Decoding unknown words when reading text is a necessary tool of skilled readers. Beginning readers need repeated opportunities to develop decoding ability. We investigated whether explicitly teaching essential components of beginning reading instruction promoted first graders' skill in decoding pseudowords. We employed a multiple- baseline design…

This study examined the effects of Making and Writing Words (MWW), a variation of the Making Words word study activity by Cunningham and Cunningham (1992), on second-grade students word learning. MWW was implemented daily with a group of second-grade students' over a five-month period. Results indicated that students who received the MWW treatment…

The present study sought to extend a recent study by Savage, Carless and Stuart, by looking at the pre-test phonological skills that predicted improvements in letter-sound knowledge and nonword reading. Results showed overall that phoneme manipulation predicted improvements in nonword reading and letter-sound knowledge even when pre-test scores on…

The present study examines whether reading fluency benefits more from repeated reading of a limited set of words or from practicing reading with many different words. A group of 37 reading delayed Dutch children repeatedly read the same 20 words with limited exposure duration, whereas another group of 37 poor readers received the same reading…

This article assesses the state of the literature on word-attack skills and phonological awareness (PA) in individuals with mental retardation, in light of progress towards the development of effective teaching procedures. The literature contains promising findings. Studies have shown PA to be correlated with word-attack skills in individuals with…

The teaching and self-study materials of the Phonological Transcription Accompanied Text (PTAT) method takes into account both sides of the debate over reading instruction in which the skills-emphasis partisans and the meaning-emphasis partisans are engaged. PTAT materials attempt to make the best use of children's oral language and rich…

This teacher's guide for teaching decoding contains suggestions for teaching letter sounds and short vowel trigrams; words and syllables with long vowels; consonant blends and some digraphs; some common prefixes, suffixes, and irregular word parts; and dipthongs and vowel digraphs. Each of the five chapters contains several skills to be taught.…

Noting that "every pupil response" (EPR) techniques allow for all students in a group to respond to each question asked by a teacher, this paper explains how EPR techniques may be incorporated in a reading lesson to help students develop decoding ability. The paper offers a justification for using these directed teaching strategies based on…

Documents a model that resulted from an analysis of context clues to determine which were amenable to instruction and what pedagogical approach should be used. (DD)

Suggests teaching word attack skills using these steps: present, practice, apply, review, and re-review. (MKM)

Research has shown that students can be taught to comprehend the material better while they are reading. Successful instruction of this type has usually focused on the teaching of comprehension strategies--that is, intentional actions students can use during reading to guide their thinking. Such strategies improve both understanding and memory.…

Predicting and questioning are two of the most important skills that children can use to achieve reading proficiency. Strategies are suggested that teachers can use to help children develop these skills. Appropriate reading materials and questioning techniques are discussed. (PP)

Kindergarten children received prereading instruction based on a code systems approach. Results suggest that: (1) kindergarten children can learn the concepts and vocabulary of code systems; and (2) such instruction is related to their perception of the nature and purpose of reading and can be incorporated into existing kindergarten programs. (PP)

The experiment investigated the feasibility of bridging the gap between the recognition of pictures and the recognition of words in four mentally handicapped adolescents by adapting a modified version of symbol accentuation (in which a printed word looks like the object it represents). (SB)