The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy of whole language instruction versus phonics instruction for improving reading fluency and spelling accuracy. The participants were the first grade students in the researcher's general education classroom of a non-Title I school. Stratified sampling was used to randomly divide…

Balanced reading instruction proposes an alternative to phonics only or whole language only programs; offers an efficient mixture of instructional approaches; and reconciles an array of learning styles. Although this balanced approach can not be interpreted monolithically, due to the various ways that whole language and phonics can be taught and…

The Whole Language/Phonics debate has been raging in California since the 1980s. However, there has been no real determination about which method is best for teaching reading to our students. Yet the Whole Language method has lost the recognition and respect of the educational community because the program was not implemented by all teachers the…