Reviews the research literature on Writing to Read (WTR), a computer-based language arts program designed to help kindergarten and first grade students develop reading and writing skills. Limitations of the evaluation reports, research projects, and specialized applications of WTR are reviewed, and problems in research design and methodology are…

Individual and focus group interviews with 49 third-grade regular and special education teachers revealed that teachers value control over their decisions on grouping for reading instruction. Regular teachers reported they preferred whole class and mixed ability grouping arrangements for social and academic reasons, whereas special educators…

The 1993-94 school year was the first year of the Accelerating Literacy Program (ALP) of the Austin (Texas) Independent School District. The ALP used a grant from the Texas Education Agency to train elementary educators in the methods of a short-term reading intervention program based on the Reading Recovery/Whole Language theory. A group of 367…

This report describes a program for measuring student growth in the reading and writing process in order to improve achievement. The targeted population consisted of first- and second-grade students in three schools serving two suburban communities, located near a large midwestern city. School enrollment figures were 350, 399, and 669 students.…

A study examined a program for increasing reading ability to reduce the academic failure of identified at-risk students. Subjects were 14 second-grade and 18 sixth-grade students in a middle class suburb, southwest of a large metropolitan area. Evidence for the existence of this problem was gathered from teacher observations, assessments,…

A study assessed the effectiveness of the Success for All Program for grade-one English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners in bilingual or ESL programs in three California elementary schools. The reading instruction program provides both native (in this case, Spanish) language support as well as English language instruction and materials. The…

This publication investigates what happened when a Chicago public school first-grade teacher radically changed her teaching practice and embraced a holistic literary approach. The practice of shifting patterns of control in the classroom and the construction of knowledge in a setting where most children are bilingual is explored. The nine chapters…

Four case studies examined the effects of using taped books to teach reading to at-risk elementary school students in rural West Virginia. The study involved two kindergarten students who were identified as at risk for developing reading difficulties and two first-grade students who had been classified with a learning disability. The intervention,…

This study investigated elementary school teachers' perception of their first grade students' interest in multicultural trade books. The study participants included 151 first graders, 17 experienced teachers, and 65 preservice teachers. The study used 15 multicultural trade books and 15 non-multicultural books matched as closely as possible in…

A study investigated the efficacy of a program designed to teach parents how to read to their low-achieving school-aged children to help increase the children's word recognition and comprehension. Parents whose children (grades 1-4) were receiving additional school assistance from a resource specialist were invited to enroll in the program.…

This document presents the effects of variations of a schoolwide restructuring program, Success for All, on student reading achievement and other outcomes in elementary schools serving large numbers of disadvantaged students. Success for All uses research-based preschool and kindergarten programs, beginning and intermediate reading programs in…

This manual is the third of a three-part series of materials from a family literacy demonstration project conducted in Philadelphia public schools. It contains five units. The beginning unit has activities to use in getting started and to use as everyday activities throughout the program. The other four units have theme activities appropriate for…

To determine the factors accounting for children's growth in decoding skill, a study examined school entering characteristics--age, sex, ethnicity, and developmental abilities--and school-influenced skills and characteristics--phonemic awareness, letter-name knowledge, basal text, and place in series--of approximately 100 grade one students.…

A study was conducted to determine parents' perceptions of a kindergarten program in the face of change toward a holistic language/literacy curriculum. The participants were the parents of 25 children enrolled in an all day kindergarten class of a university-based child development center. Nine of the parents (all mothers) volunteered to be…

The Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS) was developed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), in response to Texas House Bill 72 (1984), which mandated a new basic skills assessment program for mathematics, reading, and writing at grades 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11. This is one in a series of Instructional Strategies Guides designed to…