This report describes a program for increasing phonemic awareness in the primary grades. The targeted population consisted of first and second grade students from middle class communities located in the Midwest. Research indicated that students who enter primary grades without phonemic awareness might have reading difficulties. Lack of phonemic…

Reports a study concluding that first grade children did not have strong preconceptions of letter-sound relationships when they entered school but their year-end responses were significantly more like adult responses. No differences were found between speakers of black English and white English. (TO)

Discusses the use of a simplified diacritical marking system as a device for the teaching of reading to pre-school children. (TO)

Research investigating vocabulary and comprehension achievement, intelligence quotients, and reading error analysis indicates that dependence on within-word (intraword) characteristics is more important for beginning reading success than is reliance on between-word (interword) analysis. (CJ)

The experiment studied the differential effectiveness of two methods of blending instruction on the ability of prereaders to decode synthetic words. Findings indicated the superiority of auditory-visual training over auditory, with both methods significantly superior to practice on sound-letter association (the control group task). (RC)

An analogy is drawn between understanding Shakespeare's work and the debate about teaching beginning reading. The apparent ease of reading is seen to mask its very real complexity. The importance of the early reading environment for readiness and the necessity of teaching sounds and then words is stressed. Tips for teaching phonological awareness…

Considers patterns of possible relationships between phonological recoding skill and three conceptually distinct aspects of reading. Finds that systematic instruction is more effective than incidental instruction; inclusion of direct instruction in phonological recoding skill yields better results than relying primarily on writing activities; and…

Takes a closer look at the reading skills of beginning readers who are able to read words by analogy. Finds that reading unfamiliar words by analogy to known words is an easier process and can be executed by beginners more readily than reading unfamiliar words by phonologically recoding the words. (MG)

This paper offers a rationale for integrating phonics with reading instruction for students with reading disabilities. It then suggests that direct teaching of sounds be provided by constructing "soundsheets" with rows of sound/letter combinations taken directly from the text the child will read after practicing the sounds. (JDD)

Considers first graders' comprehension-monitoring skills related to their decoding and listening comprehension skills. Concludes that monitoring one's comprehension is already present in beginning reading but that the level of decoding and listening-comprehension skills affects the way and efficacy of monitoring. (SC)

Analyzes phonics teaching and learning in eight whole-language first-grade classrooms from October through May. Finds that foundation concepts (phonemic and phonological awareness, phonemic segmentation) and letter-sound relationships were taught and that teachers differentiated phonics instruction based on learned development and ongoing…

Description of a tutoring program for struggling 1st grade readers focuses on use of Sound Partners, a program designed for non-teacher tutors. This program emphasizes basic phonological awareness and phonological reading skills. The article describes the program's theoretical ancestry, application, research outcomes, and obstacles/solutions…

Stresses the importance of the development of phonemic awareness skills for students with reading difficulties. Research suggesting phonemic awareness may be a more powerful predictor for reading progress than IQ is noted. Insets offer specific phonological awareness assessment tasks and corresponding phonological awareness instructional tasks.…

This article proposes a neurobiological account of reading and reading disability suggesting that for normally developing readers, the dorsal (tempo-parietal) circuit predominates at first, and in conjunction with premotor systems, is associated with analytic processing necessary for learning to integrate orthographic with phonological and…