THE ASSUMPTION THAT READING DISABILITY CAN RESULT FROM A GAP BETWEEN THE DEVELOPMENTAL MATURITY OF CHILDREN AND THE DEMANDS OF A BEGINNING READING PROGRAM CARRIES WITH IT THE PROBLEM OF ASSESSING DEVELOPMENTAL STATUS. A LONGITUDINAL STUDY CONDUCTED TO DERIVE A METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING SIGNS OF IMMATURITY RELATED TO LATER READING DIFFICULTIES USED…

THE METHOD USED AT THE BELLEVUE, NEBRASKA, PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO TEACH READING READINESS AND THE PHONETIC ANALYSIS OF WORDS IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE TWO IS DESCRIBED. SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING THE READINESS SKILLS OF AUDITORY AND VISUAL PERCEPTION, VOCABULARY SKILLS OF WORD RECOGNITION AND WORD MEANING, AND THE PHONETIC ANALYSIS OF WORDS IN GRADES…

Reviews some of the research on the effectiveness of direct versus incidental instruction of beginning reading. (MKM)

Parents can help young children learn to read or become better readers. Activities designed to be done at home each evening are suggested to teach and reinforce beginning reading skills. (MT)

Proposes a variant of the language experience approach in which teachers provide simple models of repetitive sentences about an interesting object. (FL)

The development of reading and language awareness was investigated by measuring beginning letter and word knowledge in five- and six-year-old children of average ability. A letter and word reading test was constructed on the basis of a hierarchical representation of linguistic awareness of preschool children; 50 children's performance on this test…

Reports on a pilot program for developmental placement in Brevard County, Florida. Discusses various aspects of the program, including teacher education, student screening, parent involvement, cost, and program evaluation. Asserts that developmental placement aids students' academic progress. (MM)

The purpose of the two studies reported was to investigate why young children, especially kindergarteners, so often treat vague, ambiguous, or otherwise unclear instructions as though they were perfectly informative, instead of asking what they mean. It was hypothesized that when faced with vague instructions children might employ two ordered…

The school librarian can help kindergarten children develop motor skills and reading readiness skills. (PF)

Discusses the concept of "emergent literacy," contrasting this term with the concept of reading readiness. Proposes that a program of kindergarten instruction related to literacy should provide opportunities for children to interact successfully with print. (MM)

A review of ERIC documents. (DD)

Concludes that there is a marked dimensional preference shown in most children by kindergarten, that there are relationships between dimensional dominance and letter matching, and that children program from color dominance to form dominance and then to mixed responding. (Author/RB)

This report, the sixth in a series developed by the Education Commission of the States (ECS) examining the impact of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act 2001, discusses Reading First, which replaces the Reading Excellence Act. The report states that Reading First, a voluntary program, aims at having all children achieve reading proficiency by the…