Sparked by the Common Core State Standards, teachers and literacy experts are arguing about the role of a time-honored pillar of English/language arts instruction: classroom activities designed to help students understand what they are about to read. The attacks on--and defenses of--"prereading" are unfolding largely in cyberspace, through online…

Reviews some of the research on the effectiveness of direct versus incidental instruction of beginning reading. (MKM)

Expresses a joint statement of concerns about present practices in pre-first grade reading instruction and makes recommendations for improvement. Guidelines and recommendations are the result of a collaboration among six national organizations. (KS)

This study surveyed all-day and half-day Ohio kindergarten teachers regarding their reading or reading readiness instructional practices. First grade teachers in the same schools assessed the preparation and experiences of their incoming students. A Chi Square analysis comparing all-day and half-day programs revealed more areas of similarity than…

Describes recommended procedures for assessing reading readiness and the teaching of beginning reading for three- and four-year-old children. (Author/MP)

A group of 30 nonreading kindergarten children who received 7 weeks of instruction in phoneme segmentation and letter names/sounds were assessed on segmentation and reading measures. They outperformed a language activities group, which received instruction in letter names/sounds and additional language activities, and a group receiving no…

An elementary school in Texas has developed a program of reading instruction that immediately provides early readers with ample reading opportunities and materials rather than constraining them with "reading readiness" assessment. Initially, the absence of sufficient reinforcement material in the basal readers required increased amounts of reading…

The author discusses the processes by which children learn to read and how the natural sequence of learning may be used to improve reading instruction. (JD)

Examines the history of preschool reading instruction, what researchers recommend, and what is actually happening in preschools, then asks whether reading should be taught to young children. (FL)

This book discusses the background and origins of reading problems, including poor reading instruction and frustrations of different instructional methods. The book presents a complete method for teaching basic skills needed in reading. Part 1 (What Every Parent Should Know about Learning To Read) contains the chapters: "Does My Child Have a…

This article briefly summarizes what is known about how phonological awareness fits into the beginning reading process and effective methods for teaching phonological awareness. Special difficulties with phonological awareness of children with learning disabilities or from culturally diverse backgrounds are noted. (DB)

One approach to preparing kindergarten children for beginning reading combines a meaningful print environment with active student involvement in the learning process. The environment of the classroom from the beginning exposes children to meaningful printed words and symbols. Children use name tags not only for identification but also as a way for…

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect on first-grade reading achievement of completing a program designed to teach the names of the letters of the alphabet before beginning formal reading instruction. Information was sought on the differential effect of this program on either boys or girls of different levels of…

Suggests a variation on the language experience approach designed for groups of nonverbal children. (MKM)