Concludes that monosyllabic words are easier for beginning readers to read than are polysyllabic words and that children just learning to read should be taught phonics skills with monosyllabic words. (RB)

This manual presents the Spanish decoding skills. Used prior to basic Spanish language primers, it teaches the basic skills necessary for reading Spanish. It is composed of basic listening and sounding activities and work pages used to develop audio-readiness essential to mastery of basic decoding patterns. The sounds of the letters and of letter…

Outlines the story of one first-grade student's successful struggle with learning to read. (MD)

Proposes a Gestalt version of the word family approach to phonics instruction as a way of reducing the number of phonetic units a child must learn to gain total phonetic control of the English language. (TO)

The ability of beginning readers to apply eighteen phonic generalizations in reading nonsense words in lists and sentences was studied. (Authors)

Irreverently examines Rudolph Flesch's theories for teaching a child to read "properly." Alternatives to Flesch's method are also given. (HTH)

Reviews research findings that suggest the importance of systematic phonics instruction in beginning reading. Cites arguments against phonics teaching and indicates that they appear unsupportable since they are incompatible with research findings and since they make unwarrantedly negative accusations about the kind of teaching that must be used in…

Presents a classic study originally published in this journal in 1963, which analyzed 45 phonic generalizations found in teacher's manuals. Finds that only 18 of the 45 generalizations are useful in having a reasonable degree of application (valid 75% of the time) to words commonly met in primary grade material. (SR)

Describes a reading lesson for first graders in which phonics is taught both explicitly and contextually. Discusses three prerequisite understandings about print that make learning to read much easier for children. Advocates a balanced approach toward literacy instruction that helps children integrate what they already know with new strategies,…

Describes a tool for finding texts that match children's decoding skills. Begins with an overview of current thinking and research on the use of decodable text in beginning reading instruction. Presents five steps to show how teachers can locate decodable texts that match and supplement their phonics instruction. (SG)

Reviews some basic knowledge of phonics all teachers should know. Provides instructional activities to incorporate phonics within a balanced literacy program. Recognizes different approaches to teaching phonics and the importance of phonics. Discusses the use of consonants, blends and digraphs, short vowels, long vowels, and other strange vowel…

Conducted a quantitative meta-analysis evaluating the effects of systematic phonics instruction compared to unsystematic or no phonics instruction on learning to read using 66 treatment-control comparisons derived from 38 experiments. Results show that systematic phonics instruction is effective and should be implemented as part of literacy…

IN SEPTEMBER 1964 THE HEGELER FOUNDATION CONDUCTED A WIDESCALE READING STUDY TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THE CORRELATED LANGUAGE ARTS PROGRAM BASED ON THE "OPEN COURT BASIC READERS" WOULD PRODUCE SUPERIOR RESULTS IN READING AND WRITING ACHIEVEMENT. THE FIRST-YEAR RESULTS ARE PRESENTED. THIRTY-TWO EXPERIMENTAL CLASSES AND 32 CONTROL…

The irregularity of English spelling rules, dialect differences, and an inability to identify sound segments within a single syllable are three important reasons teachers and students have difficulty teaching and learning reading using phonics. Within the same language, phonics rules may need to be adapted to fit the dialect of the student or of…