Clay's Reading Recovery has been one of the most effective one-to-one tutorial sessions. To make the daily lesson more interesting and fully engage the at-risk readers, the author modified Clay's Reading Recovery Program by conceptualizing phonics and semiotics into early intervention. In this case study, three at-risk first graders formed an…

This research design was based on the knowledge calibration work by Cunningham, Perry, Stanovich, and Stanovich (2004). One hundred and forty-one full time teachers participated in a four day professional development workshop on research-based reading instruction. Participants were administered a three-part survey comprised of 1) demographic…

The body of knowledge on critical components of reading instruction is broad and deep with phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension serving as building blocks for literacy. The importance of fluent reading (i.e., with speed, accuracy, and proper expression, as well as comprehension) in the formula for success is widely…

Due to the increased demands for accountability with the passage of the No Child Left Behind legislation signed in 2002 by President Bush, schools are required to use reading strategies and programs that are supported by scientific research. In Arizona state statute, ARS 15-704, the law outlines the requirements for Arizona school districts to…

In this article, we report kindergarten student and teacher outcomes from a quasi-experimental evaluation of The Superkids, a systematic, phonics-based, comprehensive K-2 reading program. We recruited 23 kindergarten teachers to implement The Superkids program from a diverse, yet predominantly ethnic minority, group of classrooms from across the…

Middle school students who score below proficient on state reading assessments are often placed in remedial reading programs that focus on phonics and decoding skills and do not acknowledge students' literate abilities. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the reading abilities of young adolescent readers. Five assessments measuring…

Teaching students with intellectual disabilities (ID) to read is extremely challenging. Fortunately, the outlook for students with ID is improving because we now know much more about how to teach reading to students who struggle, including those with ID. The central theme of this article is that reading instruction for students with ID must be a…

To determine the extent to which knowledge of evidence-based reading instruction and mathematics is assessed on licensure tests for prospective special education teachers, this study drew on information provided by Educational Testing Service (ETS), the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, and National Evaluation Systems (now…

First, second, and third graders (N = 102) who had completed from 1 to 3 years of literacy instruction in other schools and had experienced failure entered a private school for struggling readers and received instruction in either of 2 types of systematic phonics programs over a 4-year period. One group received a keyword analogy method (KEY) that…

This primer lists the 44 sounds in the English language and then gives steps for teaching those 44 sounds and their most common spelling patterns. In addition to learning sounds and spellings, each day the student must read lists of phonetically related words and spell these words from dictation. Phonics instruction must be reinforced by having…

Recent involvement in teacher education policy around a proposed stand-alone phonics course in Mississippi revealed important guidelines for researchers aiming to influence policy, including (a) build relationships with policy makers; (b) help to define problems by framing issues and proactively put forth solutions rather than waiting to respond…

This article reviews the literature and presents data from a study that examined the effects of professional development in scientifically based reading instruction on teacher knowledge and student reading outcomes. The experimental group consisted of four first- and second-grade teachers and their students (n = 33). Three control teachers and…

Interventions combining phonically based reading instruction with phonological training are generally effective for children with reading (decoding) difficulties. However, a minority of children respond poorly to such interventions. This study explored the characteristics of children who showed poor response to reading intervention and aimed to…