Developed for the America Reads initiative, this paper presents the LEARNS (Linking Education and America Reads through National Service) Literacy Assessment Profile (LLAP), a student assessment system that is designed to improve providers' ability to deliver high quality literacy programs to students, assess students' literacy understanding, set…

A study examined the opportunities provided by several types of text for beginning readers to learn about three aspects of written English: (1) consistent, common letter-sound patterns; (2) the most frequent words; and (3) the contexts of sentences and texts. Results indicate that texts based on high-frequency words give beginning readers ample…

A study analyzed word recognition instruction in four first-grade classrooms to begin to identify the instructional practices that best foster learning to read words for particular profiles of children. The study was based on the question of which, and how many, word-recognition strategies should be taught to first-grade children. Subjects were…

Much is written and spoken about in terms of whole language versus phonics in early reading instruction in the public schools, but the issue between whole language versus phonics probably pertains to what is needed by individual pupils. There are advantages as well as disadvantages for whole language approaches in reading instruction. Needs differ…

Reports a study of fourteen word lists and proposes a basic list of 240 starter words. (TO)

Presents a sequence for teaching letters based on graphic features; initial and final frequency; the order children learn pronunciation; the ease they can learn to copy, write, and name letters; and phonological differences among sounds letters represent. (TO)

Summarizes two recent research studies dealing with beginning reading behaviors of low socioeconomic level kindergarten children: (1) the effects of race of story book character on story recall and identification of Black and White children; and (2) the effects of different reinforcers and operant level on reading task behavior. (JM)

Presents results of a study of the phonological, morphological, and syntactical oral language patterns of disadvantaged children of New Orleans. Many of the findings are relevant to beginning reading instruction. (TO)

Stresses the importance of careful diagnosis for each child, concluding that by working with such related skills as listening comprehension, spatial relations, and auditory association the overall effectiveness of a reading program for spanish-speaking children may be increased significantly. (RB)

Examines basic attitudes of the teacher toward teaching reading. (RK)

Evaluates some of the 100 different teaching approaches to beginning reading and reading theory. (Author/RB)

General conclusion is that children of 5 to 7 years of age seem unlikely to be able to respond to teaching methods based on the grammatical structure of sentences. (Author/MB)