Presents research findings about the development of metalinguistic awareness (MLA) in young children. Discusses MLA and reading readiness, and the implications for beginning reading instruction. Suggests various reading methods which allow children with both high and low levels of MLA to develop literacy. (MM)

Suggests that learning the reasons for and uses of literacy is important for beginning readers. Describes a series of activities, based on practices used in adult literacy programs, that were designed to make first graders aware of the reasons for reading and writing. (ARH)

This paper studied interactive-compensatory predictions in relation to comprehension. It was suggested that when reading predictable text, attention of both good and poor readers is available for comprehension processing but for different reasons: good readers use their context-free word recognition skills, and poor readers use repetitive sentence…

Eleven preschoolers and 19 kindergartners were tested for alphabet knowledge, metalinguistic awareness, ability to spell 10 words, and ability to read either their own or the conventional spellings of those 10 words. Findings are presented. (Author/MT)

A prereading model based on a 9-month longitudinal study of 45 deaf preschool children from state residential schools is presented. The model contends that reading can be initiated by giving deaf children opportunities to match their internalized manual language to printed words, stressing reading-related activities involving parents, teachers,…

Reports an experiment on the rapid naming of printed letter strings by third- and fifth-grade Yugoslavian children. As is consistent with previous experiments on adults, the phonologically ambiguous form of a word or pseudoword was named much more slowly than the phonologically unambiguous form. (Author/BE)

Describes the current situation in phonics instruction, citing recent studies supporting its effectiveness. (FL)

Proposes a theory to explain why writing and reading contribute to growth in each other--both are compositional in nature or require the reader/writer to arrange responses to form a coherent whole. (AEA)

A comparison of oral and written language in six deaf infants from ages one and two for periods of four and five years indicated that written language acquisition is not dependent on oral language; that written language teaching can be initiated at about one year, and that written language is easy to learn. (Author/CL)

Reports on a study that investigated the ability of second grade students to listen to, infer, and produce the correct pronuciations of high-frequency words in a story-like context. (FL)

Reports the findings of a study that sought (1) to confirm for Australian children the pattern of print concept acquisition noted in North America and New Zealand and (2) to determine whether children of varying reading proficiency can be differentiated in terms of their print concepts. (FL)

Investigated the reading preferences of beginning readers in adult basic education (ABE) classes. Results indicated that ABE students want to read a variety of materials for a variety of reasons. Teachers should search for methods that will allow beginning readers to experience immediate success and joy in reading. (JOW)

The "Book Buddies" manual and "Emergent Reader" training videos provide comprehensive and easy-to-implement guidelines for setting up and running a successful tutorial program in the early grades. Portraying the "Book Buddies" model in practice, this 44-minute videotape, entitled "Emergent Reader--Mid-Year"…

This guide presents information and ideas to help parents support their children as they grow into readers. It provides literacy-building activities that parents can use to help their children acquire a solid foundation for learning to read and mastering other academic subjects. The guide is divided by age and grade: infants and toddlers,…