Describes one aspect of a year-long study of primary level teacher's and children's use of the language arts component of SuccessMaker, an Integrated Learning System (ILS). Documents areas where the curricula embedded in the ILS were congruent with teacher's normal curricula and pedagogical practices. Raises issues about the appropriate…

Describes one teacher's unhappiness with the teaching situation because of the school district's recent adoption of a systematic intense phonics instruction program that every K-3 teacher is required to use with every child via whole group instruction. Argues for the importance of whole language instruction. (SG)

Focuses on the use of music as instructional material in early literacy instruction. Uses specific examples of music to highlight concepts of print, a sense of story and sequence, phonemic awareness and phonics, background knowledge and vocabulary, basic spelling patterns, and early writing activities. Concludes with an invitation for…

To validate a group phonics test designed to measure students' phonics knowledge, a study examined possible causal relationships of phonics knowledge and sight word recognition, sight word fluency, general reading fluency, and reading comprehension. Subjects, 95 first graders, 95 second graders, and 95 third graders chosen at random from 3 schools…

The reading profession's current emphasis on whole language may have helped to raise the recurring debate between meaning-based (whole language) and phonics-based (code emphasis) approaches to teaching reading. As some researchers have linked whole language with whole word, phonics advocates have come forth with renewed vigor to offer a series of…

A study explored the possibility of instructional influence on children's passage along a developmental spelling continuum. The spelling of a group of 28 children who received intensive phonics instruction their kindergarten year was contrasted with the spelling of 24 first-grade children instructed in word-based materials. Subjects were initially…

A study involving 48 primary grade learning disabled (LD) students was undertaken to determine the effects of word segmentation on reading transfer performance. Ss received training in one of three methods: final consonant segmented method (space between medial vowel and final consonant); initial consonant segmented method (space between the…

One of the twelve exemplary programs summarized in the Introduction to Right to Read's "Effective Reading Programs: Summaries of 222 Selected Programs" (CS001934), this program uses an organized phonics system to increase the reading readiness of one school's kindergarten children, many of whom have bilingual parents. In a careful…

The voice of the government via the Reading Excellence Act gives the message that direct systematic intense phonics instruction will solve the reading problem, end debate, lead to student success in life beyond school, and provide teachers with the prestige of successful reading instruction. This paper takes a close look at systematic direct…

This informational 14-minute videotape describes the national initiative for "Reading First," the method of teaching reading according to scientifically based research findings. In the videotape, the narration concentrates on the opportunities Reading First offers for every child to learn how to read proficiently by the end of the third…

This report contains 11 recommendations and a call to action designed to ensure that every child in Idaho is able to read at the appropriate level by the end of third grade. It was requested by the 1997 Idaho Legislature, which acknowledged that reading is fundamental to a student's ability to achieve his or her full potential. The research…

It was proposed that the young child's awareness of the phonology of language would influence early reading success. Results revealed a strong relationship between the first grader's reading performance and two measures of his/her phonological awareness, invented spelling and phoneme segmentation abilities. (Author/RD)

Nineteen kindergarten children were pretested on readiness and blending tests and randomly assigned to a control or experimental group to determine if auditory blending skills were teachable and important in a beginning reading program. Following instruction in sequencing and blending sounds, the experimental group gained significantly in both…

States that beginning reading instruction must not be perceived as an either/or phenomenon, as either strong adherence to the code devoid of meaning, or the reverse. Teachers should teach the code and meaning at the same time. (MKM)

Examines nine elements of language learning and reading: suddenness of onset; anxiety; blame laid on child for failure; appeal of rewards; surface features of oral and written language; social interaction; correction of errors; grasp of language concepts; amount of control and breaking apart of language. Makes recommendations for reading programs.…