This publication deals with practical areas of early reading in instruction that may be of immediate use to practitioners. The first chapter offers a perspective on current theories of reading instruction, and subsequent chapters deal with topics that are often considered controversial among those who teach reading. Discussed are the learning…

In discussing word recognition, Kenneth Goodman argues that preoccupation with words, leters, and sounds cuts off children from the meaning-seeking function of reading; that oral and written language are parallel modes of obtaining meaning from language; and that reading is a selective rather than a precise process of word perception. A review of…

Analysis of the requirements for diagnostic testing of the early stages of reading competence shows that diagnostic testing needs to focus on decoding, word knowledge, and sentence processing. Reading diagnostic tests also need to assess "entry" skills for the assignment of pupils to instruction, and "exit" skills at each grade…

In order to determine if there is a relationship between reading achievement and the ability to conserve as measured by replications of Piagetian conservation tasks, 160 beginning second-grade students were identified as achievers or low achievers according to reading and intelligence test scores, and their performance on the Piagetian tasks was…

In order to understand better the elemental processes involved in beginning reading (specifically, how cognitive skills are acquired and whether a relationship exists among basic skills), Robert Calfee and colleagues conducted a first-grade reading diary study. Forty target children in 1973-1974 and 50 children in 1974-1975 were observed as they…

Designed to give teachers, specialists, and students insight into the historical development of trends, theory, research, and current practices in reading instruction, 82 selections written over a period of nearly 150 years have been compiled from books, monographs, pamphlets, yearbooks, conference proceedings, and education periodicals. The…

A task analysis of the conceptual skills prerequisite to learning to read by a phonics-based method is made in an attempt to distinguish these skills from reading's component skills. The model for task analysis presented by Gagne, in which a cumulative learning of prerequisite conceptual skills is assumed, is used. The analysis deals primarily…

Very little has been reported in the literature as to how a child actually learns, but what is known can be put to more effective use in teaching the child to read. The brain has at least five input systems: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. The first of these senses is employed more than the others in reading; however, it is believed that…

The study summarized in this book was an intensive, detailed analysis of young fluent readers, their strengths, and the weaknesses in spite of which they learned to read early and fluently. Specifically, the study investigated two aspects of learning to read: the extent to which certain characteristics may appear crucial because of the particular…

A stratified random sample of 70 pupils was selected from 261 children from three elementary schools, who had completed one year of formal reading instruction. To investigate whether visual discrimination or visual-motor development was more closely related to reading achievement, tests of reading achievement, intelligence, visual-motor abilities,…

Drawing on results from informal reading inventories and studies of oral reading behavior, a theory is presented to describe the process of learning to read. Reading is seen to be broader than a skill and more like a repertoire with many abilities, aptitudes, and special accomplishments performing in concert. This repertoire is acquired in four…

Discusses the steps involved in and the preparation necessary for learning to read (decode) and to comprehend what is read. (JM)

Available from: University of Chicago Library Society Bulletin, c/o Harriet Clouse, Library Development Office, Regenstein Library, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; $7.50 per year; issued irregularly 2-3/year. Discusses late-medieval primary education, especially learning to read; indicates how such education affected the way adults used…

Describes a study of oral reading errors by six-year-olds indicating that previously read words are frequently substituted at points of miscue, but that reliance on this source decreased over the year, casting doubt on previously postulated developmental phases of reading. (HTH)

This study compares the reading achievement of beginning readers in kindergarten who were assigned to two reading groups: (1) cipher readers and (2) phonetic-cue readers. Results showed that the first group did better in both reading and spelling. The importance of beginning readers advancing beyond cue reading to cipher reading is emphasized.…