Asserts that reading and writing skill instruction should not be taught as a set of discrete steps with phonics workbooks, but instead should be based on examples taken from texts which children write and read. (MM)

Describes a revision of the Names Test, an easy-to-administer phonics assessment. Describes what was done to increase the test's category reliability, to further examine the test's validity, and to enhance its usability. (SR)

Disagrees with an earlier article in this journal about the dispute among reading-instruction specialists as to how phonics is best taught. Argues for direct and systematic phonics instruction. Presents a response to Groff, agreeing that children need explicit phonics instruction but arguing that an instructional approach that acknowledges the…

Discusses materials that help primary-grade students develop a richer supply of words: books, audiotapes, and magnetic poetry kits for teachers and/or for students. (SR)

Reports a study of the ability of Black children to hear final consonant blends even though they may not or cannot pronounce them. (TO)

Discusses experiments that provide information about the reading processes involved in mapping phonemes onto alphabetic symbols; suggests several techniques for helping children both to differentiate among the short vowel sounds and to associate sound and symbol. Focuses on the needs of beginning readers who are experiencing reading difficulties.…

Discusses the selection criteria of reinforcement in phonics materials. Reports on a search for phonics materials which met the criteria of having an appropriate amount of reinforcement, high transfer potential, and high content validity. Finds that "Signals Video Learning Series" is a satisfactory phonics program. (MG)

Offers responses from four readers of this journal, all reading and/or classroom teachers, to a question posed by another teacher: whether children who have had limited literacy experiences should start reading in whole-language readers and/or trade books or whether they should start in controlled-vocabulary preprimers. (SR)

Results of a study of early reading responses of young children in a Finnish preschool challenge the belief that grapheme-phoneme regularity is a critical factor in beginning reading. (JM)

Recommends the use of a combination analytic-synthetic approach to phonics instruction, preceded by pretesting to determine the student's stage of phonic skill development. (RW)