Expresses a joint statement of concerns about present practices in pre-first grade reading instruction and makes recommendations for improvement. Guidelines and recommendations are the result of a collaboration among six national organizations. (KS)

Discusses efforts at teaching children in kindergarten how to write, indicating that emergent readers can indeed write with scribbles, random letters, numerals, and sometimes words. Discusses their dictation, journal content, writing stages, and developmental trends. (HTH)

Describes children's process of constructing their own knowledge by going through one level after another of being "wrong" and relates this process to reading. Describes six strategies children invent and discusses implications for teaching. (AS)

Presents picture-based and listening-based lessons designed to enhance teachers' awareness of the processes that lead to comprehension and to provide a framework within which they may develop their own lessons for comprehension awareness. (FL)

Until recently, kindergartens were designed to foster a positive attitude toward school and provide a well-rounded development through the use of suitable play, art, and social activities. Unfortunately, many kindergarten programs have begun to rely on inappropriate materials and techniques taken from formal first-grade programs. Such programs…

Reports findings of a study of current practices in kindergarten programs showing that teachers seldom use test results to adapt instruction to individual needs. (FL)

Argues that structured reading programs, workbook pages, and drills do not alone provide an adequate basis for beginning reading instruction and suggests that experiences, knowledge, and other environmental factors ensure success in reading. (HOD)

Delineates three distinct but overlapping functions of kindergarten: (1) to minister to the nature and needs of four- to six-year-olds; (2) to look forward to the nature and needs of children as they develop through the sixth year; and (3) to look backward to experiences and learning in the home. (NH)

Addresses attitudes toward reading resulting in beginning reading instruction in the kindergarten and preschool curriculum. Argues that previously accepted notions of the necessity of reading readiness are no longer viable and encourages home and classroom support for the acquisition of reading abilities through written and oral language. (DST)

Based on a weekly newspaper column intended to encourage parents to become involved in their children's education, this book provides encouragement and specific suggestions, in 16 chapters, for parents who want to help their children learn from everyday experiences. The chapters are: (1) "Who, Me? A Teacher?" (2) "Your Child's Self…

Focusing on the learning styles of young children, this position statement presents current research and information that document the need for developmentally appropriate reading experiences during the kindergarten and prekindergarten years. The paper contains the following sections: (1) a background statement, (2) current literacy research…

Stressing the importance of understanding child development, this paper first describes the writing of several children in a kindergarten class who represent various levels of emerging literacy. Based on the descriptions of classroom activities, the paper argues that with a developmental perspective the teacher can build instruction on what the…