Suggests that children should learn to read by creating their own spellings for familiar words. (NH)

Discusses how parents can be instrumental in developing prereading skills and fostering reading readiness in their children. (TO)

Concludes that preschool children know that print conveys information, yet frequently use environmental cues rather than letter knowledge when they appear to read. (FL)

Reports on naturalistic research studies revealing that children begin to learn to read and write long before they go to school. (JL)

The articles collected in this special issue of "Reading"offer a response to and elaboration of the report of the Bullock Committee on reading. An editorial introduction describes the focus and implications of the report and outlines the committee's main recommendations. Included in the discussion are the following articles:…

This study presents an account of position saliency in terms of children's ability to utilize graphic information, and in particular the serial encoding of information from letters in a graphic pattern. By varying the number and position of the letters distinguishing graphic patterns (positive condition) in a short-term recognition memory (STRM)…

A "Learning" magazine editor recommends five books for teachers: (1) "Hunger of Memory" (Richard Rodriguez); (2) "Cushla and Her Books" (Dorothy Butler); (3) "Uncivil Liberties" (Calvin Trillin); (4) "Selected Letters of James Thurber"; and (5) "The Selected Letters of Mark Twain." A…

Discusses factors that foster the development of young voluntary readers. Reviews studies that describe home and school characteristics that encourage voluntary reading and stresses the importance of providing young students with a rich literary environment in the classroom. (FL)

Concludes that sound awareness scores significantly predicated performance of kindergarten children on a sight-word learning task and a decoding-like task. Subjects' knowledge of terminology was unrelated to success on either task. (FL)

Argues that by encouraging children in their early writing efforts, adults can help them develop into confident and comfortable writers. (FL)

A study investigated the kinds of questions children ask as they encounter written language. Data were gathered over a 7-month period for two boys, one approximately 4, the other approximately 2 years of age. Two types of observation sessions were used: formal story reading times that were audiorecorded, and informal situations where the…

A study examined whether environmental logos could be used as tools for beginning reading instruction. Logos are bold, colorfully adorned symbols featuring printed words in design formats that appear on products and advertisng signs. Subjects were 20 preschool children, half of whom were three and one-half years old, and the rest four and one-half…

Argues that teachers can take advantage of child-initiated explorations to develop beginning reading and writing skills. Offers specific recommendations and suggestions. (FL)

Parents are urged to provide a superior education for their preschool children by encouraging the development of the first language in the home and by teaching the young child to read in at least one of his languages before going to school. (PMJ)

Reading can be defined as a meaningful interaction with a print setting. Interactive models of reading assume that lower level and higher level processing occurs simultaneously, interacting with each other. The familiarity of the book, the context in which a sign occurs, and the illustrations of a book are all examples of print setting cues that…