Grounded in the simple view of reading, this study tracked the development of print-processing skill in high-, average-, and low-achieving readers at six time points across grades 1-3. Results showed large between-group differences in sight vocabulary, oral reading accuracy, and oral reading rate that remained stable from beginning of first grade…

This research was done to determine whether formal kindergarten training in alphabet and number names would result in a higher reading level for children at the end of grade 1. As part of an earlier research project, two classes of primarily middle-class kindergarten children received 8 weeks of training in alphabet and number names. Two control…

While word discrimination studies based on the subjects' conscious manipulation of words--for example, counting the number of words in a line--indicate that beginning readers are unskilled in identifying word boundaries, tests using such indirect methods of assessment as word recognition reveal a strong correlation between the ability to…

During the first year of the program, 27 individual projects enrolling approximately 20,000 first-grade pupils were involved. Fifteen of these projects participated in a second-grade followup study. Some conclusions based on an analysis of data are (1) that prereading knowledge of letter names is the best single predictor of reading achievement in…

Purpose: Some researchers (F. R. Vellutino, F. M. Scanlon, & M. S. Tanzman, 1994) have argued that the different domains comprising language (e.g., phonology, semantics, and grammar) may influence reading development in a differential manner and at different developmental periods. The purpose of this study was to examine proposed causal…

The ten reading research studies published since 1955 and deemed by the author "most important" in terms of quality, originality, and applicability to elementary reading instruction are described in this report. Discussed are studies on reading approaches by Russell Stauffer and by Neville Bennett; a study on reading readiness by Audrey…

FOUR NULL HYPOTHESES WERE TESTED TO EVALUATE SELECTED READING READINESS TESTS AS PREDICTORS OF FIRST-GRADE READING ACHIEVEMENT. FIVE SCHOOLS IN THE BANGOR, MAINE, CITY SCHOOL SYSTEM WERE RANDOMLY CHOSEN. IN EACH SCHOOL, ONE CLASS USED THE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM WHICH EMPHASIZED SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION WITH READINESS TRAINING. ANOTHER…

TO TEST THE ASSUMPTION THAT THE READING PROCESS IS A NATURAL EMERGENCE OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT, A HYPOTHETICAL STRUCTURE WAS DEVISED TO RECAPITULATE THE PROCESS THAT IT IS ASSUMED THE CHILD GOES THROUGH. EACH OF 25 PRINTED WORD SYMBOLS WAS PRESENTED IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER--(1) A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE SYMBOL IN ITS NATURAL SETTING, (2) A DRAWING OF THE…

To investigate the effects of perceptual training upon selected measures of reading achievement in grade 1, 12 experimental classrooms of randomly selected first graders received a 29-day adaptation of the Frostig Program for the Development of Visual Perception. Thirteen control classes added comparable time to the regular reading instructional…

The assumption that the learning of letter names in their proper sequence is a prerequisite for literacy can be questioned. There is disagreement over the value of early letter-name training. It is variously said to aid in letter or word discrimination, to aid in attaching sounds to letters, and to interfere with both of these tasks. An analysis…

Concludes that, of several reading readiness factors, knowledge of alphabet letter names is the best predictor of phonics skills other than vowel recognition and of reading abilities involving words in insolation, and that number knowledge is the best predictor of reading abilities involving words and syntax. (FL)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether boys read to by their fathers for the six-month period immediately preceding entrance into first grade would score significantly higher on predictor instruments for first-grade reading achievement when compared with boys read to by their mothers or boys in an unplanned situation for the same…

The feasibility of devising a highly individualized reading program for low-achieving 6-year-old children centering on structured tutoring was investigated. The 33 subjects from three schools would enter first grade in the fall and were considered low achievers on the basis of kindergarten testing. Upper-grade elementary students volunteered to…

A study examined specific reading competencies after participating in Hmong literacy instruction in an after-school setting in the Thermalito, California School District, grades kindergarten through 4. Control and treatment groups were established to compare the English literacy skills of the Hmong students who participated in 40 hours of primary…

BASAL READER SYSTEMS FOR BEGINNERS WERE ANALYZED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF SPECIFIC SYSTEM FEATURES ON THE READING ACHIEVEMENT OF FIRST-GRADE CHILDREN OF DIFFERENT SEX AND LEVELS OF INTELLIGENCE. THE PROJECT COVERED THE FOLLOWING SYSTEMS--(1) THE LIPPINCOTT "BASIC READING" SERIES, (2) THE "EARLY-TO-READ…