Effects of 2 procedures (either whole word or phonetic-prompt) for error correction were compared during drills in sight word recognition of 5 students (ages 8 and 9) with developmental disabilities. Results from instruction, same-day tests, and next-day tests indicated that more words were learned in the whole word condition. (Author/DB)

This study assessed the effectiveness of tutoring intervention for sight word acquisition and determined whether any progress was matched by improved reading fluency, reading rate, and sight word identification. Nine middle school students from Hillside, New Jersey were selected based upon teacher referral for poor reading skills. "Edward…

Numerous reviews of the experimental research conclude that phonics is indispensable in word recognition instruction. However, there have been numerous objections to phonics teaching over the years. Some of the intolerance of phonics teaching reflects a lack of knowledge about the subject. Critics suggest that phonics hinders children's learning…

Most word learning studies conducted over the past decade have shown that methods of word instruction that emphasize the graphic or phonic features of words presented alone (word alone method) affect learning rate more positively than do methods that emphasize meaning through oral, written, and pictorial cues (context methods). To compare the…

The debate between the whole language approach and the word-centered skills approach to beginning reading instruction is likely to continue into the next decade, so it seems crucial that educators at all levels understand thoroughly the views held by the participants. Advocates of the whole language approach believe effective readers see meaning…

To discover the truth about the extent of children's reading vocabularies, a project was undertaken at the Falk Laboratory School, University of Pittsburgh, to determine how many words first, second, and third grade children could recognize in print. A team of graduate students tabulated the words appearing in commonly used basal materials and in…

A comparison of the self-selected reading words of a group of preschool children to the words in the first reading books of four widely used basal reading series reveals that the children's self-selected words are more imagery-loaded than the words in the readers. (FL)

An adapted alternating treatments design was used to compare the effects of two interventions using different intertrial intervals on sight-word mastery rates among three elementary students with behavioral disorders and learning deficits. Results found both interventions to be equally effective in increasing sight-word reading accuracy.…

Considers the relationship between decoding and sight-word reading. Investigates whether to use the whole-word method or to build decoding skills before introducing sight words. Sets up five goals to address these issues. Concludes that sight-word reading instruction is likely to be successful if decoding skills are firmly established first. (SC)

As part of a larger effort to develop a test battery for diagnosing difficulties with various word recognition subskills among mainstreamed students in grades 2 through 5, four experiments were conducted to compare the abilities of good and poor readers to read a frequency-graduated series of irregularly spelled words first in isolation and then…

A study was conducted to determine the effects of word imagery on the retention of sight vocabulary. It was hypothesized that in an urban, low income area first grade class there would be no significant difference between the acquisition and retention rates of high imagery words and those of low imagery words. Using one group of high imagery words…

Ten second grade students in a slow reading group were studied to compare the effects of basal and language experience instruction on word recognition skills. For four weeks, all the students received 90 minutes of basal instruction each morning. During the afternoon sessions, the five language experience students dictated and read stories related…

A model for the measurement of reading skills was used as the basis for the development of the Decoding Skills Test. The model emphasizes that decoding skills are based on one of two processes: word recognition through phonic/linguistic decoding or through basal word recognition. Word lists appropriate for the elementary grades were used to…

Individual interviews and a series of ten tests were used to investigate the order in which children acquire reading concepts and demonstrate reading skills. Each of 44 first grade and 22 kindergarten students was tested and interviewed three times during the 1977-78 school year, and their responses were sorted and tabulated to determine whether…