A hallmark of skilled reading is recognizing written words automatically from memory by sight. How beginning readers attain this skill is explained. They must acquire foundational knowledge, including phonemic segmentation, grapheme-phoneme knowledge, decoding, and spelling skills. When these skills are applied, spellings of words become bonded to…

This report is part of a series of four guidance reports that the EEF has produced on the theme of language and literacy. It focuses on pupils between the ages of 5 and 7 in Key Stage 1. However, it may also be applicable to older pupils who have fallen behind their peers, or younger pupils who are making rapid progress. Separate reports cover…

To be an effective communicator, students need to learn how to select the appropriate means of communication and be aware of potential obstacles. The model of communication process can be an effective framework for students to understand many pitfalls of the communication process. The described activity enables students to experience communication…

Evidence based reading instruction and intervention are essential for students with disabilities. The authors recommend that elementary special education teachers emphasize both code-based and meaning-based skills as part of delivering intensive reading interventions, including providing explicit and systematic decoding and vocabulary instruction.…

This Kindergarten Teacher's Guide provides information for kindergarten teachers on how to support families as they practice foundational reading skills at home. It serves as a companion to the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade. Both guides present four…

Decoding practice significantly improves students' reading proficiency and is particularly beneficial for those who have or who are at risk for reading difficulties. Finding effective ways to provide decoding practice for struggling readers can be a challenge for teachers. Still, this goal is essential for developing reading proficiency. The…

Existing reading assessments have increasingly been criticized by researchers, educators, and policy makers, especially regarding their coverage, utility, and authenticity (e.g., Magliano, Millis, Ozuru, & McNamara, 2007; Pellegrino, Chudowsky, & Glaser, 2001; Rupp, Ferne, & Choi, 2006). Specifically, there is concern that current…

Recent years have brought about rapid advances in our understanding of reading and how it develops, particularly in relation to the importance of alphabetic coding skills. However, much less has been known about the transition from alphabetic decoding to the rapid and automatic orthographic recognition of words, which is the hallmark of skilled…

In this article, the author describes G. Reid Lyon, the director of the branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development that sponsors studies on reading, whom crisscrossed the country to herald the findings of scientific research on the subject and press for sweeping change in reading instruction. Lyon's presentations on the…

Explains the use of experimental poetry forms for decoding practice to help develop reading skills in elementary school students. The use of computers for word processing capabilities is discussed; seven forms of poetry are described; and results are examined in terms of motivation and the development of literacy. (four references) (LRW)

Recent cognitive analyses of the reading process indicate that learning disabled children with word decoding problems will be limited in the development of higher level reading comprehension skills. Microcomputer technology affords the repetitive word recognition practice necessary for successful decoding. (JC)

In the past, phonics instruction has done little to lessen the difficulties that many poor readers have with decoding words quickly and accurately enough to construct meaning from text. Based on an analysis of the research literature in decoding and a four-year cycle of program development, a new program was created for teaching decoding to poor…