The United States faces a skills shortage that goes beyond academic and technical skills. Employers report entry-level workers lack the necessary "soft" skills, also referred to as workplace readiness skills, needed for success in the workforce; thus, calling on educational institutions to make improvements in high school curriculum in…

The best way to help a child to learn to read is to give him a variety of opportunities to exercise his reading skills. (CK)

Early reading instruction is important for all children, but especially for the disadvantaged, because the decision not to expose them to reading at an early age may result in an unrecoverable loss of intellectual potential. Reading readiness as an approach may exile children from literacy permanently because it is an abstract and alien process…

This review of the literature on kindergarten assessment and its relationship to primary reading achievement is divided into the the following sections: (1) studies which support early assessment; (2) studies which suggest the use of a battery over a single readiness test; (3) studies which utilize assessment data for treatment purposes; (4)…

THE RESULTS OF 17 STUDIES ON READING READINESS ARE SUMMARIZED AND INTERPRETED. ALL BUT ONE OF THE STUDIES WERE COMPLETED SINCE 1957. READING READINESS IS DEFINED, AND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL AND CURRENT THEORY ARE DISCUSSED. STUDIES OF FORMAL READING READINESS INSTRUCTION IN KINDERGARTEN ARE DESCRIBED. CONCLUSIONS ABOUT KINDS OF…

Examines the concept of reading readiness and suggests classroom strategies for teaching it. (DD)

A reading readiness program is a necessity for the culturally deprived student. It may supply the stimulation and motivation that is needed. (MR)

Assesses the current state of knowledge concerning children's perception and the processes of learning to read. Considers research studies and the reasons for their success or failure. (DR)

This packet is designed for use by persons conducting staff-development workshops on reading readiness and beginning reading. Organized according to an "interrelatedness concept of readiness," the materials cover six interdependent factors: physical, perceptual, cognitive, linguistic, psychological, and experimental/environmental. The…

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

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

Offers guidelines in such areas as reading readiness, use of tests, organizational patterns, and the goals of reading instruction, as well as counseling principals on what they can do personally to improve a school's reading program. (IRT)

A study examined the relationship between reading instruction method, sex of learner, word learning proficiency and reading achievement in the first grade. Subjects were 78 males and 88 females chosen from two white, middle class suburban schools, one having a sight vocabulary instruction program, the other a phonic basal program. Students were…

Children's communicative competence is essential and predictive of their success in school. However, in England in recent years we have faced particular challenges inculcating this understanding into primary and early years teachers' practice. Furthermore, some studies have raised concerns about children's communicative competence on school entry.…