This literature-based review examines the relationship between the acquisition of segmental awareness and the acquisition of alphabetic literacy. Cited studies show that the segmental analysis ability of most dyslexics is very poor and suggest one factor may be related to the conscious representation of speech on which the analytic capacity…

Investigates the reliability and validity of tests that have been used to operationalize the concept of phonemic awareness. Indicates that a combination of two tests, one related to each factor, has greater predictive validity for the beginning steps in reading acquisition than does one test alone. (JK)

Responding to a call to action by California's state leaders to make reading instruction in the early grades a top priority in the public schools, this booklet discusses California's new K-3 reading program. It begins with a discussion of what prompted this new focus on reading, and then discusses the four major elements of a balanced reading…

An action research project described a program for improving reading readiness and language arts skills through phonemic awareness. The targeted population consisted of kindergarten students in a heterogeneous mix of upper middle class, middle class, working class, and low income families located in central Illinois. Data revealed that students…

This book, one of four in the Teaching Reading Collection, presents the "best of the best" classroom-tested ideas, approaches, and practical applications for helping students learn about words. The articles have been drawn from the journal "The Reading Teacher" from 1993-1999. The ideas and strategies are intended to provide possible building…

A study focused on a comparison of phonemic awareness skills between kindergarten students from English-speaking and non-English-speaking homes. The subjects, 267 kindergarten students in a major urban school system south of Boston, Massachusetts, participated in a phonemic awareness development program over a four-month period. The participants…

A balanced, systematic, instructional reading program was designed to increase word recognition in beginning readers. The targeted population consisted of first graders in an upper middle class community located in the Chicago suburbs. The lack of word recognition was documented through assessments revealing students' phonemic awareness, reading…

Addressing current research on the foundational skills of reading for the state of Alaska, this booklet is designed to get the most current information available about how children learn to read into the hands of everyone who can help children learn and grow as readers. It outlines previously researched core abilities including phonemic awareness,…

One hundred thirteen kindergartners and first graders completed phonological awareness (PA) tasks designed to separate task difficulty from linguistic complexity. Comparison of these results with measures of early literacy suggests that PA measured by differences in linguistic complexity seems more closely related to the single factor on which…

A follow-up study of 62 children in grades 1 and 2 instructed in phonemic awareness in preschool showed that, compared with 53 controls, trained children were superior in nonword reading 2 and 3 years later and in reading comprehension at 3 years. A supplemental study supported these results. (SLD)

Two experiments examined the role of phonemic processing in disabled readers. The first involved disabled and nondisabled second and fourth grade readers' ability to identify and discriminate phonemes. The second examined the effect of phonemic stimuli training on disabled readers who performed poorly in the first experiment. Training…

Two studies with 33 reading-disabled and 31 non-reading-disabled second through fourth graders indicate that young disabled readers may not be able to hold phonemic information in their memories long enough to make adequate discrimination of phonological information within syllables. (SLD)

Notes the California's Reading Task Force's heavy emphasis on phonemic awareness (PA) evaluation and training. Argues that although evidence shows that phonemic awareness will emerge by simply reading, California's school libraries--ranked near last in the nation--would require a massive commitment to rise to the task. Argues (in an ironic tone)…

French-speaking hearing and deaf children, ranging in age from 6-14 years were required to spell words including phoneme-to-grapheme correspondences that were either statistically dominant or nondominant. Of interest was whether the nature of linguistic and the precocity of such experience determines accuracy in the use of phoneme-to-grapheme…

This study compared the use of two supplemental balanced and strategic reading interventions that targeted the decoding, fluency, and reading comprehension of upper-elementary and middle school students with reading disabilities (RD). All students had significant delays in decoding, fluency, comprehension, and language processing. Two comparable,…