An experienced teacher, certified in the education of the gifted, designed and implemented a practicum that offered opportunities for enhancing the cultural literacy and creative play of preschool children who received little individual, reading-related attention from their working parents and caregivers. Play that enriched the imaginative…

Drawing on an array of research on the nature and development of reading proficiency, this book argues that educators need not remain trapped in the phonics versus teaching-for-meaning dilemma and offers instructional alternatives. The book proposes that phonics can work together with the whole language approach to reading and provides an…

A study investigated the effect of kindergarten class size on reading readiness achievement. Subjects, 2,837 kindergarten students in 38 elementary schools that serve rural, urban, suburban, and inner-city schools, participated in the first year of Project STAR (Student Teacher Academic Ratio) in 1985-86. The subjects' 140 kindergarten teachers…

Academic testing observed in a year-long study of kindergarten classes in 15 districts was primarily concerned with whether children were succeeding with the content of a basal reader readiness workbook that essentially dealt with phonics. Such success was viewed as a prerequisite for the first preprimer in the basal series, the use of which…

To better understand the early stages of literacy, a study investigated how young children learn about the registers of the written story genre. Subjects, 47 kindergraten children, were individually read to and then asked to "pretend-read" one or two selected picture storybooks on three consecutive days; their readings were audiotaped…

The study described in this report had a threefold purpose: (1) to examine, over time, the development of young adults who, when in the first grade in a midwestern school system, were in the lower third of their classes; (2) to examine the effect of literacy on their educational attainment, occupational level, and achievement; and (3) to examine…

Drawn from the experiences of actual families as well as from research findings, this book is intended to show parents how storybook reading promotes language and literacy development and instills in children a love of books and reading. Each section of the book contains parent-child vignettes and photographs of families reading books together.…

Research suggests that reading is a written language process that is learned naturally in much the same way as oral language. To test this hypothesis, a descriptive, longitudinal study was conducted of the reading development of eight kindergarten and first grade students who showed environmental print awareness but were not considered readers.…

This report gives an interim evaluation for 1982-83 of the Kindergarten Reinforcement project in the Cleveland Public Schools. This project, designed to promote optimal development of disadvantaged children's basic learning skills relevant to subsequent successful school experiences, provides kindergarten teachers with supplementary instructional…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 18 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effect of illustrations on third grade students' attitudes toward the elderly; (2) visual and phonological coding in word processing by fourth, sixth, and…

Although reading skills transfer from first to second language, there are other considerations when teaching English reading to non-English-speakers. Reading is the foundation for future studies, and should be taught effectively from the beginning for students to have success in their studies. Good readers in any language have experiences that…

Intended for classroom teachers, this guide contains outcomes and objectives for grades K-12 that are intended to be used for improving the teaching and learning of reading skills. The prefatory section of the document briefly presents the goals of the program, suggestions for implementation, and a definition of terms. A reading concepts chart is…

Intended for those who want to encourage children to read, this book deals with children learning to read at different stages and explores four assumptions: reading is an important thing to do; reading is learned by reading; what beginning readers read makes all the difference to their view of reading; and to be successful, teaching and learning…

Intended to provide Native community members, teachers and administrators in Native schools, and teachers in training an overview of current research on language issues relating to Canadian Native education, the book presents general background information on Native peoples in Canada and the education systems that serve them. Existing and…

Intended as a reference tool rather than as a guide to specific instructional approaches, this manual is designed to assist teachers in planning an effective reading program for kindergarten through grade 6. The first section identifies the program objectives, discusses various approaches used in reading instruction (basal, individualized,…