From among the papers the author has presented at various conferences and the articles she has written for different journals, nine were selected to form this book. They are all concerned with beginning reading, and each forms a chapter of the book. Chapter one, "Approaches to Beginning Reading in Great Britain," discusses background…

Children probably begin to read from the moment they become aware of print, and the roots of reading are discernable whenever children strive to make sense of print. (JH)

Considers the nature of joint (parent-child) pre-school activities in the home, and their potential to contribute to the development of early reading skills. Assesses children on various aspects of phonological awareness, and their receptive vocabulary and short-term memory. Finds that children who engaged in a variety of pre-school, parent-child…

Early language competence in preschool relates both directly and indirectly to elementary school reading in both 1st and 3rd grades. Further, comprehensive language skills are more strongly related to early reading than are vocabulary scores alone. In response to a challenge by S. A. Bracken (2005), the current article reaffirms the National…

A study examined the influence of preschool reading readiness skills instruction on first graders' reading achievement. The subjects were 52 first grade students who had attended preschool, and their parents. The parents received questionnaires containing 40 reading readiness questions and the children took the California Achievement Test (CAT) in…

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

This biliography contains annotations of publications relating to theory, research, and practice in early reading (reading prior to the time a child begins attending school). The 142 annotations are listed under the following headings: comprehensive studies, theoretical issues, pedagogical issues, empirical issues, reviews, and bibliographies. (RL)

Research on reading readiness is listed in two sections: Part 1, 1950 to the present, and Part 2, 1900-1949. Within each section citations are alphabetized according to author's last name and are followed by a descriptive abstract in Part 1 and a brief annotation in Part 2. A broad definition of reading readiness ranging from maturation as a…

This 34-item annotated bibliography was compiled to help professional educators decide whether reading should be taught in kindergarten and, if so, how the instruction should be conducted. The references include varying and even opposing points of view. The authors of the articles are teachers, administrators, professors, and researchers. (TO)

Describes a study of early readers to determine the linguistic and social interactions in the homes of early readers that seemed to make a difference in their reading. (HTH)

Demonstrates the positive effects of instruction using environmental print to stimulate print awareness in preschool children. (FL)

Reports findings from a study that investigated preschool children's concepts about reading. Offers suggestions for adults who guide young children through their early experiences with print. (FL)

Concludes that preschool children know that print conveys information, yet frequently use environmental cues rather than letter knowledge when they appear to read. (FL)

Reports on naturalistic research studies revealing that children begin to learn to read and write long before they go to school. (JL)

Examines the metacognitive reading strategies of five children, four to six years of age, who were reading fluently prior to grade one. States that fluency was judged on whether the children could conduct meaningful reading with relative smoothness. Suggests that each of the children used a variety of metacognitive reading strategies and showed…