Currently, definitions of "science", "reading", and "literacy" in the US lend a seemingly nonrelativistic permanence to these terms, and render them resistant to critique. This paper offers a theoretical frame for critiquing this permanence, analysing why early-literacy instruction is tightly tied to traditional forms…

This paper reviews recent experimental findings that inform our understanding of the development of reading comprehension. Studies investigating children who have specific difficulties with reading comprehension provide considerable information concerning the process involved in successful reading comprehension. This literature highlights aspects…

Teaching procedures for word analysis skills are described and followed by sample games and activities. The skills are listed in the following sequence: sight words, phonics (initial consonants, medial and final consonants, blends, digraphs, short vowel sounds, syllabication related to short vowel position, short vowel compound words, long vowel…

Reports on a study that investigated the ability of second grade students to listen to, infer, and produce the correct pronuciations of high-frequency words in a story-like context. (FL)

Intended for preschool, kindergarten, and primary grade teachers, the ideas in this book will support teachers as they plan language and literacy experiences that develop phonological awareness. Stressing that a knowledge of phonemic awareness and phonics is critical to successful reading, the authors encourage teaching all aspects of reading,…

Shows two major handicaps in the anti-phonics movement which suggest that the future of the movement is doubtful: (1) the demonstrable weakness in both the theory and method of anti-phonics; (2) the increasing confidence that publishes and editors of widely used basal readers are placing in phonics. (BF/JH)

Reports on a study testing the validity of the Names Test, an individually administered phonics assessment. Provides support for the Names Test's validity by showing it to be significantly correlated with established tests of word recognition and decoding ability. (SR)

Considers how public opinion and entire theories of teaching reading are based in the false Just So story--Just Sound Out, and you can read. Explains why sounding out is a handicap. Suggests a better alternative, teaching by recognizing words. (SG)

Reading Recovery is part of the Every Child a Reader strategy to enable children to make a good start in reading. Reading Recovery is well known to have impressive effects in the shorter term, but less is known about its long-term effectiveness. The present study followed up at the end of Year 4: 120 comparison children, 73 children who had…

All consonant sounds involving the sound /y/ omit the letter Y, such as few, cute, immune, and view. Perhaps 75% of high school students whose formal reading level is below seventh grade will not be able to pronounce these words that contain the "invisible" Y sound. Good students usually do not have to be taught this pattern, but average…

To validate a group phonics test designed to measure students' phonics knowledge, a study examined possible causal relationships of phonics knowledge and sight word recognition, sight word fluency, general reading fluency, and reading comprehension. Subjects, 95 first graders, 95 second graders, and 95 third graders chosen at random from 3 schools…

SOME VOWEL DIGRAPH GENERALIZATIONS PRESENTLY TAUGHT WERE INVESTIGATED TO DETERMINE THE OVERALL UTILITY OF THE GENERALIZATIONS WHEN APPLIED TO A LIST OF REPRESENTATIVE WORDS MET BY CHILDREN IN READING INSTRUCTION IN GRADES 1 THROUGH 6, TO DETERMINE THE UTILITY OF ALL POSSIBLE SUBGROUPS OF ADJACENT VOWELS, AND TO EVOLVE NEW DIGRAPH GENERALIZATIONS…

This pamphlet suggests methods of teaching beginning reading using word cards, stories written by a parent, and phonics games. Activities using word cards include writing the name of a person or object on the card and helping the child associate that card directly with the person or object. Stories written by parents usually feature the children…

These skill cards and answer cards were designed for open ended game boards but may be used with any open ended game to reinforce reading skills. There are twelve sets in the packet. Each set contains twenty skill cards and one answer card. The topics for the sets are: long vowel substitution, short vowel substitution, consonant digraph…