This handbook offers a practical and comprehensive means of teaching and monitoring children's development of phonological awareness in the classroom. The handbook points out that studies have shown clearly that even informal phonological awareness activities, such as the natural and spontaneous word play found in stories, songs, and games, can…

This study examines 240 preschool teachers' self-reported literacy beliefs and practices. Participants taught three- and four-year-olds in publicly funded preschools that are part of the Virginia Preschool Initiative program. Teachers completed a Preschool Literacy Practices Checklist that asked about their beliefs and practices regarding…

This paper explains the government of the United Kingdom's (UK) National Literacy Strategy (NLS), established in 1997 by the incoming UK government to raise standards of literacy in English elementary school over a 5- to 10-year period. The paper summarizes how international research influenced the Strategy; reports on the impact of the NLS on the…

Regardless of a child's experience with or exposure to books when he or she enters elementary school, teachers can greatly extend a child's literacy development through interactive classroom read-alouds. Reading a story aloud presents endless opportunities for related activities such as classroom discussions, role plays, shared readings, group…

This booklet offers 10 ideas to transform instruction in reading and heighten literacy for all students. The booklet states that these principles and ideas, interrelated and built one upon the other, are based on solid research findings and practical experience and that they are already being used in classrooms across the country. The 10 ideas…

Noting that early reading achievement is increasingly being named as a top priority in venues ranging from national policy arenas to local schools and school districts, this book consolidates and summarizes research on early reading achievement, making it accessible to parents, teachers, administrators, and others concerned with children's reading…

The activities in this manual are drawn from converging research evidence on the effectiveness of critical components to early reading success. These instructional elements include: phonological awareness, fluent reading in a variety of texts, comprehension strategies and vocabulary development, decoding strategies, and word analysis. The…

Homework has been a part of students' lives since the beginning of formal school in the United States; the push for increased homework has increased, fueled by rising academic standards. Noting that parents involved can have either a positive or a negative influence on the value of homework, this booklet, in both English and Spanish, offers…

This book is designed to communicate findings of a research synthesis investigating the bases of reading failure and the curricular and instructional basics to help guide the design and advancement of children's reading performance. It provides in-depth analyses and discussion of six areas of reading, summarizing what the research tells about…

Phonetic content/handwriting instruction begins by teaching the sounds of, and letter formation for the 70 "Orton" phonograms which are the commonly-used correct spelling patterns for the 45 sounds of English speech. The purpose for teaching the sound/symbol relationship first in isolation, without key words or pictures (explicitly), is to give…

Literacy development begins in the very early stages of childhood, even though the activities of young children may not seem related to reading and writing. In 1966, New Zealand researcher Marie Clay introduced the term "emergent literacy" to describe the behaviors seen in young children when they use books and writing materials to…

This book about reading tracks and questions the 30-year campaign that has focused on testing, accountability, and federalization of education to demonstrate that it is not just whole language advocates who are having problems with the National Reading Panel report and the new education laws. The book gathers together a comprehensive collection of…

Intended for practitioners, this is the first booklet in the Research-Based Practices in Early Reading series published by the Regional Educational Laboratory at Pacific Resources for Education and Learning. The 31-page booklet summarizes research on fluency and fluency instruction and describes strategies for fluency instruction. It also explains…

This book suggests that, powered by the dynamics of the economy, the reading crusade of Americans, a blueprint for action, and unprecedented momentum, a significant reading breakthrough in reading achievement is within reach in the United States. By "starting early," the roots of reading take hold well before children go to school; and by…

This paper urges primary grade teachers to be certain that pupils are off to a good start in reading. A fundamental goal of beginning reading instruction should be to move each child toward the understanding that readers reconstruct texts by using multiple strategies to interpret the language encoded in print and, at the same time, to make it…