This paper argues that the standards for reporting and interpreting educational research should be raised. It suggests the need for a higher standard is urgent in fields such as beginning reading, in which public interest is intense, because findings can quickly become distorted or misinterpreted and enshrined through misinformed policy decisions.…

The "shared book experience," a teaching model developed in New Zealand to introduce Pacific Island children to literacy education, is described. The model, based on use of popular children's books, teaches children to master literacy skills the way they master spoken language. Research on early pre-reading behavior is discussed. (PP)

Describes a summer remedial reading program for first-grade students. Includes discussions of the activities and strategies used to promote comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary development. (FL)

Offers selected ERIC references on the application of Piagetian theory and the use of Piagetian tasks in beginning reading/language arts instruction. (RL)

Compares the effects of DISTAR, Action Reading, and a cognitive development approach on the reading readiness and mathematical achievement of kindergarten children. Concludes that DISTAR was superior to the other programs on all variables. (FL)

Contributors discuss ways to introduce and motivate: (1) beginning reading, (2) repeated readings in the remedial classroom, (3) vision and cognitive style, (4) guidelines for a reading aloud program, and (5) good beginnings for potential reading teachers. (FL)

Suggestions from eight contributors include the following: how to use pattern books with beginning readers, how to develop a locally relevant basic sight word list, how to use learning styles in individualizing instruction, and how to personalize handouts. (FL)

Reports an investigation of the most appropriate tutorial setting for the generation of natural urban child language for experience stories. Concludes that the condition that tapped the most profuse linguistic performance for student-created reading material among Black sixth grade students was tutoring by a White adult professional teacher. (FL)

Cites the case of Hebrew learning in Israel to show that, contrary to popular belief, the complexity of grapho-phonetic relationships is a minor or nonexistent factor in learning difficulties. (FL)

An experiment in which teachers attempted to read basal readers encoded in Greek orthography suggests that using such materials helps teachers consider ways of fostering reading strategies, think about the nature of reading as a psycholinguistic process, and remember how it feels to be a beginning reader. (GT)

Twenty at-risk first graders received 30 minutes of individual instruction from community tutors four days a week for up to 23 weeks. Subjects outperformed the control group on all reading, decoding, spelling and segmenting, and writing measures. Tutors who implemented the program with a high degree of fidelity achieved significant effect sizes in…

Using a multiple baseline across students design, the effects of an integrated picture mnemonic strategy on the letter-sound acquisition of three transitional first-grade students with special needs were investigated. Follow-up data indicated the method was an effective instructional technique and that results were maintained over time. (Author/DB)

Principles of "shared reading," in which a book is read by the teacher, then by teacher and students together, and then by the students independently, are discussed and applied to language acquisition and reading instruction of deaf and hearing impaired children. Students use the book to help them write and compare English and American…