This paper reports findings from a large-scale evaluation undertaken to explore the impact of the "linguistic phonics approach" (LPA) on young children's reading. The LPA is a systematic and applied programme that differs from traditional phonics programmes. For example, rather than ask children to look at letters and speculate on the…

This article explores why policy makers in England and Scotland responded so differently to the Clackmannanshire study on synthetic phonics. It suggests that a deeper understanding of the national and local policy contexts can explain Scotland's response. Analysis of the wider context of the Clackmannanshire initiative supports Moss and Huxford's…

The teaching of spelling is outlined and discussed in this pamphlet. Three major steps are described: the prewriting stage, teaching the principle of alphabetic writing--the understanding that spelling requires the sequencing of sounds within a word, and teaching the spelling patterns of written English. The pamphlet concludes that two current…

The article describes a procedure for teaching sound-letter relations and sound blending through a verbal/gestural prompting system and a variation of melodic intonation therapy (in which students learn simultaneously to talk and hum a monotone note). The three-step procedure features demonstration, prompting, and practice. (CL)

For 60 years, confusion and misinformation have reigned supreme whenever the subject of teaching phonics comes up for discussion. The paper considers various phonics programs, both old and new, and appraises their effectiveness. It also discusses works on phonetics by some well-known researchers and experts in reading, among them Frank Smith,…

To clarify the confusion of beginning reading teachers and linguists about goals and procedures of auditory training, this article introduces precise instruction terminology. (MH)

The author feels it is psychologically beneficial to permit ghetto children to spell phonetically before teaching them to use standard spellings. (AF)

Finds that the high percentage of spontaneous, contextual activities used to teach phonic relationships in preschool classrooms dropped off dramatically when children entered kindergarten and the primary grades, where instructional experiences were mostly explicit. Shows that a combined approach to teaching phonics was observed only infrequently.…

Presents two studies using Verstaen et al.'s method that occasionally replicates null phonemic masking effects, but challenges their interpretation. Reflects an inherent instability in the perception of homophones. Demonstrates that this instability is directly due to reliance on phonology, rather than to its control. (SG)

Describes how first and second grade teachers use writing to teach phonics in a curriculum that integrates instruction in reading and writing. (SR)

Investigates the role of phonological and orthographic information in vowel selection across grades 1, 2, and 3. Results suggest: (1) beginners make best-guess decisions to spell ambiguous vowels based solely on phonological information; and (2) as they acquire more sound-letter correspondence knowledge, children start to use orthographic…

This essay argues that sense depends on the circulation of nonsense. A realisation of the reciprocal relation can result in a micro-level praxis that helps us, as educators, to free ourselves from the polarisations that have occurred in the field of literacy, such as the phonics/whole language debate, replacing the antagonism with a more…

Extensive literature has reiterated the reading difficulties of students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Building and expanding upon the work of B. J. Trezek and K. W. Malmgren (2005), this study demonstrated that given 1 year of instruction from a phonics-based reading curriculum supplemented by Visual Phonics, kindergarten and first-grade…