To determine whether learning words can be accomplished effectively using the computer, 11 first grade children in an experimental group were taught specific sight words on the Apple computer as compared to the teaching of those same words to 11 children in the classroom using flashcards. A total of 25 words was taught over a five-week period. The…

Volume 1 of the final report of Project FAST consists of reports on 13 experiments concerning: (1) the application of associative learning strategies to the development of a basic sight vocabulary among mentally retarded children and adults, and (2) the development of text reduction techniques designed to facilitate comprehension and recall of…

Investigates differences in performance on a task involving judgments of word-likeness between a group of reading-disabled children and normal readers matched to them either in reading level or age. Shows that although the knowledge of orthographic structure of reading-disabled children matches that of younger normal readers, reading-disabled…

Three students (ages 17, 19, and 21) with moderate disabilities were taught to read and match-to-sample sight words comprising 4 4-member stimulus sets. Student performance indicated that symmetric relations emerged before one-node transitive relations and that one-node transitive relations emerged before two-node transitive relations. Results…

This paper explores the use of sight word lists in the instruction of students with disabilities. A survey of 25 restaurants in a Midwestern U.S. city was conducted to examine the validity and efficacy of two widely accepted public school reading word lists. It was found that neither of the word lists contained more than 46 percent of the words…

The primary purpose of this study was to provide empirical evidence for the assumption that if the essential subskills of word attack are mastered, then functional word attack ability will result. To obtain such evidence, the study was designed to test the functional word attack ability of 140 elementary school students who had been taught the…

This comprehensive informal reading inventory was based on the Harper and Row Basic Reading Program. It includes four major sections: a reading attitude inventory, a phonics inventory, a word recognition checklist, and an oral and silent reading inventory. The reading attitude measure is a list of 25 questions to be read silently and answered with…

This study evaluated the effects of using the Edmark Reading Program, Level 1, to develop sight-word vocabulary in first graders at risk for reading failure. This program is a highly structured approach based on providing explicit, direct instruction that is intensive, focused, and not of brief duration. The 62 students receiving the intervention…

For all educators who are working to improve reading achievement, this handbook provides clear instructional approaches for successfully building students' vocabulary knowledge--knowledge essential for strong reading comprehension. With teacher-friendly sample lesson models, this book can be used to boost vocabulary instruction in any reading…

In the past, phonics instruction has done little to lessen the difficulties that many poor readers have with decoding words quickly and accurately enough to construct meaning from text. Based on an analysis of the research literature in decoding and a four-year cycle of program development, a new program was created for teaching decoding to poor…

Utilizing a "shotgun" instructional approach with feedback, a linear instructional program, and an IBM 1500 computer system, this study investigated the effects of pictorial representations of words on the acquisition of a sight vocabulary by rural emotionally and mentally retarded (EMR) students. Twenty-seven students were involved in the study.…

Analysis of research on reading instruction for children with moderate mental retardation indicated that word analysis instruction is a feasible option; word analysis is the most effective method of oral reading error correction; and the strongest sight-word instruction methods include those that use picture integration, constant delay, and the…

The participants in this study, Joelle, Peter, Troy, and Malia (pseudonyms), are part of the approximately 25% of adults in the United States who function in the realm of low literacy. Adult literacy educators continually strive to meet the needs of this population. One challenge is to provide meaningful literacy programs for adults that will…

The purpose of this booklet is to help teachers become familiar with current research-based spelling trends so that they can apply them in their classrooms. The first section of the booklet reviews current trends likely to influence spelling instruction, including practices related to the writing process, studying spelling from the learner's…

This study investigated the ability of second-grade children to employ initial and final consonant substitution as a technique in word identification. An instrument of 44 one-syllable simulated words and a measurement to ascertain consonant phoneme knowledge were used to study 90 second-grade pupils, approximately equal in general characteristics.…