Intended for teachers and administrators, this book examines systematic observation of reading behaviors and reading recovery procedures to help children with reading problems. Part one deals with systematic observation, beginning with a discussion of the reading process and reading programs. Following that, it describes the use of the diagnostic…

This paper, presented at a 1976 conference on the theory and practice of beginning reading instruction, introduces the theory that reading development occurs in stages patterned after Piaget's cognitive development stages. The stages include the prereading stage (until the age of six years); the decoding stage (first/second grade); the stage of…

The primary thesis of the "audread" model of language development is that children in a literate society first learn to think, then they learn to communicate and receive thoughts through oral language, and then they learn to communicate through written language (graphic representations). Four projects based on concepts from the audread…

Some basic pattern-analyzing functions that occur during the reading process are described in this paper. The functions deal mainly with the analysis of typographical factors such as word shape, spacing, and orientation, but they also interact with contextual variables. The research interpreted in the paper proposes an attentional model of reading…

The dependence of reading on speech is based on three assumptions: speech is the primary language system, acquired naturally without direct instruction; alphabetic writing systems are more or less phonetic representations of oral language; and speech appears to be an essential foundation for the acquisition of reading ability. By presupposing…

An exploration of specific deficits of learning disabled children, especially in the auditory system, is presented in this paper. Disorders of attention, perception, phonemic and visual discrimination, memory, and symbolization and conceptualization are considered. The paper develops several questions for teachers of learning disabled children to…

This paper discusses some specific issues about testing and relates the discussion to reading teachers and reading instruction. The issues that are discussed include the goals, criteria, and methods of classroom assessment. The paper concludes that teachers need to learn more about the process of assessment in order to use tests effectively, and…

Kindergarten teachers should be concerned with the development of the child physically, psychologically, and socially. The development of readiness for reading should be part of the child's day-by-day activities in the kindergarten. Structured prereading activities should be conducted in informal, game-like ways. They should involve the active…

Four elements are essential for efficient, effective, and rewarding teaching of beginning reading. The first is the use of children's key vocabulary. Children are asked, in a prescribed fashion, what their very best word is of the moment. The teacher prints it in a prescribed fashion and uses it to help children acquire one-to-one correspondence…

The research described in this report is the first part of an attempt to study the development of both overall reading ability and verbal encoding efficiency in an effort to see how the two are related. The report proposes a theory of prerequisite or hierarchical relationships and suggests that there may be differences between performance of a…

A study examined the relationships between cognitive tasks and social skills that are relevant to prereading or beginning reading instruction by observing lessons given to small groups of children. Four preschool children--one with many prereading skills and three with few skills--participated in the study. Student-teacher interaction that…

The failure of many beginning reading students to become efficient or enthusiastic readers is due to mistaken views of the reading process that cause teachers to stress isolated reading skills and error-free oral reading, rather than focusing on children's ability to read with understanding. Teachers who want to teach differently must take an…

Designed to explore new reading readiness predictors that are not found extensively in the more commonly used commercial group tests and to develop new indices to measure the level of reading readiness of beginning first graders, a study was undertaken involving 115 children. The factor of sex in reading readiness was also investigated. An…

Storytelling and folktales have a vital role in fostering children's understanding of the possibilities of language. In addition to bringing people together, the telling of stories and folktales provides listeners the opportunity to belong briefly to other cultures and other times, fosters young children's growth beyond their naturally egocentric…

THE CONTENT OF THE VISUAL-LANGUAGE READING SERIES WHICH CAPITALIZES ON THE COPY MACHINE, OVERHEAD PROJECTOR, AND TRANSPARENCIES IS EXAMINED. THE RATIONALE IS BUILT AROUND THE MINIMIZING OF INITIAL DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING TO READ, CONTROLLING THE EARLY FORMATION OF DESIRED READING AND WORD-ATTACK HABITS, MEETING A WIDE RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL…