Background: Despite evidence that synthetic phonics teaching has increased reading attainments, a sizable minority of children struggle to acquire phonics skills and teachers lack clear principles for deciding what types of "additional" support are most beneficial. Synthetic phonics teaches children to read using a decoding strategy to…

Although there is widespread agreement about the practices associated with multitiered systems of support (MTSS) frameworks in beginning reading, we often underestimate the systems and infrastructure that schools need to implement and sustain these practices. The real work of developing these systems often happens in the detailed-oriented and…

The purpose of this case study is to describe the challenges one coach faced during the initial implementation of a coaching initiative involving 33 teachers in an urban, high-poverty elementary school. Reading coaches are increasingly expected to play a key role in the professional development efforts to improve reading instruction in order to…

This was a qualitative case study that compared data across six district-level literacy coaches' epistemological and ontological beliefs about how to teach reading. All six coaches were working as a cohort of literacy coaches on the development and implementation of a secondary reading intervention program for seventh-grade struggling readers.…

The Southwest Regional Laboratory for Educational Research and Development developed an exportable tutorial program whereby school personnel can train older students or adult nonprofessionals to tutor kindergarten children in reading. The initial program was tried out in a middle-income suburban district near Los Angeles. Nine kindergarten…

Suggesting that too often initiatives have been placed in schools without attention to the implementation process, this paper discusses a model used in a professional development program for teachers of beginning reading and then describes and documents how each feature of the model was addressed through development and implementation work. The…

Developed for the America Reads Challenge Read*Write*Now! program, this tip sheet presents ideas and suggestions for strengthening efforts to help improve children's reading through community reading programs designed to keep children reading during the summer and after school. The tip sheet discusses building partnerships, recruiting volunteers,…

The procedures used in planning and writing a primary reading program designed specifically for visually handicapped students who will use braille as their reading medium are described. The selection of a vocabulary, including a list of categories such as alphabet abbreviations, is discussed. Teaching methodology and the basis for the design of…

This Read*Write*Now! activity poster presents, on one side, a colorful image encouraging children to share the fun of reading and writing, and, on the other side, 6 activity sheets offering fun and challenging ideas for adults' reading time with children. The activities are designed to expand a child's interest in and enthusiasm for reading and…

This Read*Write*Now! activity poster presents, on one side, a colorful image of Arthur the Aardvark encouraging adults and children to share the fun of reading and writing, and, on the other side, 5 fun and challenging activities for reading time. The activities are designed to expand a child's interest in and enthusiasm for reading and writing…

This guide provides a description of a mastery learning reading program based on a language approach to teaching reading. All suggested activities stress the use of skills to obtain meaning from reading as the main goal of instruction. Sections include a discussion of the elements of this mastery learning instructional program that notes the need…

This paper proposes that phonics and meaning instruction in beginning reading programs can be designed to be mutually supportive. The first section outlines attempts to modify a commercially available reading program in order to provide useful phonics instruction strategies. Students showed strong gains on achievement tests after implementation of…

Intended to provide a publication outlet for systematic and substantive reviews and syntheses, both empirical and theoretical, and for integrative reports of programatic research, this volume focuses on what children learn when learning to read, and how this learning can be facilitated. The first chapter of the volume offers an analysis of writing…

This publication provides materials on the Small Group Learning Methodology Project in Victoria, Australia. The first chapter concerns the purpose of small groups in adult literacy learning. Chapter 2 deals with types of adult literacy programs, interviews, student needs, student placement, and forming groups. Chapter 3 discusses group processes,…

Explains how one teacher developed a cross-age tutoring program that allowed her high school students to help primary grade problem readers. Argues that high school students with reading problems make good tutors for troubled beginning readers because they are sympathetic and inventive. (FL)