Now in its sixth edition, "Striking a Balance" clearly illustrates how to create a comprehensive early literacy program that places direct skills instruction within the context of rich and varied reading and writing experiences. Text discussions, dynamic activities, and valuable appendices provide a variety of effective instructional…

This article presents four Idea-Sparkers that were submitted by Jason McKinney, a graduate student at Southern Mississippi University and a 1st-grade teacher at Pisgah Elementary in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. First is entitled, "Raceway in the Classroom." This activity can help increase children's fluency and ability to identify numerous…

The author offers 16 sight word "tricks" that children can use to remember the spelling of 25 common sight words. Materials and techniques for teaching sight words are also suggested. (SBH)

The author created these engaging mini-books to help her own kindergarten students learn and practice sight words. They are now collected in one place. Each reproducible mini-book introduces one or two new sight words and reviews others, so the books are progressively more difficult. A quick assessment form helps teachers choose the book that is…

A method for teaching sight words to elementary level learning disabled children is proposed which relies on input organization, a strategy in which teachers reorganize information into small, related units for instruction. Also included are sample word categories, results of the method's use, and recommendations for use. (DB)

This textbook is a first reader that focuses on moving children from spoken to written vocabulary and recognizing by sight words already familiar by sound. The combination of construction with interpretation, of writing with reading leads directly to intelligent understanding and expression of thoughts on the written or printed page. It is…

Spelling tricks for 35 sight words that can be used by learning disabled or regular classroom students are given. They include replacing silent or confusing letters with pictures to aid visual recall; locating a smaller, more familiar word in the longer word; and rhyming certain letter groups to related words. (VW)

Demonstrates that intensive direct instruction followed by practice can help slower students learn sight vocabulary. (FL)

Offers a teaching technique that modifies the cloze procedure into letter-cloze independent activities designed to aid children in learning difficult sight words. (FL)

Teaching phonemic awareness can be boring and repetitive in the hands of a teacher who wishes to just use a workbook approach. This delightful book packs loads of fun into 75 lesson plans, providing educators with myriad creative strategies for integrating word study with children's picture books. Each lesson includes a read-aloud book…

A technique for teaching sight word vocabulary through combining common syllables was used with two neurologically impaired elementary grade students. (DB)

Describes how, by systematically creating new words from known ones, remedial readers can improve their word attack skills. (DD)

Describes a strategy, useful in content area classes as well as English classes, which concentrates on using writing as a means of developing students' automatic ability to use basic sight vocabulary. (SR)

Proposes the "say and write" method and the directed sentence reading method as ways of using language experience stories to develop children's sight vocabulary. (FL)

This textbook the second reader in a series of school readers to help children acquire the art and the habit of reading well enough to give pleasure not only to themselves, but also to those who listen to them. New words are introduced gradually, and the stories and poems are short and of such character as to appeal directly to the interest and…