations in children. Dyslexic and control children were given a battery of phonological tasks,…

States that volunteers are often used in the classroom to help children learn to read, but their impact on reading skills is unknown. Examines randomized controlled trials (RCT) in an effort to determine whether using volunteers improves children's reading. Finds that volunteering had a small effect on children's reading. (CMK)

Describes a project in which elementary students develop their science understanding and literacy skills by developing their own book on the topics of solids, liquids, and gases. (WRM)

Discusses the possible impact of literacy education standards on children's understanding and perceptions of language with regard to science. Suggests using literacy education for reinforcement and stimulation of scientific knowledge and language. (WRM)

This paper describes a small-scale writing project in which a class of KS 2 primary pupils were invited to import their own narrative interests into a task designed by their teacher and the researcher within the constraints of the National Literacy Strategy. By employing an adventure genre, based on problem and puzzle solving, pupils were…

Many research questions require the assessment of reading in large samples of children. We compared two nonconventional procedures for early reading assessment: test administration by telephone, and teacher assessment. Five thousand five hundred and forty four children participating in a longitudinal twin study were assessed by telephone using the…

Three experiments investigated the ability of eight-year old children with poor language comprehension to produce past tense forms of verbs. Twenty children selected as poor comprehenders were compared to 20 age-matched control children. Although the poor comprehenders performed less well than controls on a range of tasks considered to tap…

This research investigated the frequency discrimination performance of a 6-year-old boy (MH) with language and attentional difficulties. MH had been reported to have literacy problems not paralleling an advanced verbal ability, and he showed difficulties in discriminating non-verbal tones of different frequencies in comparison with children of his…

Reports on an exploratory study concerning the effectiveness of specific design features in talking book software. Considers how talking book software has the potential to complement current approaches to literacy instruction. Notes that electronic books can complement teaching approaches in infant classrooms and can positively affect both…

States that the combination of analogous problem-solving ability and phonological awareness, in the absence of extensive reading experience, may be necessary for successfully using orthographic analogies. Seventy children of limited reading experience and ability were assessed on phonemic awareness and the ability to make visual and orthographic…

Two studies investigated the importance of phoneme awareness relative to other predictors in the development of reading and spelling among children learning a consistent orthography (Czech) and an inconsistent orthography (English). In Study 1, structural equation models revealed that Czech (n=107) and English (n=71) data were fitted well by the…

This article describes the work of a group of professionals in the United Kingdom known as the VIEW Braille Literacy Committee, committed to the development of teaching braille. Members meet each school term and have had the support of the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) in realizing numerous projects aimed at improving access to…