Describes a program for parents and preschool teachers that has produced positive results in emergent reading behaviors in young children with developmental disabilities. Essential program elements include parents as literacy role models, frequent and regular exploration of print, interactions with adults in reading situations, and family…

Discusses the increased literacy emphasis in schools and how early childhood programs can provide an enriched literacy environment. Defines and provides suggestions for activities related to basic literacy concepts: listening comprehension, phonological awareness, reading motivation, written expression, letter and early word recognition, and…

The ability of a dynamic measure of phonemic awareness to predict progress in beginning reading was studied with 38 kindergartners. Results support the utility of the developed measures and demonstrate the applicability of the principles of dynamic assessment to the measurement of phonemic awareness. (SLD)

Parents of preschool children were asked about the frequencies of adult reading, parent-child reading, and children's solitary book activities, and responses were later compared to the children's second grade reading achievement. The 22 preschoolers who became poorer readers had less frequent early literacy-related experiences than the 34 children…

A learner's reading ability may be an important variable in the individualization of computer-assisted instruction. Results of a study of 101 students in grades 4 through 8 indicate that computer-mediated CLOZE reading tests adequately account for a student's reading ability and may be used prescriptively for the individualization of instruction.…

Discusses the effects of teachers' beliefs and practices on teachers' perceptions of students' abilities and potential for success. Uses the example of a child referred from a traditional kindergarten, where he did poorly, to a whole language child development center, where he excelled. Urges teachers to examine the impact of their beliefs on…

A park ranger describes a program designed to teach preschoolers in a Head Start classroom about bugs, park rangers, and drug awareness. The program was an outgrowth of a vandalism incident at a national park bordering a low-income housing complex. Lesson plans revolve around storybooks with bugs as characters. The program finale brings the…

Profiles the "Ready to Read Project," a literacy program developed in 1988 and implemented throughout several South Pacific islands including Fiji, Western Samoa, and the Marshall Islands. The program established a whole-language approach to English literacy based on principles and philosophies grounded in local and international reading…

This packet of materials addresses teacher and parent strategies for teaching reading to children with learning disabilities. A brochure addresses the importance of reading and the widespread phenomenon of reading difficulties and offers a list of additional resources. Five pamphlets include: (1) "Principles for Learning To Read: Essential Skills…

This study analyzed the effects of a kindergarten phonological awareness training program, STeps Into Reading (STIR) on the number of special education referrals, classifications, and retentions in a rural elementary school in New York. These numbers were compared prior to and after the program's implementation. STIR is based on research in the…

A 12-month longitudinal study was conducted in Brisbane, Australia, to investigate the interaction that takes place when a parent and young child read together. Parent-child book-reading episodes that took place in the home at the end of the preschool year of 25 randomly selected children and at the end of Year 1 at a State Primary School were…

A reprint of a classic review of research and research tends on reading that originally appeared in 1941 as the article "Reading" in the "Encyclopedia of Educational Research," this monograph sets forth the views of William S. Gray, an eminent reading educator and theorist. The 11 sections of the review discuss the following topics: (1) the…

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…