The goal of the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Practice Guide, "Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten through 3rd Grade," is to offer educators specific, evidence-based recommendations for teaching foundational reading skills to students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. The guide suggests…

Sparked by the Common Core State Standards, teachers and literacy experts are arguing about the role of a time-honored pillar of English/language arts instruction: classroom activities designed to help students understand what they are about to read. The attacks on--and defenses of--"prereading" are unfolding largely in cyberspace, through online…

Discusses the use of double meanings and figurative language or figures of speech in literature and how confusing it can be for beginning readers. Describes class activities that can help students construct, examine, and extend the meaning of what they read and includes a worksheet, evaluation suggestions, and extension activities. (LRW)

No Child Left Behind, Reading First, Early Reading First, Good Start, Grow Smart ... the current whirlwind of education initiatives in the United States commits millions of dollars of federal money to "scientifically based" reading and early literacy development. In 2003, President Bush directed Head Start programs across the country to…

The Student-Level Observation of Beginning Reading (SOBR) was designed to focus on the content of instructional activities in reading at the individual student level, and is based on a time sample of time spent on specific activities. (Author/BW)

Contains contributions from three educators concerning the following: (1) child-made books in beginning reading, (2) ideas for celebrating a "reading week" as part of American Education Week, and (3) using doll families to teach phonics to beginning readers. (FL)

Describes how a first grade classroom is organized around activities using writing, basals, real books, and working with words to meet the needs of a diverse group of children. (MG)

The Braille Readiness Skills Grid identifies activities and skills that foster braille readiness in children with visual impairments. The grid assesses five readiness areas: tactile, fine motor, listening/attention, concept, and book/story. It is intended to encourage systematic braille readiness activities from infancy and foster children's…

A compilation of information drawn from Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) grant applications and final evaluation reports submitted to the Wisconsin Division for Libraries and Community Learning, this book offers information that may be of practical value to other libraries wanting to establish their own emergent literacy programs.…

Describes a pictogram system in which letters are made to look like human and animal characters as a way of teaching phonics to children; tells how teachers have imaginatively implemented the system through activities in such areas as drama, singing, and story telling. (GT)

Describes the modification in one kindergarten class of Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) to Sustained Loud Reading (SLR). Describes children's excited interactions with and sharing of books. (SR)

The final report documents goals and achievements of Project CUE, a 3 year project to assist teachers of language impaired children to adapt regular reading readiness curricula to the students' needs. Objectives are listed, including conducting a needs assessment, selecting a basal reading series, and disseminating information on the project, and…

Names hold great meaning for children and are, for many, the first word they learn to recognize by sight. Children have a great interest in learning to write their names as well as the names of their family and friends. Adults working with young children can take advantage of this interest to introduce a variety of early literacy concepts. Using…

Describes a summer remedial reading program for first-grade students. Includes discussions of the activities and strategies used to promote comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary development. (FL)

Discusses exercises enabling teachers to help 6-year-olds complete the path to total reading and spontaneous writing. The foundation of the exercises is to help children analyze words into sounds; relate the symbols of the alphabet with the sounds using sandpaper letters; and acquire the physical ability to reproduce the letters in writing. (TJQ)