This introductory article discusses the current status of our knowledge as well as critical research needs in the earliest stages of literacy, before formal schooling begins. It summarizes articles addressing this topic that are based on a three-day workshop on emergent and early literacy learning held in September, 2001. (Contains three…

Flannelboards have been a storytime staple for years in school and public libraries. The flannelboard, or feltboard as it often is called, is a great tool to help children build early literacy skills. Reading research tells us that reading aloud is most effective when it is an interactive experience between the reader and the child. Flannelboard…

Kindergarten students at risk for reading difficulties who received beginning reading instruction in Spanish demonstrated mixed results following supplemental instruction from their classroom teachers when compared to two other groups: typically achieving peers in the same school and at-risk students in a control school. Following the…

Responding to a recent U.S. survey that indicated declines in pleasure reading, the author asks, "Are adults reading less or are they just reading differently?" From this springboard, she goes on to discuss trends in early literacy and elementary education, along with different types of literate behaviors. By looking at the increasing availability…

Two studies investigated whether knowledge of specific letter-sound correspondences is a necessary precursor of children's ability to isolate phonemes in speech. In both studies, Czech and English children reliably isolated phonemes for which they did not know the corresponding letter. These data refute the idea that phoneme manipulation ability…

Several research studies linking early phonemic awareness to the prevention of later reading difficulties strongly suggest that phoneme segmentation and blending, rather than rhyming and alliteration abilities, are the key aspects of phonemic awareness that are related to the prevention of difficulties. Yet there is a persistent belief among many…

The purpose of this case study is to describe the challenges one coach faced during the initial implementation of a coaching initiative involving 33 teachers in an urban, high-poverty elementary school. Reading coaches are increasingly expected to play a key role in the professional development efforts to improve reading instruction in order to…

"DaisyQuest" is a software bundle that offers computer-assisted instruction in phonological awareness, targeting children aged three to seven years. The instructional activities, framed in a fairy tale involving a search for a friendly dragon named Daisy, teach children how to recognize words that rhyme; words that have the same…

This study explored the development of children's early understanding of visual and orthographic aspects of print and how this is related to early reading acquisition. A total of 474 children, ages 48 to 83 months, completed standardized measures of phonological awareness and early reading skills. They also completed experimental tasks that tapped…

Assessment of student performance is critical for developing effective instructional policy and designing programs responsive to individual students' needs. To gauge the adequacy of available assessment tools for achieving these ends, the Reading First Assessment Committee (RFAC) developed criteria for evaluating the adequacy of reading measures…

First-grade children's reading, writing, and spelling competencies in 2 different instructional contexts for teaching phonics were examined. Reading, writing, and spelling abilities were measured at the beginning, middle, and end of 1st grade. Children were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatments designed to teach grapheme-phoneme correspondences,…

Homeschooling is a growing phenomenon worldwide and especially across the United States. It is not fully understood yet as to what comprises the myriad of ethnological components in this educational choice by parents. To build upon existing theory, this study looked at the following ethnological factors; regional location of a family's home within…

A first-grade teacher used comic books as read-alouds during her implementation of a reading/writing workshop. The students, primarily English-language learners, were able to make use of this medium in order to learn new reading practices. The teacher used the comics to teach multiple aspects of various reading processes such as reading with an…

The increasing number of computerized storybooks now commercially available to teachers raises important questions about appropriate ways to make use of them in classrooms. This instructional resource offers suggestions that will help classroom teachers effectively incorporate these powerful resources into their instruction. It also summarizes…

This digest provides basic information on phonological awareness in the process of learning to read for students with learning disabilities. It considers how phonological awareness fits into this process and the special problems experienced by children with learning disabilities or from culturally diverse backgrounds. Suggestions for teaching…