To address the issue of declining reading achievement in the school where she worked, the author analyzed reading records and written work of primary students attending several district elementary schools over the course of one school year. From that analysis, it appeared that an obstacle to reading success for many children in the third grade was…

We report two studies examining the relations among three paired-associate learning (PAL) tasks (visual-visual, verbal-verbal, and visual-verbal), phoneme deletion, and single-word and nonword reading ability. Correlations between the PAL tasks and reading were strongest for the visual-verbal task. Path analyses showed that both phoneme deletion…

The essay attempts to show how the theoretical and methodological discussion found in the study of word-formation can be made fruitful in foreign language teaching. According to the writer, the aspects to be regarded in teaching are: the syntagma principle, the concept of word class, and syntactic analysis - without these the teaching of rules of…

Describes a technique for studying individual words in context in terms of 11 language categories (e.g., etymology, function/associations, and semantic relations). (DD)

The author, a poet, publisher, and biographer of Wilfred Owen, remembers how he was first attracted to words. (Editor/RK)

In two experiments, 1.5-year-olds were taught novel words whose sound patterns were phonologically similar to familiar words (novel neighbors) or were not (novel nonneighbors). Learning was tested using a picture-fixation task. In both experiments, children learned the novel nonneighbors but not the novel neighbors. In addition, exposure to the…

This project investigated six 2nd-grade students' use of word study instruction to mediate spelling while writing in their journals. In particular, the researchers examined the students' use of the orthographic principles, sample words, and spelling strategies that had been taught during developmental word study lessons. Results of the project…

Components of word analysis and synthesis that are important for vocabulary development instruction are word structure and morphemes. Morpheme study includes bases, prefixes, suffixes, epenthetic elements, and affixation processes. Word structure includes capitalization, abbreviations, contractions, number, possessives, and affixed words.…

THE PHONEMIC BEHAVIOR OF ALL VOWEL-PAIR SINGLE GRAPHEMES FOUND IN 17,310 COMMON ENGLISH WORDS WAS STUDIED, AND THE PHONEMIC BEHAVIOR OF VOWEL-PAIR GRAPHEMES FREQUENTLY FOUND IN THIS SAMPLE WAS ANALYZED. THE GRAPHEME TO PHONEME RELATIONSHIP FOR EACH POSSIBLE VOWEL PAIR IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE WAS EXAMINED. TABLES SHOW THE FREQUENCY AND PERCENT OF…

This book is designed to aid the student in developing word skills. It contains rules, games, stories, exercises, definitions, limericks, word origins, and other information related to words. (CK)

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of four presentation-practice combinations of manuscript and cursive writing on the spelling achievement of fourth-grade subjects. Factors included in the investigation were initial spelling accuracy, visual memory and sex. The experimental subjects in the investigation were 120 fourth-grade…

Presents 32 word-attack generalizations found by research to be applicable to words at least 75 percent of the time. (JM)

Presents terms used in the elementary classroom for language arts, history, and social science. Explains that knowledge of word roots, prefixes, and suffixes can help students to understand new social studies terms. Includes a list of primary word parts, intermediate word parts, and lesson ideas. Notes those ideas suitable for a sheltered lesson.…

Literacy is an increasingly important factor as schools focus on improving student achievement. Literacy skills in reading and writing are critical components needed for both access to the general curriculum and for successful academic achievement. A key component of reading and writing is word identification, a skill deficit for many adolescent…