Teachers of extended day kindergarten classes and regular kindergarten classes are encouraged to help the poor risk child, who demonstrates the potential for having difficulty with the academics of first grade, by identifying the child's levels in reading readiness, developing the hows and whys of learning (teaching the child how to learn),…

A new method of continuous stroke manuscript print called D'Nealian Manuscript is challenging the traditional circle-stick method of teaching children how to write. The circle-stick uses component or splinter parts to form whole letters. Children are forced to form all writing with verticle lines and to learn a manuscript print that goes nowhere.…

Noting that the purpose of testing and test validity, reliability, norms, and usefulness should be primary considerations in choosing a reading test, this paper is intended to serve as a guide in test selection. The document provides a checklist for collecting the information necessary for selecting a test, and brief overviews of five reading…

In a project designed to interpret research and development in the field of reading to practitioners, telephone interviews were conducted with a representative group of the nation's educators and with seven outstanding reading researchers by the Research and Development Interpretation Service. The practitioners were found to be interested…

The ten reading research studies published since 1955 and deemed by the author "most important" in terms of quality, originality, and applicability to elementary reading instruction are described in this report. Discussed are studies on reading approaches by Russell Stauffer and by Neville Bennett; a study on reading readiness by Audrey…

This paper examines the relationship between beginning reading and cognitive development and reviews some of the research conducted so far. It is noted that children learning to read may be in various stages of cognitive development, some at a preoperation stage, some at a concrete operation stage, and some at a transition stage. Instructional…

A functional prediction scheme was sought for use in kindergarten which would have good predictive power for future reading achievement and be easy and quick to administer and score, inexpensive, and conducive to classroom use. A group of 21 kindergarten children was tested for reading readiness, intelligence, and psycholinguistic ability. Their…

Oral language development, the single most important factor in determining readiness for reading, may be enhanced through creative drama, especially role playing. Role playing is spontaneous play which traditionally has served many purposes, including promoting socialization. It can also be a unique method of recreating historical episodes in…

Using children's literature as an integral part of the reading curriculum can lead children to want to read more, as they discover the pleasure of reading. Reading-readiness skills (comprehension and auditory and visual discrimination) and primary and intermediate skills (syntax, context in word attack, comprehension, critical reading, and…

Kindergarten readiness assessment is considered important for identifying and facilitating successful school experiences for young children. However, little is known about the assessment process schools are using. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers', parents', and administrators' perceptions of the kindergarten readiness assessment…

The purpose of this study was to examine the way in which early childhood educators introduce reading and writing to 4- and 5-year-olds. A random sampling of the 903 public and private preschools registered with the Human Services Department in a midwestern state was conducted. Questionnaires were mailed to 687 randomly selected early childhood…

Young children learn many important things about language from the television and radio ads they encounter that can help them learn to read and write. They learn that print carries messages that are personally important to them, that whatever can be said can also be written, what some forms of written language look like, and that language use can…

On the assumption that the absence of remedial students in the classroom permits enriched instruction to take place, this study examined the reading achievement gains of those first graders who remain in the classroom while their project-eligible classmates leave for reading instruction. Metropolitan Readiness Test stanine scores were used for…

This study examined the effects of using either object-form or paper/pencil versions of reading-readiness tests on the test scores of kindergarten children from low, middle, and high socioeconomic strata. Of 453 kindergarten students that were classified into the three socioeconomic strata, 35 boys and 35 girls were randomly selected from each…

In order to equalize educational opportunities, individualized instruction in the beginning reading program is suggested. Children should have equal opportunity but not identical instruction. Reading readiness, as determined by reading skills, and reading interest should determine when instruction begins, whether it is kindergarten or the third…