Short, sight-word vocabulary lists derived from the spontaneous speech of four different groups of children are compared with the vocabulary in six beginning reading series. Very high levels of agreement were found for function, but not for content, words. (JMF)

Presents three examples of how basal reading programs miss opportunities to build word and world knowledge: lack of focus on systematically building essential knowledge and vocabulary during teacher read-alouds and discussions aimed at building background knowledge; wasting time by including too many lessons on formal reading comprehension skills;…

The study compared the effectiveness and efficiency of concurrent and isolation-intermix instruction in teaching four preschool children to read common words in their environment. Concurrent instruction resulted in students learning conditional discriminations in fewer trials and minutes of instructional time suggesting the value of teaching…

Distinguishes four phases in the development of sight word reading: prealphabetic, partial alphabetic, full alphabetic, and consolidated alphabetic. Suggests that this system represents the regularities that underlie the written forms of English words that all learners must internalize to build a fully functioning sight vocabulary. (RS)

This study investigated the effectiveness of a cross-age (25 high school tutors and 6 elementary aged tutees) 6-week tutoring program. Findings indicated that all tutees acquired new sight vocabulary words after tutoring, were able to read the words in sentences, and maintained the learning four months later. (DB)

This study, involving six individuals with mental retardation or emotional disturbance, compared the effectiveness of four stimulus control procedures on attainment of sight vocabulary. Results indicated no clear advantage for any one of the four procedures (stimulus shaping, stimulus fading, time delay, and trial and error). (JDD)

Reading words may take several forms. Readers may utilize decoding, analogizing, or predicting to read unfamiliar words. Readers read familiar words by accessing them in memory, called sight word reading. With practice, all words come to be read automatically by sight, which is the most efficient, unobtrusive way to read words in text. The process…

A study investigated whether trade books labeled "easy reader" consistently conform to specific sight word lists and to what degree the vocabulary in those books matches that in K-2 basals. Ten "easy reader" books were chosen at random from each of three publishers. Three popular sight word lists were matched separately to…

This study explored the problem of increasing vocabulary through peer tutoring at the primary level. It sought to determine whether greater opportunity to learn can be provide through peer tutoring by untrained primary grade tutors or untrained upper grade tutors. The effects of tutoring on sight word gains of receivers versus non-tutored controls…

The purpose of this study was to compare student's tested recognition of the Dolch 220 words with their responses to the 220 highest frequency words found by Kucera and Francis in their "Computational Analysis of Present-Day American English." Subjects consisted of 155 second graders and 179 third graders from classrooms in four schools…

Gives specific ideas for encouraging students to be flexible in their approach to decoding words. (MKM)

The Beginning Sight Reading (BSR) program, an interactive videodisc approach compared the effects of extensive and minimal remediation and of rate of instruction on reading performance of 32 elementary students with academic difficulties. Both BSR programs were effective, but the more extensive remediation was more efficient. (CL)

This textbook the second reader in a series of school readers to help children acquire the art and the habit of reading well enough to give pleasure not only to themselves, but also to those who listen to them. New words are introduced gradually, and the stories and poems are short and of such character as to appeal directly to the interest and…

Reports a study identifying the most commonly used words in 110 highly recommended trade books for children in grades one and two. (TO)