Tells a first grader's story of his struggles learning to read in a traditional school setting, where he experienced significant reading anxiety, and highlights the ease with which he learned to read at home and in the community as he proceeded through his day. (SM)

Finds that a strategy-instruction approach helped second-grade students to find needed information in the nonfiction texts they read and eliminate the copying of text. Discusses how students learned to search for information, take notes, organize notes, and use those notes to compose a report in their own words. (SR)

Compared the longitudinal effects of phonics and whole-language instruction on kindergartners' reading and writing task performance over one year. Found that the whole-language group made more progress in reading and writing, and with more developmental coherence, than the phonics group. (JPB)

Describes a program in which preservice teachers served as tutors for at-risk first, second, and third graders in a tutorial model incorporating play and phonological awareness activities using puppets and comprehension strategy instruction using manipulatives. Finds that the program improved reading achievement for children at the first grade…

A study examined the effectiveness of a project to increase reading readiness skills. The targeted population consisted of kindergarten students in a growing middle class community located in northern Illinois. The problems of lack of reading readiness were documented through teacher observation and district assessment tools. Analysis of probable…

This action research project implemented a program for motivating students to read so that they would become enthusiastic, lifelong readers. The targeted population consisted of first- and second-grade students in a middle class community located in a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois. The problem of lack of motivation in reading was documented…

This practicum project developed and implemented a program to teach young children reading readiness skills before they entered first grade. A target group of 20 students ranging in age from 4 to 6 years old in an elementary school kindergarten class was established for the program. During the 12-week implementation, the target group participated…

A two-year study examined the effectiveness of a program to reorganize basal reading instruction to stress fluent reading and automatic word recognition. The reorganized reading program had three components--a redesigned basal reading lesson, stressing repeated reading and partner reading; a choice reading period during the day; and a home reading…

A practicum addressed the problem that the traditional Chapter 1 program of a school district had not been effective in promoting literacy growth. The students repeatedly read the same stories with equal lack of success each time. They were not motivated to read or write because the purpose was irrelevant and failure was probable. The strategy…

This study designed a music program for improving academic skills of first grade students after the teaching staff found the students doing average work in the classroom. The school involved in the study was located in an urban, middle class community in Northern Illinois. Results of standardized tests showed the extent of the academic problems of…

A practicum was implemented to provide low-achieving first-grade students with individualized instruction that would teach strategies to assist them in becoming independent readers. Secondary goals were: (1) to implement and develop a Chapter 1 Reading Improvement Plan targeted for low achieving first graders; (2) to improve reading self-esteem;…

Parents of a group of first graders knew very little about the whole-language approach to reading employed in their children's classroom and were consequently unable to help their children as they learned to read. A program was implemented to provide parents in a target group with an understanding of the whole-language approach to reading as well…

A privately funded project that placed reading aides in the first three grades of the public schools was initiated in a rural county of Mississippi. The program provided a paraprofessional assistant reading instructor who worked under the direction of a classroom teacher to strengthen and enrich children's work in small groups or in an educational…

Migrant children who move constantly have trouble establishing a firm academic foundation. Poor readers experience problems in other learning situations, which in turn, have a marked impact on their self-esteem. The Early Reading Intervention program, a pilot project at San Joaquin Elementary School in Fresno County, California, targeted…

Evidence from existing literature suggests that the decoding and reading comprehension skills of poor readers can be improved by assisting them to read material that is too difficult for them to read by themselves--especially when the reading experiences are focused on the content of the material rather than on the words. A study examined the…