A reading instructor interested in reliving the experience of learning to read for the first time attempted to read "Androcles and the Lion" in Shavian Alphabet. The would-be reader of Shavian faces a page of hooks and slants completely unfamiliar, but there is no translation problem. As soon as the reader can pronounce out loud the…

Attacks the whole-word, or "look-say," method of teaching reading, widely used in the United States since 1836. Cites evidence to support this method as the sole reason for the high functional illiteracy rate in the U.S. Recommends the use of intensive phonics as the solution to America's reading problem. (NJ)

Describes how in the 1960s and 1970s critics of the schools as well as the transitory interests of the schools themselves were the greatest forces for change in basal reader programs. Discusses how current demand for high test scores has influenced those who prepare basal material. (Author/NH)

Examines the history of California's reading program, reviewing its change to a literature-based approach and then back again to a phonetic- or skill-based one. Reviews key factors influencing California policy and speculates about the future of the state's reading program. (TB)

William S. Gray, Professor of Education and Dean of the College of Education at the University of Chicago, began work in 1929 on a major revision of the "Elson Readers," a popular basal series published by Scott, Foresman and Company. Organized around the daily life of two ordinary children, the "Dick and Jane" readers…