The teaching of phonics, the relationship of sounds to letters in an alphabetic language like English, is important for success in learning to read competently. Noting that there continues to be much debate as to what constitutes good phonics instruction, this paper presents a rather simple but basically sound and inexpensive approach for teaching…

The study compared the effectiveness and efficiency of concurrent and isolation-intermix instruction in teaching four preschool children to read common words in their environment. Concurrent instruction resulted in students learning conditional discriminations in fewer trials and minutes of instructional time suggesting the value of teaching…

Principles of establishing priorities are applied to the selection and scheduling of instructional priorities for beginning reading instruction, with emphasis on teaching phonological awareness and letter-sound knowledge through more efficient use of instructional time; teaching less, more thoroughly; and providing oppportunities for oral…

The article summarizes a report of the Commission on Reading which lends support (based on research findings) to many of the practices embodied in the Direct Instruction Model. The Commission recommends practices such as early teaching of reading and parent involvement that are closely tied to Direct Instruction strategies. (DB)

This book explains the methodologies, techniques, strategies, and knowledge base necessary to achieve a balanced reading program. The book's contributors define the key elements in a balanced reading program and provide guidelines for implementing a balanced instructional program in the classroom. Following an introduction which addresses…

With reading, as with all academic content and skills, effective instruction is informed by sound assessment. Teachers' knowledge about classroom-embedded reading assessment must continue to be developed so that they can use the information it yields to make informed instructional decisions. At the same time, districts and schools must develop…

Much is written and spoken about in terms of whole language versus phonics in early reading instruction in the public schools, but the issue between whole language versus phonics probably pertains to what is needed by individual pupils. There are advantages as well as disadvantages for whole language approaches in reading instruction. Needs differ…

This booklet delineates the actions and attitudes of successful teachers who typically produce skilled readers. Presenting a variety of approaches, the booklet emphasizes that needs created by beginning readers' diverse backgrounds can only be met through a curriculum marked by equal diversity. The booklet outlines those identified characteristics…

Using a personalized word association method, six children with persistent reading difficulties in two British elementary schools were instructed in recognizing 100 common words. All children made significant progress, with the most progress made by those who originally had the smallest sight vocabularies. Students who devised their own sentences…

Early reading and literacy have become the focus of policymakers, with a renewed emphasis on the early grades. This resource provides a guide to important and effective research-based reading programs. The guide's in-depth coverage analyzes and compares features, frameworks, tools, methods, and reform components for the following 17 major reading…

This book offers an array of useful strategies for implementing shared reading techniques in pre-K through grade 2 classrooms. Starting with an overview of shared reading theory, the book draws largely from the models of Don Holdaway and illustrates the correlation between classroom reading and the bedtime story. While traditional aspects of…

Twenty prelingually deaf students, aged six-eight, were able to identify words better when presented in a print-plus-graphic-sign condition compared to a print-only condition. The initial use of the graphic representation of signs with the printed words also facilitated the children's immediate retention when reading the printed word only.…

This article examines characteristics of low-performing readers, especially their poor word recognition skills; compares approaches to teaching word recognition to slow-learning children; identifies characteristics of successful methods of teaching word recognition; and concludes that phonics-based, thoroughly systematic, direct instruction is…

This study, involving a total of 36 preschool children, found that children recalled more sight words on object labels after introduction to the labels and daily repetition, compared to 2 other techniques. Children attending five days per week recalled more words than three-day and two-day students. (Author/JDD)

Effects of constant time delay in teaching sight word reading to four disabled preschoolers were evaluated. The method was reliably implemented in a group setting, effectively taught all targeted stimuli in near-errorless fashion, promoted observational learning across students, and resulted in greater expressive labeling and receptive…