Traces the history of the early reading movement in Italy and relates the experiences of parent-guided reading with preschool children and teacher-guided reading with kindergarten children. Recent studies on early reading and research in the area of early bilingual reading is discussed. (CFM)

Observation has suggested that different subgroups of precocious readers might be distinguished by different patterns of strengths and weaknesses. In particular, it seems that one group of children might be distinguished by the strength of their top-down, conceptually driven processes and another by their strong bottom-up, text driven processes.…

The first of a series providing reviews, syntheses (empirical and rhetorical), and reports of reading research, the chapters in this volume treat the question, "What does a child have to know (or be able to do) in order to learn to read?" The book begins with an in-depth logical analysis in historical perspective of the concept of reading…

Defining early reading as reading that occurs prior to the time that a child begins formal schooling, this annotated bibliography contains references on the topic from a variety of sources that include journals, books, conference proceedings, ERIC documents, dissertations, and theses and that represent the research in a number of countries. The…

Reading can be defined as a meaningful interaction with a print setting. Interactive models of reading assume that lower level and higher level processing occurs simultaneously, interacting with each other. The familiarity of the book, the context in which a sign occurs, and the illustrations of a book are all examples of print setting cues that…

Three groups of twenty-five children in fourth-grade reading classes were selected for this study. The subjects in class one received plastic tokens for desirable reading responses. The tokens were exchanged for release time from the classroom while reading instruction was in progress. The subjects in class two also received tokens for desirable…

The purpose of this study was to measure the gains that culturally different 4-year-old children made in reading readiness activities and the acquisition of a sight vocabulary when exposed to an extensive prekindergarten reading intervention program. The subjects of the study were selected initially from a group of volunteer families. The subjects…

A status report on the use of the Initial Teaching Alphabet (i.t.a.) is presented by the i.t.a. Foundation, an independent, non-profit organization which conducts and supports i.t.a. programs and research. In reviewing the 70 studies which compare i.t.a. programs to traditional orthography (T.O.) programs, it has been found that two-thirds of the…

Emergent reading attempts of 24 children at the beginning of their kindergarten year are content analyzed in light of theoretical considerations about general and language development. In addition, the reading attempts of two-, three-, and four-year olds are examined. Comparison of data reveal a developmental progress across age-levels. (HOD)

The "shared book experience," a teaching model developed in New Zealand to introduce Pacific Island children to literacy education, is described. The model, based on use of popular children's books, teaches children to master literacy skills the way they master spoken language. Research on early pre-reading behavior is discussed. (PP)

Reports findings from 2 studies investigating the social practice of book reading in the homes of 10 mainstream New Zealand families. Finds that with unfamiliar storybooks both adults and children aged 3 and 4 initiated insertions most often focused on the meaning of the immediate text rather than on print or illustrations. (KEH)

Examined a kindergarten teacher's implementation of a whole-language program and her students' responses to questions about reading, such as, Can you read? What can you read? What is reading? and When did you learn to read? Seventy-five percent of the children indicated that they had learned to read during kindergarten or when they were…

A study established some characteristics of early readers and their homes and families, how they learned to read, and how their surroundings, and particularly the school, reacted. Approximately 300 Danish early readers and their families were interviewed and completed questionnaires. Results indicated that: (1) half the early readers had either a…

Intended to encourage parents to help their children acquire early reading skills at home, this paper provides a rationale and recommendations for early reading instruction. Following an introduction, the sections of the paper discuss (1) the historical background of beginning reading, (2) the benefits of early reading, (3) early reading case…