The rhetoric of the reading wars has become more than just an armchair academic debate, but is encoded now in the very laws, house and senate bills, and legislative policies of the majority of the states. In turn, these policies are powered by staggering sums of money such as the 90-million-dollar investment of Fulton County, Georgia in a revamp…

This booklet examines the learning process in reading, not with an eye to simple solutions, but with concern about problems and potential remedies. Within this framework, it discusses research on the brain and learning processes and suggests some ways to improve instruction for all children in grades K-8. After an introduction, sections of the…

The author attempts to develop a theory of learning to account for complex human learning using early reading as an example. (HMD)

In this study, one hundred 3- to 5-year-olds were selected for reading instruction during regular 12- to 30-minute periods for 4 to 6 months. The program was ordered to establish a high level of sustained daily control over the attentional and motivational processes of the children. Learning tasks were designed to facilitate the child's grasp of…

Explains that if the ability to read in the fullest sense can be fostered from infancy in and out of school, children will grow to be the highly literate society of tomorrow. (DF)

Presents evidence that reading can be learned by the same informal and unstructured methods as speech, and calls for a concentration on slow readers. (CRH)

A study investigated the kinds of questions children ask as they encounter written language. Data were gathered over a 7-month period for two boys, one approximately 4, the other approximately 2 years of age. Two types of observation sessions were used: formal story reading times that were audiorecorded, and informal situations where the…

Argues that teachers can take advantage of child-initiated explorations to develop beginning reading and writing skills. Offers specific recommendations and suggestions. (FL)

Suggests that reading and writing are not only language competencies displayed in literacy or literature but that they are the sites for analysis in emergent literacies. (DF)

Discusses an approach to early reading instruction that emphasizes "real" books and parental involvement. Contains a list of "dos" and "don'ts" for use by parents in helping their children read. (DF)

Details events from the experiences of two young children as they learned written language. Concludes that children need to have a say in why and what they are reading. (FL)

Documents how a preschool child learns to read. Identifies what teachers need to know if they are to continue the reader's own discoveries and delight in language. (EL)

Children growing up in literate societies, surrounded by the printed word, begin to read and write long before they start school. The extent and scope of early literacy development is examined. Theoretical explanations of this development are offered. Implications for schools are presented. (RM)

Early reading should be studied from three perspectives: the function of print, the form of print, and the conventions of print. In so doing, it may be possible to avoid some of the hazards that have plagued the field, such as unsubstantiated assumptions about beginning reading and how it should be taught, erroneous beliefs that maturation plays…