This study compared the use of two supplemental balanced and strategic reading interventions that targeted the decoding, fluency, and reading comprehension of upper-elementary and middle school students with reading disabilities (RD). All students had significant delays in decoding, fluency, comprehension, and language processing. Two comparable,…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of phonological awareness instruction with 61 kindergarten children in two schools who had been identified as low in phonological awareness. The children received either: (1) instruction at the phoneme level only, (2) instruction at the onset-rime level before instruction at the phoneme level, or (3) no…

A study evaluated the phonics performance of skilled adult readers using the D. Durkin phonics test, which was also used in 1984 to measure the phonics ability of children. The test, which was given to 25 college juniors and seniors, consisted of 29 regularly spelled pseudo or nonsense words to be pronounced aloud by the subjects. Results…

A theoretical situation-person-interactions model of learning and performance is presented, and applications of the model through the Instrumental Language Functions (ILF) approach with preschool normal and older variously handicapped children and adults are described. The model is graphically depicted and discussed according to such aspects as…

To teach language processing is to teach students how to clarify information in material they are reading or discussing so that they are able to understand, evaluate, learn, store, recall, and use it. The first section of this guide, which is based on the use of the Formula Phonics method, discusses the teaching of language processing in terms of…

Thinking skills in children, effectively developed through reading, were emphasized at this reading conference. Three types of thinking skills linked to reading are: decoding symbols from the printed page, seeking factual meaning through recall; reading interpretively, understanding cause and effect reasoning or seeking the main idea of sentences;…

Two "sacred cows" inherent in reading instruction for disabled readers are rejected: Disabled readers must be taught with simple reading materials, and most teaching time must be spent on reading skills. Two case studies illustrate the teaching of decoding skills and "dyad reading" of books selected by the disabled reader.…

Concludes that three experimental programs were more effective than traditional approaches in beginning reading instruction: (1) a literature program using special decoding strategies, (2) a literature program not using the special strategies, and (3) a traditional basal approach using the special decoding strategies. (FL)

This paper reviews what current research says about best practices in reading instruction for students with mild mental retardation. After introducing some key reading issues (such as effects of early reading failure), two principal approaches to reading instruction are discussed: first, the traditional/bottom-up synthetic approach which begins…

The effects of vocabulary instruction on word knowledge and reading comprehension were investigated. Average students learned some word synonyms under all conditions except a noninstructional control condition. However, learning disabled students acquired fewer meanings across all conditions and seemed to require more direct instruction in order…

An extensive case history of instructional environment and acquisition of reading skills by 50 first-grade students in ten classrooms indicates that the rate at which students mastered decoding depended on classroom instruction with direct instruction appearing most profitable for children from low-socioeconomic backgrounds. (MKM)

This investigation examined the use of computer-assisted instruction (i.e., "WordMaker") on students having different levels of reading ability. Of particular interest were the effects of "WordMaker" on the spelling performance of first graders in a co-taught classroom. In a short 10-week period, the "WordMaker" software program had a positive…

Today, there are about four nonnative-speaking English teachers for every teacher who is a native speaker. More English teachers work in non-English-speaking settings than in English-speaking settings, and most are natives of the countries in which they teach. This volume focuses on the challenges faced by English teachers for whom English is a…

This document was prepared to provide guidance to "Reading First" coaches and teachers regarding alternative lesson structures for providing small group, differentiated instruction to students in grades K-3 within "Reading First" schools in Florida. The motivation for the development of this document stemmed from specific…

This paper describes a project for improving the reading and decoding skills of 23 high school students with reading learning disabilities. The targeted population consisted of high school students in a suburban community in the Midwest. The project used Auditory Discrimination in Depth, which is a multisensory program that develops…