The student reader-workbook, third part of the "Chaa'" series, presents activities for the student to do orally and in writing. Pages are divided into four frames with the intention of completing each frame before continuing to the next frame in sequence. To allow children an opportunity to decode words at an early age, the code emphasis (phonics)…

Beginning first grade readers were able to successfully transfer from a structured programed approach to an individualized approach to reading. (JH)

Compilation of a list of the most common phrases used in reading was begun with the rationale that the quick recognition of phrases would facilitate reading comprehension. These first efforts showed that categorizing phrases by parts of speech did not provide acceptable levels of accuracy. The system that was effective, however, used a computer…

This study examined the relationship between the oral language fluency of different socioeconomic status (SES) children entering first grade and their success in learning to read, as measured at the end of the school year. Complete data were obtained from 27 upper, 24 middle, and 23 lower SES level students. Oral language samples were recorded in…

An examination and evaluation of the papers presented at the Pittsburgh conference on the theory and practice of beginning reading instruction shows that there is little interaction between basic research in reading and applied work on reading instruction. Classroom instruction relies more on intuition and experience than on laboratory research,…

Greater understanding of reading can come about only after more basic reading research has been accomplished. Basic research should focus on what constitutes good reading, which means that the type of research that will identify characteristics of good reading must be a detailed assessment of variable effects on reading behaviors (not whether…

Recent research has confirmed that hemispheric patterns of dominance are related to reading skills. Reading is more complex than speech because it includes a visuo-spatial element. In the great majority of people, the left hemisphere deals with speech and sequencing skills. Visual matching of printed words requires the spatial skills of the right…

An attempt to build on oral language programs--such as the language experience approach--by adding a written language component and a phonics component, to make transition to reading more meaningful and reading skill development more systematic, was undertaken in the study described here. The program, called DIREKT, was conducted by two…

Part of the Grade Teacher special report, "Linguistics and the Language Arts

The child approaching reading for the first time comes well-equipped with developmental tools to lighten the task. Linguistically speaking, in addition to some decoding skills, the child has a full-blown syntactic system consisting of the basic syntactic forms, though some of the more intricate forms will not be mastered until much later.…

Sixty-six children from average and low-ability reading groups in grades one through five participated in a study of the effects of vocabulary instruction on reading comprehension. The children were pretested for their ability to identify words and to supply meanings for the new vocabulary words in the next basal reader story they encountered. The…

Information is given in this booklet on how to implement a language experience approach to reading readiness instruction in the kindergarten based on the experiences of teachers in the Burrillville Reading Observes Necessary Communication Objectives and Skills (BRONCOS) project, a Right to Read program in Burrillville, Rhode Island. An…