Describes and evaluates the Test of Awareness of Language Segments (TALS), discussing the test administration, scoring, interpretation, reliability, and validity. Recommends TALS for evaluating a child's readiness for reading instruction, and for suggesting appropriate instructional interventions. (MM)

Reviews the literature in the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC). (RB)

Preschool children can learn to read in a way that is developmentally and culturally appropriate if they are presented with the necessary supports. Provocative activities, enrichment centers of excellence, and creating print-rich environments for young children are described. Includes a chart listing the critical elements of centers of…

Discusses whether to prepare the child for reading instruction, or tailor the reading instruction to the child. (RB)

In this experimental elementary school program children are not instructed in reading until they show an interest in books. (MM)

Factors involved in learning to read are discussed. (CK)

Children's visual perception of the letters b and d when confronted with them for the first time was studied. (KW)

A retarded boy, unable to read orally or with comprehension, was taught to match spoken to printed words and was then capable of reading comprehension (matching printed words to picture) and oral reading (naming printed words aloud), demonstrating that certain learned auditory-visual equivalences are sufficient prerequisites for reading…

Offers suggestions teachers may find useful as they assist children in changing harmful sex-role perceptions and in developing unbiased attitudes toward learning in school. (Author/RH)

Reviews "Happily Ever After," a reading readiness program that is designed to help those children who lack many of the concepts and abilities assumed by most readiness programs. (FL)

A method for introducing hearing impaired preschoolers to a core basal reading series is described. Steps begin with having students react to pictures of their own experiences and express the plots of stories in language. (CL)

Research Findings: This study analyzed the school readiness beliefs of parents of 452 children from public pre-kindergarten and the relations of these beliefs to socioeconomic status and children's readiness skills. Parents conceived readiness largely in terms of the ability to name objects, letters, or numbers, but few included inferential…

Designed to explore new reading readiness predictors that are not found extensively in the more commonly used commercial group tests and to develop new indices to measure the level of reading readiness of beginning first graders, a study was undertaken involving 115 children. The factor of sex in reading readiness was also investigated. An…