The purpose of this naturalistic study was to describe and explore issues that emerged from an undergraduate/graduate phonics course for preservice and practicing teachers, certified or licensed to instruct children from kindergarten to eighth grade (K-8). Data were collected through teacher observations of classroom discussions, activities,…

Shares a letter the author (a professor emeritus of Language Arts education) wrote to her state assembly member in California in response to legislation, based on a very limited definition of reading, that imposed the use of phonics on school districts. Notes that the letter can serve as a model for other educators to respond to their legislator.…

Describes a workshop on phonics for preservice teachers developed by a staunch whole language literacy teacher. Notes that evaluations by participants were mixed at best. (RS)

Discusses two studies of English speakers' understanding of the English spelling system. Comparative analysis suggests that seven-year-olds are as sophisticated as adults in extracting many of the linguistic factors which influence stress assignment, but they lack the "heterogeneous" structure of the lexicon that is characteristic of the…

A study tested the usefulness of the Theoretical Orientation to Reading Profile (TORP) in terms of its accuracy in measuring preservice teachers' change in theoretical orientation to reading as a result of having taken a reading methods course. Subjects, 27 upper division elementary education majors (the experimental group) and 15 upper division…

A study evaluated the phonics performance of skilled adult readers using the D. Durkin phonics test, which was also used in 1984 to measure the phonics ability of children. The test, which was given to 25 college juniors and seniors, consisted of 29 regularly spelled pseudo or nonsense words to be pronounced aloud by the subjects. Results…

Shows that, despite the pendulum swings from the 1930s to the present, reading-achievement levels have remained constant, and one-third of children do not learn to read well. Argues that reading is a multidimensional activity, and that a massive effort is needed to implement multidimensional curricula that empower all children by providing them…

Originally developed as part of a project for the Department of Defense Schools (DoDDS) system, this learning package on reasearch about teaching and learning reading is designed for teachers who wish to upgrade or expand their teaching skills on their own. The package includes an overview of the project; a comprehensive search of the ERIC…