Grounded in the simple view of reading, this study tracked the development of print-processing skill in high-, average-, and low-achieving readers at six time points across grades 1-3. Results showed large between-group differences in sight vocabulary, oral reading accuracy, and oral reading rate that remained stable from beginning of first grade…

This reader-friendly text examines the key foundational studies in early literacy. It addresses such essential questions as how research informs current practices and where the field still needs to go to provide the best learning opportunities for all children. Each chapter describes the methods and findings of one to five seminal studies,…

While word discrimination studies based on the subjects' conscious manipulation of words--for example, counting the number of words in a line--indicate that beginning readers are unskilled in identifying word boundaries, tests using such indirect methods of assessment as word recognition reveal a strong correlation between the ability to…

The effects of the use of traditional series readiness workbooks and subsequent delay in beginning reading instruction on reading achievement at the middle and end of first grade were investigated. Fifty-seven percent of the children in a suburban school district used traditional readiness workbooks and of the remaining 43%, some used non-series…

A discrete-trial reaction time methodology was employed measuring speeds of skilled and less skilled readers in naming colors, pictures, numbers, letters, and words. Less skilled nondyslexic children don't exhibit a general name retrieval deficit; rather, research shows phonological analysis skills are integral in early reading acquisition.…

Two hundred and eight first graders were assigned to one of three treatment groups. Treatment A received initial instruction in letter names followed by sight words; treatment B received initial instruction in letter names and sounds followed by sight words; and treatment C received initial instruction in sight words followed by letter names and…

Describes research results showing that letter-name knowledge does not aid the beginning reader in pronouncing words composed of the same letters. Suggests that letter-sound knowledge does have a beneficial effect. Bibliography. (RW)

FOUR NULL HYPOTHESES WERE TESTED TO EVALUATE SELECTED READING READINESS TESTS AS PREDICTORS OF FIRST-GRADE READING ACHIEVEMENT. FIVE SCHOOLS IN THE BANGOR, MAINE, CITY SCHOOL SYSTEM WERE RANDOMLY CHOSEN. IN EACH SCHOOL, ONE CLASS USED THE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM WHICH EMPHASIZED SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION WITH READINESS TRAINING. ANOTHER…

To investigate the effects of perceptual training upon selected measures of reading achievement in grade 1, 12 experimental classrooms of randomly selected first graders received a 29-day adaptation of the Frostig Program for the Development of Visual Perception. Thirteen control classes added comparable time to the regular reading instructional…

Supports the view that letter-name knowledge aids the child in learning to read. (RL)

Concludes that, of several reading readiness factors, knowledge of alphabet letter names is the best predictor of phonics skills other than vowel recognition and of reading abilities involving words in insolation, and that number knowledge is the best predictor of reading abilities involving words and syntax. (FL)

The feasibility of devising a highly individualized reading program for low-achieving 6-year-old children centering on structured tutoring was investigated. The 33 subjects from three schools would enter first grade in the fall and were considered low achievers on the basis of kindergarten testing. Upper-grade elementary students volunteered to…

Reports on a study of the relationship of both phonemic and musical sound discrimination to reading ability among 18 British first graders. Finds that discrimination of musical sounds is related to music performance but that the influential factor is a specific awareness of pitch changes. (CFR)

BASAL READER SYSTEMS FOR BEGINNERS WERE ANALYZED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF SPECIFIC SYSTEM FEATURES ON THE READING ACHIEVEMENT OF FIRST-GRADE CHILDREN OF DIFFERENT SEX AND LEVELS OF INTELLIGENCE. THE PROJECT COVERED THE FOLLOWING SYSTEMS--(1) THE LIPPINCOTT "BASIC READING" SERIES, (2) THE "EARLY-TO-READ…

A structured tutoring technique utilizing the services of parents and high school students was devised. A study was carried out in Provo, Utah, with 10 children in each of six groups--three kindergarten and three first-grade groups consisting of one control group, one with parent tutors, and one with student tutors. The tutors were given a manual…