In this article, I illustrate how research from cognitive science and the science of reading can inform research on the science of reading instruction. This purpose is accomplished by focusing on four recently published randomized control trials of instruction designed to teach alphabet letters to 3- and 4-year-old children (N = 342) attending…

This article addresses the characteristics of learners in the emergent stage of literacy development and describes two instructional practices that facilitate the development of the alphabetic principle and concept of word in text.

Letter learning is nuanced, complex, and essential to the development of an effective literacy processing system. Forming and naming letters, rapidly differentiating between visually similar letters, and recognizing their sound correspondences are foundational to becoming a reader and writer. Indeed, control over letters affects monitoring,…

Lists criticisms and responses to the i.t.a. (MM)

Teaching students how to read is one of the most important tasks in elementary schools. The majority of schools use published basal programs to teach students to read. Several published reviews have indicated that past editions of basal readers did not align with appropriate instruction for beginning level readers. In this study I reviewed five of…

Reviews the present status of the initial teaching alphabet, compares British and American research studies, notes strengths and weaknesses and suggests further areas of research. Includes a pro-reaction and a con-reaction paper. Bibliography. (WB)

In order to provide comprehensive information about all known applications of and viewpoints on the Initial Teaching Alphabet, the Initial Teaching Alphabet Foundation has compiled a series of annotated bibliographies that were prepared by means of computer-based information searches and subsequent analysis of the data obtained. The data banks…

Analyzes the Bullock commission's view on the methodology of beginning reading instruction with special reference to i.t.a. (RB)

Describes the process of designing the i.t.a. for Century Schoolbook, Baskerville, Melior, Helvetica, and Optima typefaces with illustrations of the new alphabets. (MB)

Discusses the positive effects that can be gained from using the initial teaching alphabet in beginning reading instruction. (RB)

Linguistics as it relates to teaching children is discussed under the headings (1) Linguistics and Language and (2) Reading and Linguistics. In the first part, many interesting facts about our language are pointed out, along with the manner and usefulness of presenting them to children. While linguists may seem to be communicating mainly among…