An analysis of large and influential published reviews of research pertaining to the reading acquisition of young struggling readers in the early years of schooling was undertaken. The reviews were selected on the basis that they either had been commissioned by federal governments or had been conducted by reputable research institutions and had…

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) have identified topic areas that present a wide range of this nation's most pressing issues in education (e.g., middle school math, beginning reading, and character education). Within each selected topic area, the WWC collects studies of interventions (i.e., programs,…

A recent national study of state and local No Child Left Behind activities indicated that 80 percent of elementary teachers reported participating in 24 hours or less of professional development on reading instruction during the 2003-2004 school year and summer. Reading and professional development experts are concerned that this is not intensive…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 created the Reading First program to help ensure that all students could read at or above grade level by the end of grade 3. The program promotes practices recommended by the National Reading Panel for early reading instruction, highlighting essential components of reading instruction. As required by the…

In 1990, the Settlement Music School Kaleidoscope Preschool Arts Enrichment Program, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, created a preschool program to teach music and other creative arts to three- to five-year-olds. This article describes how the program works: how music teaches language and math, how dance teaches action words and spatial concepts,…

The author favorably reviews the "SUCCESS in Beginning Reading and Writing Program" developed by Dr. Anne Adams of Duke University. The two-hour instructional program is divided into four modules: phonics/spelling; content reading; writing language experience stories; and recreational reading. Program costs and ease of use are noted.…

In light of research confirming the important effects of parents' literacy skills on their children's eventual acquisition of literacy skills, a project was undertaken in the Altoona Area School District in Blair County, Pennsylvania, to provide basic literacy training to a group of Head Start parents who were unable to read and who were not…

Data are presented on the use of the Monterey Reading program, a multilevel individualized approach to teaching basic reading skills and improving decoding skills, with 21 hearing impaired students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC) school system. The Monterey program is further explained to provide built in reinforcement, measurable feedback for…

Suggesting that a missing link between effective practices and their sustained implementation is the "host environment" into which practices, programs, procedures, and pedagogy are translated, this bulletin describes the need for prevention and intervention models in beginning reading that are anchored to the school as the host environment. The…

Describes a literacy program for three- and four-year-old children established in a university setting to provide teacher education students an opportunity to read with the children while emphasizing concepts about print. Finds a slight increase in the children's concepts about print and in their familiarity with books. (SR)

This final report details the results of a federally funded project designed to investigate reading comprehension in students with learning disabilities and their ability to identify themes. The first part of the report discusses reading instruction and students with learning disabilities, and provides an overview of the research. The second…

In reflecting on an overview of research on microcomputers in the public schools, a researcher found that early programs were largely based on a programmed instruction model. Computers were primarily used to provide for simple repetition of low-level decoding tasks. The emphasis of whole language literacy is in direct contrast to this approach.…

Describes the activities in a first grade classroom in a small rural school district where reading instruction mirrors the kinds of reading done in the real world. (FL)

This document describes a balanced and comprehensive approach to improve the reading and mathematics performance of Louisiana students in kindergarten through third grade. Sections of the paper address the focus on prevention, intervention, and remediation; the need in Louisiana for a K-3 reading and mathematics initiative; determining the…

Presenting a year-by-year account, this paper describes the origin and 10-year development of the Howard Street Tutoring Program, an after-school volunteer-staffed tutoring program in a poor Chicago, Illinois, neighborhood. The paper presents a selective history of the program, designed to assist second- and third-grade children who needed help in…