To increase the reading achievement of a group of first grade students expected to experience reading difficulties during their first grade year, a practicum study involved the collaboration of a school psychologist with teachers, parents, and fifth graders (in cross age tutoring) to provide services emphasizing holistic, literature-based…

A study examined the relationship between reading instruction method, sex of learner, word learning proficiency and reading achievement in the first grade. Subjects were 78 males and 88 females chosen from two white, middle class suburban schools, one having a sight vocabulary instruction program, the other a phonic basal program. Students were…

This paper describes a comprehensive first grade language curriculum which views the acquisition of literacy as a whole language process. The paper explains how to configure program elements to provide direct instruction, time-on-task, and self-directed learning. The manner, timing, method of instruction, and specifics of the contribution of each…

Designed for use by parents of preschoolers participating in the Bringing Out Head Start Talents (BOHST) project, nine booklets present home activities intended to fit into the parent's and child's normal routines. Each booklet addresses a separate talent area: intellectual, creativity, leadership, art, music, reading, math, science, and…

A study examined how word recognition automaticity develops and its relationship to the acquisition of comprehension skill. Two different methods for teaching reading were used: (1) a global method using the Houghton Mifflin basal reading program, and (2) a code method using the New Reading System, which emphasizes word decoding skills along with…

Six eclectic basal readers were evaluated to determine what basal readiness programs are teaching kindergarten and early first grade children. Each lesson was analyzed to discover the main purpose of instruction as stated in an objective or skill and the actual requirements placed upon the child during instruction. Using the recommendations from…

A creative visualization approach to spelling and word recognition has been tried successfully with both adults and children. Unlike the traditional phonic approach to spelling, which is a left brain, analytical approach, the creative visualization approach uses the right brain. In addition, the approach eliminates the unpleasant associations with…

This "kit" consists of 145 activities that teach and reinforce specific pre-reading and beginning reading skills; it has been developed to help the primary grade teacher in recognizing and developing skills that assure each child's continuous reading progress. Part One explains how pre-reading skills are developing reading skills in the…

The All Day Kindergarten (ADK) Program of the Columbus (Ohio) Public Schools was established to provide a full day of instruction for underachieving kindergarten pupils. The program concentrated on preparing pupils for successful learning experiences in first grade by providing them with an extra half day of instruction. The program served 571…

Noting that the ways children encounter and use print in the classroom can be examined as surface and organizing content of curriculum, this article provides descriptions of innovative uses of print in the kindergarten and elementary school classroom. Curriculum "surface content" includes activities, use of classroom space, display, and…

Children in Columbus, Ohio public schools participated in two nontraditional kindergarten programs during the 1986-1987 school year. Evaluations of the programs were undertaken to determine their success. One program involved a full day kindergarten that featured opportunities for increased personal and social development, as well as instruction…

The second volume of this final report of a large study which detailed the day-to-day working of, and student response to, two philosophically different approaches to reading readiness as they were used in six Philadelphia kindergartens reports on the "traditional" approach. The background section distinguishes the traditional approach by its use…

A study explored the relationship between social/cultural control and the way knowledge is structured and presented in schools. "Critical literacy" was defined as the perception of meaning within the total context of the relevant experiences of the reader. The "dilemmas of schooling" language developed by A. Berlak and H. Berlak was used to…

A modified impress approach to teaching reading has been successfully used in a program involving first grade students. The program was multisensory and included aural, oral, visual, and kinesthetic learning experiences gained through listening, group discussions, dramatic play, art activities, audience reading, and recorded oral reading. These…

Research on children's oral reading errors provides evidence that both top down and bottom up processes interactively contribute to reading. Syntactic and semantic expectations are sources of information for top down processing, while knowledge of letter-sound relations provides information for bottom up processing. As children learn to read,…