Reports on a study of Grade 5 children who had been trained in phoneme identity six years earlier. Results reveal that these children were superior to untrained controls on irregular word reading and on a composite list of nonwords, regular words, and irregular words. Preschool instruction in phonemic structure had modest but detectable effects on…

Examines three Swedish research projects concerning how reading and writing are viewed in the preschool context. Finds that linguistic awareness is a precondition, stimulating linguistic awareness fosters literacy development, linguistic awareness activities are common in preschools, and attitudes have changed about when and how young children…

A study explored the effectiveness and feasibility of phonological awareness (PA) training with and without beginning decoding components for 25 kindergartners with disabilities in inclusive schools. Students with special needs participating in PA with beginning decoding instruction did better than those just receiving PA and controls. (Contains…

Presents activities for teaching two basic phonemic awareness tasks to young children who are learning to read. Oral blending exercises help children hear how sounds are put together to make words so they can begin sounding out words independently as they read. Oral segmentation activities help children separate words into sounds so they can build…

Describes various methods the authors (2 Reading Recovery and Title I reading teachers) use to incorporate a single computer effectively in reading and writing activities with small groups (6 children or fewer) of first-grade students. Describes a full circle from simple talking books (in Hyperstudio) for the students to read, to children…

Focuses on using poetry to stimulate children's emergent literacy. Contends that poetry stimulates many areas of development and inspires children's desire to understand how words are spoken, written, and read. Advises teachers on how to bring poetry to the classroom through daily activities such as snack time, field trips, and routine…

Presents suggestions for early-childhood professionals to encourage reading aloud to children at home, including allowing parents opportunities to watch caregivers read with their children. Includes a list of benefits of reading aloud, a bibliography of read-aloud books, and sample book-reading project questionnaire. (LBT)

When alphabet instruction is removed from the meaningful context of written language, children receive a distorted message about the purpose and importance of letters in isolation. Activities in a kindergarten classroom designed to promote children's growth as readers and writers should present written language as whole and meaningful, rather than…

Developed and performed a formative evaluation of a computer assisted tutoring program to help students experiencing problems learning to read. Initial findings with 12 tutors and 25 first and second graders provide support for developing a program designed with "just in time" support for tutors and interactive activities for tutees based on…

The first-grade components of three textbook programs--mainstream basal, combined phonics and literature, and phonics emphasis--were compared on cognitive load (e.g., number of different words) and linguistic content (e.g., number of monosyllabic, simple vowel words). Three levels of three components of a program--literature anthologies, decodable…

The authors examined the views of parents and teachers regarding beginning reading instruction using the questionnaire Approaches to Beginning Reading and Reading Instruction (ABRRI). Parents also rated the importance of 9 developmental areas, including literacy, and the extent to which home and school were responsible for each. Two components…

Guided reading lessons are a powerful context for beginning reading instruction, particularly for children who struggle with initial literacy learning. Providing immediate responses to students' oral reading of partially familiar texts requires teachers to make complex and highly skilled decisions. This decision process is based on knowledge of…

This study examined the practices of effective kindergarten programs with respect to literacy instruction so as to provide models for schools working to educate large populations of at-risk students. Three kindergarten programs participated. Research methods included observations of reading instruction and intervention programs and survey and…

This article explores the styles of word reading and word spelling used by beginning readers in the French language. The aim of the study was to find out whether "sub-lexical" and "lexical" styles of reliance, which has been observed in children learning to read and spell in English, exists in French, a language with a more transparent…

Recent advances concerning emerging/beginning reading skills, positive behavioral support (PBS), and three-tiered schoolwide prevention models combined with federal mandates (i.e., IDEA and No Child Left Behind) have stimulated interest in providing early and intensive instructional intervention services to children at risk for reading and…