Expresses a joint statement of concerns about present practices in pre-first grade reading instruction and makes recommendations for improvement. Guidelines and recommendations are the result of a collaboration among six national organizations. (KS)

This report, the sixth in a series developed by the Education Commission of the States (ECS) examining the impact of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act 2001, discusses Reading First, which replaces the Reading Excellence Act. The report states that Reading First, a voluntary program, aims at having all children achieve reading proficiency by the…

To answer the question of how phonemic awareness works to facilitate reading acquisition, this paper explores the fundamental connection between phonemic awareness, the alphabetic principle, and phonics in learning to read. The paper undertook a literature review to prove that phonemic awareness is an essential element in the path to literacy. It…

Ability to read depends less upon learning isolated, sequential skills than upon the natural desire to communicate beyond the oral level and the opportunities offered by society and environment to develop this ability. (JD)

This article reviews the literature on the importance of phonological awareness within the context of language/literacy learning and discusses the developmental continuum of phoneme awareness skills. Specific techniques are suggested to guide the speech-language pathologist in the assessment of phonological awareness skills. (Author/DB)

Describes Cuba's preschool reading readiness program, which emphasizes phonemic analysis. (AEA)

The Braille Readiness Skills Grid identifies activities and skills that foster braille readiness in children with visual impairments. The grid assesses five readiness areas: tactile, fine motor, listening/attention, concept, and book/story. It is intended to encourage systematic braille readiness activities from infancy and foster children's…

Examined the practice of emergent reading, in which preschool children practice readinglike behaviors by retelling a story that has been read to them based on the pictures and text in a book. Found that eight preschoolers in a Head Start program could successfully "read" key points in an illustrated storybook. Contains suggestions to…

Reports that readiness tests given to children in bilingual villages in Papua New Guinea showed that children learning to read in an unfamiliar language were more confused than were children who had never had literacy instruction. (FL)

THIS SUPPLEMENTARY BIBLIOGRAPHY CONTAINS MATERIALS ON VARIOUS ASPECTS OF READING ABILITY AND READING INSTRUCTION. UNANNOTATED REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED TO 110 DOCUMENTS DATING MAINLY FROM 1960 TO 1966. RESEARCH REPORTS, JOURNAL ARTICLES, CONFERENCE PAPERS, AND UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPTS ARE LISTED. SUBJECT AREAS INCLUDED ARE (1) BASAL READING, (2) THE…

The 25 articles in this collection focus on reading as a humanizing experience. The topics covered include the following: (1) the politics of literacy; (2) the holographic nature of the reading process; (3) literacy through language communication; (4) life-long reading; (5) diagnosis of reading disabilities based on psychoeducational analysis of…

Participants in this conference represented France, Canada, the United States, Denmark, Japan, the United Kingdom, Austria, Norway, Germany, Sweden, Australia, Egypt, India, Israel, Ireland, and Brazil. Each of the 33 articles is printed in the language in which it was delivered (English except for two articles), and each is preceded by short…

A CONFERENCE WAS HELD TO IMPROVE AND EXPAND A FUSED CURRICULUM IN BEGINNING READING. THE CURRICULUM HAD BEEN DEVELOPED AND TENTATIVELY EVALUATED AS PART OF "PROJECT LITERACY," A BASIC RESEARCH AND CURRICULUM-DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM IN AREAS OF EDUCATION RELEVANT TO THE ACQUISITION OF LITERACY SKILLS. THE FOCUS OF THE CURRICULUM WAS ON A…

Title VII of the Cooperative Research Act, now the Education Amendments of 1974, makes it possible for preschool age children to get started on basic reading skills early enough that they won't still be reading at the third-grade level when they enter high school. It also assures elementary students that their reading instruction won't be…

A study investigated kindergarten children's awareness of how they are learning to read at home and in school. Fifty-six children were selected from two schools with contrasting instruction for beginning reading. Children were interviewed in kindergarten and first grade and asked questions designed to tap their awareness of how they were learning…