Increasingly alarmed by instructional mandates more founded on journalistic rhetoric and popular opinion than on research findings or practitioner expertise, researchers gathered survey data from teachers to better understand the status of K-2 phonics instruction. Data demonstrate that the overwhelming majority of these K-2 teachers teach phonics,…

A second-grade teacher conducted a study aimed at raising students' abilities to use certain strategies (predicting, questioning, and connecting to text) and at increasing their enthusiasm for reading via literature circles (book discussion groups). Test and rubric results, survey responses, and interview comments affirm literature circles' value.…

Based on proven research, this booklet summarizes essential information of how children learn to read and how to teach beginning reading skills. After a foreword, the booklet discusses the Illinois Right to Read Initiative (a blueprint for significantly improving reading and literacy among students over the next five years) and summarizes the…

A program was developed for improving the reading of second-grade students in a progressive suburban community in northern Illinois. The problem was originally noted by an increase in the need for support services and low standardized test scores. Analysis of probable cause data revealed that students lacked knowledge of the relationship between…

A program was developed for improving the reading of first-grade students in a progressive suburban community in northern Illinois. The problem was originally noted by an increase in the need for support services and low standardized test scores. Analysis of probable cause data revealed that students lacked knowledge of the relationship between…

This action research outlines an early reading intervention project for improving students' reading skills and promoting the implementation of early reading intervention programs. The targeted population includes first and second grade students in one school located in the suburbs of a major city in Illinois. The problem of early reading…

A study investigated the attention of 116 children in 6 second- and third-grade classrooms while they participated in 4 lessons involving progressively more difficult stories. Analysis of videotapes of the lessons revealed that the likelihood of a lapse of attention was highest during the first 15 seconds of attention episodes. Lapses in attention…

A program was developed for improving the reading of first-grade students in a progressive suburban community in northern Illinois. The problem was originally noted by an increase in the need for support services and low standardized test scores. Analysis of probable cause data revealed that students lacked knowledge of the relationship between…

A program was developed for improving the reading abilities and student attitudes toward reading of kindergarten- through third-grade learning-disabled students in a northwest suburban elementary school community, located in northern Illinois. The problem was originally observed by the teaching staff who found students lacking in prerequisite…

This paper describes a study that evaluated a program in which students' reading and writing skills improved with the enhancement of various interventions related to reading and writing. The targeted population consisted of elementary students enrolled in first and third grades in northern Illinois. The lack of reading and writing success was…

An action research study described and evaluated a program for improving the reading comprehension of targeted first, second, and third grade students, in a progressive suburban community in northern Illinois. The problem was noted by the researchers, who in recent years had observed a need for improvement in reading comprehension as indicated by…

This report of a study describes in detail attempts to change one kindergarten teacher's procedures for teaching reading. The aim of the study was to learn how practices observed in earlier classroom research could be improved. The more specific goal was to identify factors that facilitate or impede change. Subjects were a kindergarten teacher in…

A study examined an early reading intervention program designed to lead children, identified with low reading readiness at the start of first grade, to an appropriate reading level by the end of a 6-month period. Subjects were students entering first grade in a middle class community in northern Illinois. The problems of low reading readiness were…

An action research project stresses the need to incorporate various methods of teaching to develop a firm reading foundation. Self-esteem also plays a crucial role in developing enthusiasm to learn. The targeted population consisted of first and second grade students in clustered classrooms in a growing, middle class community located in central…

A study examined the impact of a parent involvement program for parents of children involved in a first-grade reading intervention program in Bakersville, a middle-class suburb north of Chicago, Illinois. Parents attended three workshops designed to complement their children's one-on-one tutorial program. Analysis focused on case studies of three…