This report describes a program for improving reading skills. The targeted population consisted of first and second grade students from urban and rural communities in Northern Illinois. The problem of underachievement in reading was documented by reading inventories, writing samples, and writing prompts. Analysis of probable cause data revealed…

A quasi-experimental study compared achievement effects of various configurations of the Success for All (SFA), schoolwide reform model for elementary schools serving many at-risk students, from full implementation (certified tutoring, full-time school-level facilitator, and the family support team) to implementations lacking some elements felt to…

An action research study detailed a program for improving kindergarten students' alphabet identification. The targeted population consisted of low achieving kindergarten students in a growing, middle class community located in northern Illinois. The students' skill levels were documented through data which revealed a lack of letter recognition and…

A study examined the effect of the Reading Recovery program on the reading achievement of first-grade students. Subjects, 60 third-grade students in a Chicago public school with 97% Hispanic and 3% White student population, completed the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. Test scores for the 30 students who were tutored using Reading Recovery lessons in…

A practicum addressed the below-average reading comprehension performance of first graders by the implementation of precision teaching and specific solution strategies. Students (51) were actively involved in their own learning and decision making through the continuous monitoring system of precision teaching. Reading techniques called RAP (an…

A practicum was designed to remediate reading skill deficiencies of four slow third-grade learners by using computerized instruction. The major goals were to increase instructional reading levels and reading comprehension; to remediate specific reading skill area deficiencies; and to increase collaboration among resource teachers regarding…

This coordinator's handbook describes the "Rockin' Readers" program, in which senior-citizen volunteers are matched with specifically targeted at-risk children (usually of kindergarten age or slightly older) in Alachua County, Florida, who tested below their peer group in language development and reading readiness skills. The handbook…

A program was designed to improve reading comprehension of first-grade students in one school and second-grade students in another school of an urban neighborhood school district in a medium-sized midwestern city. The problem has been addressed both at the district level and the building level, although scores in reading comprehension have…

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…

A practicum was conducted to determine the effectiveness of parental reinforcement at home of the reading skills taught at school. Parents of first grade Chapter 1 students, participated for a 10-week period with the first week devoted to training parents to use the materials and the paired-reading concept. Scores on the reading assessment test…

The Compensatory Language Experiences and Reading-Reading Recovery Program (CLEAR-RR) provided early intervention to 224 underachieving first grade pupils in Columbus, Ohio schools. The program's two major goals were to develop and provide CLEAR-RR for the first grade pupils and to adapt and apply the inservice program for teachers. Specially…

The purposes of this study were to determine the effects of Minicourse 18 on the development of 27 specific teacher behaviors related to teaching reading decoding skills by a group of inservice and preservice teachers of primary grade children, and to determine the effects of the teacher training upon pupil performance in reading. Minicourse 18…

This study used the Reading Miscue Inventory (RMI) to examine and compare the reading strategies used by a group of proficient (P) readers and a group of retarded (R) readers, both of which were reading at the fourth-grade level. The purpose of the study was to determine whether qualitative differences in the reading strategies of these two groups…

This paper describes an Elementary Secondary Education Act Title IV program designed to improve the reading achievement levels of kindergarten through second-grade pupils in Wakulla County, Florida. The Multisensory Approach to Reading and Reading Readiness Curriculum (Project MARC) combined structured teaching techniques and materials with…

Offers suggestions for organizing the primary classroom to provide ideal conditions for teaching reading. (DF)