Already well documented for hearing children, schooling's effects on early literacy skills for young students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) were examined for the first time in the present study. Piecewise growth curve modeling was used to describe 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old students' growth in phonological awareness, letter-word…

The study explored the effects of a phonics-based early intervention package on the early reading skills of three preschool students who were d/Deaf or hard of hearing who differed in regard to degree of hearing loss, use of amplification, and communication mode. The 40-week intervention (50-week in one case) was delivered through individual and…

This study examines the relations among the classroom literacy environment, children's interest and engagement in literacy activities, and children's early reading skills in a sample of 167 children aged 4 and 5 years enrolled in 31 Head Start classrooms. Researchers rated the classroom literacy environment. Teachers reported on children's…

This study demonstrates the impact of an Early Reading First intervention on preschool children's language and literacy development using an ex post facto, causal-comparative research design. The project's professional development model was evaluated to produce a process and outcome evaluation to answer two overarching research questions: (1) What…

A synthesis and meta-analysis of the extant research on the effects of storybook read-aloud interventions for children at risk for reading difficulties ages 3 to 8 is provided. A total of 29 studies met criteria for the synthesis, with 18 studies providing sufficient data for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Read-aloud instruction has been examined…

"Ready, Set, Leap!"[R] is a preschool curriculum that focuses on early reading skills, such as phonemic awareness, letter knowledge, and letter-sound correspondence, using multisensory technology that incorporates touch, sight, and sound. Teachers may adopt either a theme-based or a literature-based teaching approach, and for each…

"Interactive Shared Book Reading" is a general practice that adults may use when reading with children and is intended to enhance young children's language and literacy skills. Typically, "Interactive Shared Book Reading" involves an adult reading a book to a child or a small group of children and using a variety of techniques…

"Dialogic Reading" is an interactive shared picture book reading practice designed to enhance young children's language and literacy skills. During the shared reading practice, the adult and the child switch roles so that the child learns to become the storyteller with the assistance of the adult who functions as an active listener and…

"Ready, Set, Leap!"[R] is a comprehensive preschool curriculum that focuses on early reading skills such as phonemic awareness, letter knowledge, and letter-sound correspondence using multi-sensory technology that incorporates touch, sight, and sound. The "Ready, Set, Leap!"[R] curriculum is available in English and Spanish.…

This report focuses on a family of interventions that includes all "Direct Instruction" products ("DISTAR" and "Language for Learning"). "Direct Instruction" was used to refer to this family of interventions, as well as to all versions past and present. "Direct Instruction" includes teaching…

A study was conducted to evaluate the impact of predictable stories given to children from low-income families over a two-year period. Phase one subjects were all the children (N=52) from four Headstart classes; phase two subjects were all the children who had participated in phase 1 and who entered kindergarten after their last year in Headstart.…