Researchers have long acknowledged the important role that vocabulary plays in assisting reading comprehension. Because of the importance of vocabulary, it is necessary to determine how to ensure that all students are making adequate vocabulary gains. The research base for the best ways to instruct students in robust vocabulary is strong. The…

Determines the listening capacity of Spanish-speaking first grade children as measured by subtests of the Metropolitan Achievement Test, Primary I Battery. (RB)

In Turkey, the Ministry of National Education (MONE) changed the reading instruction method in elementary schools from whole language approach to phonics emphasis in 2005. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of phonics method on reading acquisition in a Turkish sample; to understand what elementary school teachers…

Describes a study designed to determine whether children identified as learning disabled by Slingerland's Pre-reading Screening Procedures would progress further in sensory abilities and reading achievement as a result of receiving reading instruction by the synthetic-multisensory or the multiple-factor method. (JM)

Compares the effects of basal and whole language approaches on the reading achievement of first grade students. Finds no statistically significant differences in reading achievement between classes taught with a basal approach or with a whole language approach. (RS)

Investigates first graders' self-esteem after receiving remedial reading instruction in the Reading Recovery program. Finds that 78% to 96% of the students responded positively to each statement on a self-esteem questionnaire. Notes that variability of responses suggests the students were discriminating among items. (RS)

Assesses the reading achievement of two groups of first grade students receiving instruction with different reading strategies and philosophies. Finds that average and below-average students benefited from a consistent instructional format that utilized direct instruction, authentic literature, and integrated decoding strategies. (NH)

Concludes that first grade boys in a basal reader program supplemented with phonics instruction learned reading skills and read with comprehension as well as those in an intensive phonics program. (FL)

First grade students were administered a screening battery that included the Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Test, the Metropolitan Readiness Test, the Bender Gestalt Test, and the Visual Memory Technique. Stepwise regression equations revealed that the Bender Gestalt Test significantly increased the predictive power of the test battery. (FL)

Assesses the effectiveness of whole language instruction over the course of a school year. Finds that middle and low progressing experimental subjects and experimental males at each of three ability levels attained significantly higher mean scores on a cloze test than did their counterparts in the control group (who used basals). (RS)

A study investigated the relationship between scores on individual and group cognitive measures and those on achievement tests for disadvantaged first grade students. (FL)

Presents achievement scores of students in a replication school of the Northern Cheyenne Behavior Analysis Model of Follow Through. Reveals grade level or above achievement for kindergarten children in all subject matter areas tested and similar findings for first grade students, who scored below grade level only in spelling. (FL)

Concludes that, of several reading readiness factors, knowledge of alphabet letter names is the best predictor of phonics skills other than vowel recognition and of reading abilities involving words in insolation, and that number knowledge is the best predictor of reading abilities involving words and syntax. (FL)

Reports on a study that examined the predictive power of five specific prereading skills tests for first-grade reading achievement and assessed their value as indicators of reading readiness. (FL)

Finds first-grade boys whose teachers believed that boys are as successful as girls in beginning literacy scored approximately the same as girls on the Stanford Achievement Test, while first-grade boys whose teachers believed that boys are less successful than girls scored considerably lower than girls. Discusses how teachers' expectations or…