Considers how the use of graphic organizers helps students understand difficult concepts about literacy. Notes that graphic and other visual organizers help students to understand interconcept relationships by presenting the information spatially. Describes the four-square strategy which integrates specific aspects of phonics instruction,…

An action research study implemented a program for improving the reading ability of first-grade students who enter school with low reading readiness skills. The targeted population came from a mid-size, middle-class town in northern Illinois that has experienced recent growth and socioeconomic changes. The problem was evidenced by teacher…

Many Canadians are concerned about the quality of reading instruction in Canadian schools. Recent newspaper articles, research reviews, and newsletter articles reflect the nature of these concerns. The official instructional policy in a number of provinces as well as in a number of local school districts is based on a whole-language philosophy.…

This book is about teaching beginning reading and writing. It is based on the belief that children can be taught to be more observant and conscious of the patterns at work as people communicate--particularly through reading and writing--and that teachers can use what children are able to do and what they are able to see to bring them rapidly and…

Addressing the issues of how phonics is handled in whole language classrooms and the role that phonics plays in reading and learning to read, the content of this book is rooted in the language stories and literacy lessons of teachers' observations of at-risk children learning to read. The book begins with an introduction to one whole language…

Concludes that a substantial number of children in inner-city early grades do not comprehend the basic nature of the writing system, even at the end of one year of reading instruction with a phonics-oriented method. (RB)

Intended for student use at home as a supplement to schoolwork or at school as a phonics text, this workbook presents initial consonant sounds in order of difficulty. The lesson for each sound is four pages in length. The first page consists of an illustration showing familiar objects; students are asked to circle the objects whose names begin…

Intended for student use at home as a supplement to schoolwork or at school as a phonics text, this workbook is a follow-up to "Initial Consonants." The first part of the workbook provides practice for consonants at the end of words. Most letters are given a four-page lesson. On the first page, students are asked to look at pictures, name them,…

Intended for student use at home as a supplement to schoolwork or at school as a phonics text, this workbook presents the most common and regular sounds of vowels. The short vowels are presented first. The lesson for each vowel consists of six pages of exercises. On the first page, the vowel sound is introduced by a cartoon. On the second and…

Intended for student use at home as a supplement to schoolwork or at school as a phonics text, this workbook presents the irregular vowel sounds, including the vowel diphthongs, the r-controlled vowels, and other irregular vowel combinations. Each vowel or combination is presented in a lesson of two to six pages, depending on its perceived…

A study examined the role of phonics instruction in beginning reading and culminated in a report which has been published as a book entitled "Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning about Print." The study centered around the debate over whether phonics instruction promotes or impedes development of the attitudes and abilities required…

A study examined the construct and predictive validity of phonemic awareness to determine the strength of the relationship between phonemic segmentation and auditory abstraction and to determine which of the two measures provided the best prediction of word recognition ability. Data were gathered from 65 first-grade children from 2 public…

This paper surveys methods for teaching reading and writing in kindergarten. The paper stresses the importance of accepting a child's own efforts, including invented spelling, and providing an atmosphere that encourages experimentation. Chapter 1 introduces the topic; chapter 2 provides a historical overview. The current state of the art is…

Ninety-three first grade children participated in a study that examined the relationship among instructional materials, other factors such as test scores, and the growth and application of letter-sound correspondence knowledge. The study also sought to determine the importance of letter-sound correspondence knowledge in the acquisition and…

These 57 game cards were developed to help teachers build their resource files for word-attack skills. Cards are keyed to skills suggested by the Wisconsin Design for Reading Skill Development and are color-coded according to their appropriateness for children in kindergarten through grade three. The front of each card gives the name of the skill,…