This study contrasted the psycholinguistic abilities of good and poor readers from disadvantaged backgrounds after completion of the first grade, using the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities. It was predicted that disadvantaged children classified as poor readers would be significantly inferior to those identified as good readers on…

This book provides specific, practical suggestions for the classroom teacher, covering the whole of the elementary school reading program. Chapters include "Teaching Reading,""Instructional Materials,""Organizing for Instruction,""Oral and Silent Reading,""Readiness for Reading,""Preschool Reading,""Reading in the Kindergarten,""Whole Word…

The importance of word analysis skills to reading ability is discussed, and methodologies for teaching such skills are examined. It is stated that a child cannot become proficient in reading if he does not master the skill of associating printed letter symbols with the sounds they represent. Instructional procedures which augment the alphabet with…

This paper examines some of the problems associated with unquestioned teaching practices and theories ("sacred cows") in the field of reading. Topics discussed include phonics, pronunciation, oral reading, teacher accountability and behavioral objectives, individualized reading, and the open classroom. (KS)

Describes how in the 1960s and 1970s critics of the schools as well as the transitory interests of the schools themselves were the greatest forces for change in basal reader programs. Discusses how current demand for high test scores has influenced those who prepare basal material. (Author/NH)

A study compared the benefits of phonological awareness instruction along with and without a phonics computer software program to improve phonological and reading skills in elementary students with mild mental disabilities. During the eight weeks of the study in the fall of 1999, elementary resource students were taught phonological awareness…

Article introduces ways to improve reading at upper school levels and provides suggestions for avoiding the turmoil that reading has undergone in the past. (RK)

Reports a study that examined the use of phonics instruction in fundamentalist Christian schools. Interviews with Christian educators and professionals at conferences indicated that support for phonics (because it is felt to be more traditional and to work) and distrust of the whole language approach is common among Christian educators. (SM)

Comparison of "Distar Reading Mastery" and Addison Wesley's "Superkids" beginning reading programs with 81 children in transitional kindergarten special education classes found no significant differences at the end of the treatment year or at one-year follow-up. However, among children making the most gains, the Distar group…

Contrasts ways phonics is frequently taught with examples of ways phonics would be taught according to research. Responses to major criticisms of a phonics approach are presented. Research indicates the best reading instruction involves systematically teaching children the most common sound for a select group of letters and letter combinations.…

Highlights the benefits of a multisensory, hands-on, learning center approach to teaching phonics. Presents specific aspects of the teaching method, accompanied by a parent component, which details steps parents can take to participate in their child's education and reinforce their children's classroom experience. (SD)

A learning situation in which the principal content of what is to be learned is not given but is independently discovered by the learner is often considered "discovery learning." Recently, learning scientists have been able to make explicit some of the conditions under which such independent discovery is likely to occur (Andronis, 1983; Epstein,…

Educators have continually sought to achieve a balance between a phonics-based, code-emphasis program and a more holistic, meaning-based approach to emergent literacy instruction. This article describes an integrated phonics and literature-based approach to developing children's emergent literacy skills. These skills included alphabet knowledge,…

Intended for teachers in primary education, this book draws together the most helpful contemporary thinking and research evidence about the learning and teaching of reading, especially in relation to graphophonics, and shows how these findings can be translated into effective classroom practices. The book summarizes evidence on how children learn…

Noting that both comprehension and decoding are used by effective readers and that both processes should be taught, this concept paper focuses on effective strategies for reading instruction. Following an introduction, the first section focuses on the conclusions drawn about word identification by reading researchers. Subsections include…