Based on its use with first graders in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for an eleven year period, the Initial Teaching Alphabet (i.t.a.) appears to have a number of advantages for reading instruction. These years of research have indicated that the advantages of i.t.a. are that it permits the child to: advance more rapidly in reading and writing…

Four paradoxes appear in research on learning to read: (1) the ability to name letters is a good predictor of reading readiness, yet letter-naming training does not help children learn how to read; (2) visual discrimination is often better in poor readers than in good readers; (3) learning to read two languages is easier than learning to read one;…

A series of programs in Claiborne County, Mississippi, designed to improve interpersonal relations and preschool and first-grade reading instruction was evaluated. Part of a plan designed to aid majority Negro rural isolated school districts, these programs consisted of (1) inservice training for teachers, (2) a preschool readiness program using…

The Southwest Regional Laboratory for Educational Research and Development developed an exportable tutorial program whereby school personnel can train older students or adult nonprofessionals to tutor kindergarten children in reading. The initial program was tried out in a middle-income suburban district near Los Angeles. Nine kindergarten…

This booklet is written for use in university and college courses on the teaching of reading in the elementary grades. It is also written to assist supervisors, teachers, teacher assistants, and student teachers in knowing what to teach in reading and in planning activities to help children learn to read to their maximum potential. Parents also…

As part of an effort to help coordinate information flow (and thus, future research activities), this fourth Inventory of Projects and Activities in Reading and English continues to report (1) action programs seeking to exploit advances in linguistic science and related fields, (2) projects seeking to explore ways of handling the special language…

The determination of the relationships among auditory discrimination ability, social class and age group differences, reading skill ability, and visual perceptual skills was the objective of this study. Fifteen New York City public schools provided 180 first, third, and fifth grade white and black males from lower and middle socioeconomic status…

Examines the nature of children's sense of theme in narratives as it develops over three age levels--kindergarten, second grade, and fourth grade--and investigates the role of literature in that development. Concludes that thematic identification is an early developmental strategy. (MM)

Criticizes the "project" approach to reading instruction, where beginning reading students are supposed to learn the skills it takes to find out information for themselves by reading from sources. Points out that a large number of ill-defined skills which are not taught explicitly are required to sucessfully complete a project. (SKC)

Shares the experiences of a teacher educator who, upon teaching language arts every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon for a year, observed numerous reading and writing language experiences. (HOD)

This book for beginning readers highlights Robert Mazibuko, the "Tree Man," who spent his life teaching people how to enrich the soil and plant vegetables and trees. Born in South Africa in 1904, he lived on a farm, learning to work with livestock, raise crops, and share with the community. In college, his professor of agriculture…

This executive summary discusses our current understanding of the difficulties that children with reading/learning disabilities encounter as they start down the road to reading and summarizes research on early identification and intervention. The focus is on children in kindergarten through second grade. Findings from the analysis indicate: (1)…

This preschool activity book and kindergarten activity book set provide a curriculum of 114 activities to develop emergent literacy skills in preschool and kindergarten children. The curriculum is based on research findings and is intended to be ecologically valid, embedding activities into developmentally appropriate, daily classroom routines and…

"Between the Lions" is a Public Broadcasting System program promoting literacy for children ages 4 through 7 years combining state-of-the-art puppetry, animation, live action, and music to achieve its mission of helping young children learn to read. This guide, in English- and Spanish-language versions, provides literacy activities for…

Because of the variation in support for literacy development in different homes, many children need high-quality preschool and school environments and excellent primary instruction to be sure of reading success. This Spanish-language Digest discusses the research on preschool literacy environments and their contributions to reading skills…