In this webinar, Janice A. Dole, Professor and Director of the Reading and Literacy Program in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Utah, discussed different strategies for delivering literacy instruction to meet a range of student needs, including the ways in which teachers can collaborate with reading specialists to…

Identifies analogous patterns in the histories of education and literacy education, noting wide swings of fadism over time, tracing phonics instruction throughout history, inspecting a model of educational innovation as related to literacy, and suggesting implications of this model for the future (noting lessons to be distilled from awareness of…

Calls for review of research on best practices in phonemic awareness training and direct-instruction reading programs. Suggests that a more effective approach to reading instruction is to integrate skills instruction with meaningful literacy experiences and to use writing to help children learn about written language, including phonemic awareness.…

This article proposes that meaning and form (the sound-letter correspondences) are both important in beginning reading, but that initially they should be taught separately. Support for this position is provided, and a two-stage model of preliteracy development is offered, with the first stage emphasizing meaning and the second stage emphasizing…

Provides opinions of five eminent educators on a variety of issues in literacy education including phonics, emergent literacy, reading and writing relationships, whole language, and defining literacy. (MG)

Presents concerns about children's growth as oral and written language users and how disagreements over teaching strategies can affect this growth. (SRT)

Reading readiness is defined, and the assessment of emergent literacy is discussed. An informal Reading Readiness Inventory is proposed to provide a profile of students' specific strengths and weaknesses at the beginning levels. The assessment comprises such subtests as oral cloze, sound/symbol relationships, and instant recognition of high…

There are compelling reasons for integrating phonics into the adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) curriculum. The adult ESL student has the analytical capability to understand phoneme-grapheme relationships and can be taught to use any transferable native-language literacy skills in English spelling. In this essay, the potential of phonics…

Provides a theory- and research-based argument for the value of play in literacy instruction in the primary grades and offers examples of the ways teachers can create more playful phonics, read aloud, and expository writing experiences. Urges teachers to become well-versed in the values of play and be willing to educate administrators and parents…

This document examines the problem of illiteracy. The first chapter provides background and general information about illiteracy, while the second chapter distinguishes between "illiterate" and "functionally illiterate," and provides a new look at the concept of functionality. The third chapter begins with a section about illiteracy in the United…

The educational and linguistic rationales for designing an adult English-as-a-Second-Language literacy program based on phonics are discussed, with specific reference to an Ibibio adult literacy program in Nigeria. An introductory section gives an overview of Nigerian policy and practice concerning literacy education. Next, the phonics approach to…

While a college degree is an important economic and social resource for graduating-age students, more and more students are entering colleges and universities without the basic skills necessary to achieve academic success, and a growing number are low-literate or limited English speaking. Community colleges have an important role in ensuring…