A simple, but useful, handout given to mothers of young children can greatly increase the likelihood that they will present aspects of emergent literacy in their homes. The concept of emergent literacy states that all literacy learning begins in infancy and proceeds forward from that point, and that all of the literacy skills of oral language,…

Analysis of research literature shows both important commonalities and differences between how children learn to read and how adults can be taught to read in literacy programs. Both the narrow and broad definitions of literacy are legitimate for specific purposes. The narrow definition identifies literacy acquisition with learning how the writing…

This paper presents the results of a document and interview analysis focusing on the standards and frameworks materials that have been newly developed for teachers and administrators in New York to determine the fit between these guidelines and the developing sociocultural concept of curriculum as "conversation" within the domains of…

This study analyzed the effects of a kindergarten phonological awareness training program, STeps Into Reading (STIR) on the number of special education referrals, classifications, and retentions in a rural elementary school in New York. These numbers were compared prior to and after the program's implementation. STIR is based on research in the…

This study examined the development of metaprocessing abilities in children with varying degrees of language abilities and sought to determine if the patterns of metaprocessing development that emerged were similar for these ability groups. Subjects were 141 children ages 4-5 at the beginning of the study, divided into a control group, a low…

This paper describes research that was conducted in three phases between 1989-1990 to develop a 3-month early reading program for the use of day care centers in urban poor communities. The research meant to promote early literacy skills in a manner relevant to the children by using language with which they are comfortable and materials that are…

Designed to help parents in their important role as their children's most powerful guide to reading and learning, this book contains directions, guidelines, and activities to build a positive environment and a relationship that promotes learning. Chapter titles are: (1) Helping Children with Reading and Learning; (2) Creating Interest and Positive…

A longitudinal study examined the contributions of early language ability, home characteristics, and emerging knowledge about literacy to children's later decoding and comprehension ability. The study followed 127 children from the beginning of kindergarten to the end of grade 3 (when 83 were left). Subjects attended schools in a small, rural,…

A Language Experience Approach (LEA) to reading is based on the premise that a child's thinking naturally leads to talking, writing, and eventually reading. Information technologies offer powerful support for learning, but teachers and parents must learn to use these technologies effectively. Three types of computer applications that are…

This Kiwanis Club project kit contains ideas and instructions for implementing programs that meet local needs in the areas of maternal and infant health, child care and development, parenting, and safety and pediatric trauma. The kit begins with an overview that explains how to assess need and how to plan, implement, and evaluate a project. Tip…

This curriculum guide, written by experienced teachers of adults in Philadelphia, describes a full curriculum for intermediate-level adult literacy students (students who have basic reading skills). The curriculum is based on the assumption that adult students deserve a broad, well-rounded education. The guide also discusses teaching techniques…

A study was conducted to shed light on the influence which children's developmental stage in learning to read and the reading instruction they receive have on first-graders' reading concepts. The study provided descriptive information to answer the following questions: (1) Do children from literature-based and skill-based instructional settings…

Drawing on an array of research on the nature and development of reading proficiency, this book argues that educators need not remain trapped in the phonics versus teaching-for-meaning dilemma and offers instructional alternatives. The book proposes that phonics can work together with the whole language approach to reading and provides an…

The purpose of this booklet is to disseminate theoretical ideas and practical strategies concerning whole language so that learning for children and practice for teaching may be enlightened and improved. Chapters include: "Whole Language Learning" (William McCarthy and Alicia Sutton); "Planning the Program and Organizing the Classroom" (Marilyn…

The paper describes the Writing to Read instructional system and its implementation in five Albuquerque (New Mexico) public schools with kindergarten, first grade, and special education students. The Writing to Read System is a multisensory, multimedia literacy program and involves five types of materials: a computer-based instructional program;…