Due to variation that exists in providing Tier 2 reading intervention instruction, the purpose of the study was to identify processes and instructional strategies currently being utilized by K-2 teachers of the Gallup, New Mexico elementary schools. 17 teachers from 9 of the 10 elementary schools participated in the study. A survey instrument was…

The Whole Language/Phonics debate has been raging in California since the 1980s. However, there has been no real determination about which method is best for teaching reading to our students. Yet the Whole Language method has lost the recognition and respect of the educational community because the program was not implemented by all teachers the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of PALS (Peer Assisted Learning Strategies) for students who struggle with reading in first grade. Two groups of children were compared in terms of their reading fluency. The groups included English language learners (ELL) well as native English speakers. One group was instructed using the…

Reviews the materials, techniques, and some of the schools involved in the phonics-based Alpha One reading program. (MB)

The three main purposes for this study were (1) to determine what phonic generalizations were being taught in grade 1 in four of the leading basal reading series; (2) to determine the degree of utility of each generalization within the framework of the grade in which it was presented, after the initial presentation; and (3) to set up a comparative…

Ninety-three first grade children participated in a study that examined the relationship among instructional materials, other factors such as test scores, and the growth and application of letter-sound correspondence knowledge. The study also sought to determine the importance of letter-sound correspondence knowledge in the acquisition and…

THE VIEW THAT READING IS A ROTE, AUTOMATIC, CONDITIONED, NONMEANINGFUL PROCESS WHICH PRECEDES (THUS IS SEPARABLE FROM) COMPREHENSION IS CORROBORATED IN A TWO-PART INVESTIGATION. IN PART I, EVIDENCE IS PRESENTED TO SUPPORT THE POSITION THAT READING IS A NONMEANINGFUL PROCESS. IN PART II, A STUDY OF THE EFFICACY OF AN AUDITORY APPROACH TO…

This study examined first grade children's spelling of vowel sounds in relationship to the spellings these children were taught in their reading series and to the phonological aspects of the sounds. The subjects for the study were 12 first graders, six boys and six girls, in a public school in a Boston suburb. Written work done in school was…

Designed to be used primarily as a reader for first and second graders, but also as a speller and vocabulary builder for any student who needs help in language arts mastery, this book combines phonics with the "Look and Say" methods to present a step-by-step learning guide. Following an introduction explaining the five-step procedure…

This inservice professional development module, part of the Alabama Reading Initiative, presents research summaries, notes for presenters, and activities. The Phonemic Awareness and Phonics module clarifies that skilled readers are accurate and automatic decoders (i.e., they have the alphabetic principle). Phonics instruction must empower all…

A review of research identified features characteristic of effective reading programs, especially explicit phonics instruction integrated with vocabulary of student reading materials. Analysis of several commercially published first-grade basal reading programs found significant discrepancies between strategies supported by the literature and the…

THIS STUDY EVALUATED THE EFFECTS OF A BASAL READER PROGRAM, A MODIFIED LINGUISTIC APPROACH, AND A LINGUISTIC READER PROGRAM AS MEASURED BY THE READING ACHIEVEMENT OF 469 CHILDREN IN 21 CLASSES AT THE END OF FIRST GRADE. ACHIEVEMENT COMPARIONS WERE ALSO MADE ON THE BASES OF (1) SEX, (2) INTELLIGENCE, AND (3) RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN READING READINESS…

Describes how science activities are integrated with reading and writing activities to teach reading to inner-city first graders in Portland, Oregon. Both explicit phonics and whole-language instruction are used, along with pocket charts, poetry, small-group instruction, leveled books, running records, jump-rope rhymes, and story writing. (SAS)