Presents some of the conceptions of balanced instruction. Provides information about the research and theory supporting each one. Describes some of the practical implications for classroom practice. (PA)

Analyzes phonics teaching and learning in eight whole-language first-grade classrooms from October through May. Finds that foundation concepts (phonemic and phonological awareness, phonemic segmentation) and letter-sound relationships were taught and that teachers differentiated phonics instruction based on learned development and ongoing…

Reports on an investigation of the effects of teaching first grade children two sets of six words by phonics and sight word methods in three instructional conditions with either a selection or production response. (MKM)

Presents a modified replication of Austin and Morrison's classic 1963 study of the status of U.S. public school elementary reading instruction. Discusses how school and classroom libraries in the 1990s are more prevalent and better equipped, and how changes in programs and philosophy are common in the late 1990s, unlike in the 1960s. Appends the…

Concludes that spelling-trained kindergarten children learned to read a set of words more effectively than controls. Argues that their greater success was not because they had learned to sound out and blend words, but rather because they had become better at phonetic cue reading. (FL)

Provides information concerning the value of letter names in the teaching of reading and spelling. Presents specific discussions about the importance of letter names to prereading phonics abilities, the phonemic values in letter names, and the use of letter names in word analysis, semantic word recognition, and semantic spelling. (MKM)

A team of first-grade teachers began to question their literacy/phonics program, which used a whole-class format for instruction. The teachers felt that teaching the whole class did not allow them to meet the diverse needs of all their students. One of the teachers introduced the rest of the team to developmental-spelling research (i.e., research…

Results of a study in which first graders learned ten unfamiliar function words in two different formats indicated that sentence readers learned more about the syntactic and semantic identities of function words, whereas list readers remembered their orthographic identities better and could pronounce the words faster and more accurately in…

Trains 94 first graders using a structured phonological reading method emphasizing English phonology and phoneme/grapheme correspondence. Compares to a control group who received a whole-language-plus-phonics approach. Notes that children in all groups improved their phonological awareness by the same amount. Concludes that phonological awareness…

Fifteen regular grade 2 teachers used a set of 150 written lessons that were designed to develop, over the course of a school year, low and normally achieving students' ability to decode by analogy (i.e., to read unknown words using known words). The lessons provided (1) a planned sequence for teaching phonic elements including common spelling…

Examines the role of various word features (versatile letter combinations) and basal text factors (word repetitions) in the developing word recognition skills of 93 first-grade students. Indicates that the text to which children are exposed early in first grade may differentially shape their word identification strategies. (HOD)

Discusses a study in which learning disabled or educationally handicapped middle school students received a daily treatment of 20 minutes of phonics instruction and demonstrated gains on both the Wide Range Achievement Test and the Gray Oral Reading Test. (AEA)

Observes low socioeconomic-level learners during literacy instruction for two years. Finds similarities in learner concern about accuracy. Notes that cross-curricular differences centered on applications of phonics knowledge, responses to literature, coping strategies, and learner perceptions of themselves as readers and writers. Finds a…

Analyzes word recognition instruction in four first-grade classrooms. Finds that: differential instruction may be helpful in first grade; children who enter first grade with low literacy benefit from early and heavy exposure to phonics; and a structured phonics curriculum that includes both onsets and rimes and sounding and blending phonemes…

An extensive case history of instructional environment and acquisition of reading skills by 50 first-grade students in ten classrooms indicates that the rate at which students mastered decoding depended on classroom instruction with direct instruction appearing most profitable for children from low-socioeconomic backgrounds. (MKM)