At 30 months, children who were later considered dyslexic were deficient in length, sytactic complexity, and pronunciation of spoken language. At three years, children were deficit in receptive vocabulary and object-naming, and at five years, in phonemic awareness and letter-sound knowledge. These deficits were not found in normal reading children…

Intended to encourage parents to help their children acquire early reading skills at home, this paper provides a rationale and recommendations for early reading instruction. Following an introduction, the sections of the paper discuss (1) the historical background of beginning reading, (2) the benefits of early reading, (3) early reading case…

Describing the early reader as one who has learned to read informally at home before formal schooling has begun, this paper reviews the literature on two aspects of early reading. The first aspect considered is the home environment of the early reader and the interactions with his or her parents. The second aspect considered is the process by…

This study describes certain characteristics of early readers, with emphasis on their accomplishments on eight Piagetian tasks. The early readers were defined as those children who were between four and six years old, who could read at the pre-primer level or higher, and who had not attended elementary school. The population of the study consisted…

Reviews studies which demonstrate that exposure to children's literature encourages verbal language development and reading competence in particular. (TJ)

Early reading for deaf and hearing-impaired children using the natural reading method inspired by Doman is advocated. The Doman method is described. What educational research on deaf and hearing-impaired children says concerning the process of reading acquisition is discussed. (RM)

Outlines the most important 20th century developments in reading instruction for young children, analyzing why an approach was tried, and presenting results of these instructional efforts. It is concluded that the current perspective that seems to meet the needs of most children is that of emergent literacy. (SLD)

Given preschool children's characteristically short attention spans and unpredictable interests, teachers can encourage early reading most effectively and appropriately through the systemization of informal or incidental, rather than formal, learning. They can make learning to read relevant to traditional preschool activities in a number of ways.…

Bilingual schooling in the U.S. is meant to equalize educational opportunity for children of limited English-speaking ability. Despite the proliferation of bilingual programs in many parts of the country, only very modest progress is being made toward the goal of equal educational achievement. We are coming to realize that limited English-speaking…

Documents how a preschool child learns to read. Identifies what teachers need to know if they are to continue the reader's own discoveries and delight in language. (EL)

Describes ways in which teachers in a preschool center structure the environment and provide supportive interactions that give children in their care, the same advantages found in homes of early readers. Summarizes how the center replicates characteristics of such homes. Suggests involvement with books and other print-related materials. (BAC)

Summarizes the results of a study of parents' perceptions of their preschool children's emergent literacy. Notes similarities and differences between the perceptions of parents with high and low literacy levels. Suggests ways in which parents' perceptions can be used to develop effective home-school partnerships. (BB)

The Bridge Reading Program, a developmentally based teaching method that uses logographs, the pairing of words with pictures, for teaching prereading skills as well as the basic concepts of reading in the context of reading itself, is described in this handbook. The first two chapters contain background information, a rationale for the program,…

Adapted from Idaho's original Parents in Reading program, the materials in this booklet are designed for use by school administrators who want to begin a positive program that involves parents in reading. Various sections contain samples of board policy statements, press releases, and radio commercials; samples of letters to parents new to the…

The "back to basics" movement raises questions regarding the nature of reading that is assumed in instruction and testing. Of the three definitions of reading (decoding, meaning-from-page, and intellectual processes) the latter view, which sees reading as a broad range of perceptual, associative, and cognitive elements, is preferred. The…