The hypothesis that word context reduces visual rather than acoustic confusion between possible targets was tested in a series of experiments. All involved tachistoscopic presentation of letter strings followed by a pattern mask. Data from eight college students showed that target letters that are confusable only visually and acoustically…

THE HYPOTHESIS THAT CHILDREN WHO ARE TAUGHT TO HEAR AND DESIGNATE SEPARATE SOUNDS IN SPOKEN WORDS WILL ACHIEVE GREATER SUCCESS IN LEARNING TO ANALYZE PRINTED WORDS WAS TESTED. THE SUBJECTS WERE 90 KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN, PREDOMINATELY MEXICAN-AMERICANS AND NEGROES. CHILDREN WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO ONE OF THREE TREATMENTS, EACH OF 3-WEEKS DURATION…

Four possible alternative approaches for developing word recognition skills (including sample lesson plans for both primary and intermediate grades) were presented. The first emphasized the importance of the relative order of difficulty of word analysis skills involving phonic abilities and auditory and visual discrimination in both primary and…

In an attempt to describe the place of phonics in a word-attack program, five areas of word attack are discussed: sight recognition, the use of context clues, morphology (structural analysis), phonics, and dictionary use. Facility in the use of all of these, singly and in combination, is stated as being necessary for a person to be an independent…

For the dyslexic and others with similar problems, a revision of the sequence of modalities known as VAKT (for visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile) might achieve more effective and more rapid remediation. The new sequence is designated as TAK/v. The subordination of the visual modality is based on the recent identification of visual processing…

THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PREREADING MEASURES OF VISUAL-MOTOR-PERCEPTUAL SKILLS AND READING ACHIEVEMENT WERE STUDIED. SUBJECTS WERE 172 FIRST GRADERS. PRETESTS AND POST-TESTS FOR WORD RECOGNITION, MOTOR COORDINATION, AND VISUAL PERCEPTION WERE ADMINISTERED. FOURTEEN VARIABLES WERE TESTED. RESULTS INDICATED THAT FORM-COPYING WAS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN…

The skills listed in this booklet may form the base guideline for organizing the total school reading program or for individual classroom teachers. Several reasons are listed for constructing a reading program around a sequential listing of skills: (1) an orderly arrangement, (2) diagnosis, (3) blueprint for organizing flexible groups, (4) goal…

Orthographic context and visual letter information were independently varied in a letter recognition task. The results contradicted the qualitative predictions of nonindependence theories of reading and are accurately described by a quantification of independence theory. (Author/CP)

A linguistic reading-typewriting program for beginning readers is described. It is based on the idea that combining reading and typing into a single program allows the child the benefit and motivation of learning to read that which he writes and to write that which he reads. It provides the child an opportunity to develop his own experience…

After a discussion of the code-emphasis versus phonics-emphasis controversy, strategies for improving the teaching of decoding skills are presented. It is recommended (1) that only those phonic generalizations that are of high utility be taught, and revisions of phonics generalizations be made to make them even more inclusive and useful; (2) that…

This book is a collection of 571 activities to reinforce reading skills. The rationale for each skill is presented as an introduction to each skill area. The rationales explain (1) why the skill needs to be reinforced, (2) how to understand the skill, and (3) what the child should be able to do after completing the activities. Chapter 1 discusses…

A study investigated the size of the perceptual span within which adults use visual information to distinguish among letters as they read. The eye movements of fifteen college students were monitored as they read passages from a cathode-ray tube. On occasional fixations, letters in specified visual regions were replaced by other letters. The…

A study examined when young children begin processing phonetic cues for reading. Subjects were kindergartners selected and classified by their ability to read preprimer and primer level words on a 40-word list--prereaders (0-1 words known), novices (1-11 words known), and veterans (11-36 words known). Subjects were given reading practice with…

The study investigated the visual discrimination abilities of children who varied in their ability to recognize words. Measures of word recognition and intelligence were obtained in 87 first-, second-, and third-grade subjects. All subjects then performed a visual discrimination task which uses artificial graphemes as stimuli. The task required…

Designed for use by literacy specialists, resource teachers, and classroom teachers, this book presents a diagnostic battery encompassing vital areas of evaluation based on research and practice, efficient in administration and interpretation, and relatively inexpensive. The third edition of the book has been revised to improve its organization;…