This report, the sixth in a series developed by the Education Commission of the States (ECS) examining the impact of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act 2001, discusses Reading First, which replaces the Reading Excellence Act. The report states that Reading First, a voluntary program, aims at having all children achieve reading proficiency by the…

At a literacy conference in December 1998, British Prime Minister Tony Blair defined phonics as "the skilled process of teaching children how the 44 sounds in the English language are represented by a letter or group of letters." But 4 years down the track, several recent reports from both national and international bodies continue to…

The teaching of phonics, the relationship of sounds to letters in an alphabetic language like English, is important for success in learning to read competently. Noting that there continues to be much debate as to what constitutes good phonics instruction, this paper presents a rather simple but basically sound and inexpensive approach for teaching…

Indiana's Early Intervention Grant Program (EIGP) provides funding for Reading Recovery and other early interventions focused on improvement in early reading programs (Grades 1-5). This resource guide provides information that schools in Indiana can use to plan for proposals for EIGP and other grant programs, such as comprehensive school reform…

There is a convergence of research evidence pointing to the critical role good phonics decoding skills play in good reading; however, there is no convergence in the research on precise development of reading strategies or on types, intensity, or duration of appropriate phonics instruction. Five unscientific assertions are often cited in phonics…

Recommends the association of teachers and children in teacher education courses to get to know each other by working together, not as teachers and pupils, but as learners together. (Author/RB)

Presents i.t.a. in a way that enables a teacher to learn the i.t.a. code individually and describes i.t.a. on the basis of American pronunciation. (TO)

Discusses what studies of i.t.a. throughout the past eleven years have revealed for teachers and researchers in the field of reading. (TO)

Discusses the difficulties children have in learning traditional orthography in reading instruction and presents the English-Unifon Alphabet as a solution, citing five advantages of using this single sound-symbol system. (RB)

Discusses the use of linguistic resources the child has already acquired when he comes to school in helping him learn to read and communicate effectively. (Author/RB)

Offers guidelines for helping children produce their own alphabet books. (FL)