The purpose of our study was to compare the effectiveness of two song-teaching methods: holistic and phrase-by-phrase. Thirty-two first-grade children (n = 32) from two music classes in an urban elementary school were taught two folksongs. The first class (n = 16) was taught one song through the phrase-by-phrase method and another song through the…

Seikatsu tsuzurikata is a grassroots movement in Japan that has many parallels to the whole language movement, but it developed completely independently, beginning in the late 1920s. Our research into this movement was conducted in 1984 and described in Kitagawa and Kitagawa (1987). We are now updating our earlier research. Seikatsu tsuzurikata is…

Compares the rationale, design, use, and effectiveness of approaches to literacy education: natural, whole language, learner centered, and particpatory. Provides guidelines for literacy programs: create a community of learners, make literacy learning meaningful, help learners see how language evolves, and connect literacy to life. (SK)

US government mandates to implement intensive phonics instruction in elementary classrooms invoke an alleged scientific superiority of this approach over more meaning-centered models. But curiously absent from this scientific enterprise is a study of the phonics system itself. Advocates of intensive phonics have not demonstrated that the commonly…

Examines the results of the National Reading Panel's (NRP) comparison of skills-based and whole language approaches through the lens of reading comprehension. Reveals that the research does not show that skills-based methods are superior. Concludes that the NRP's interpretation of the results is not the only possible one and should not be the…

Compares the effects of basal and whole language approaches on the reading achievement of first grade students. Finds no statistically significant differences in reading achievement between classes taught with a basal approach or with a whole language approach. (RS)

Discusses literature-based classrooms and influences on students' reading habits. Highlights include beliefs about learning and teaching, including a comparison of the transmission model and the transactional model of education; the importance of literary experiences for language development and literacy learning, including phonological…

Compares whole language, literature-based, and basal reader literacy instruction in terms of the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey, the Reader Self-Perception Scale, and the Writer Self-Perception Scale. Finds that a literature-based approach to reading and writing appeared to exert superior impact on intermediate-aged children's affective…

Reports on a three-part study comparing the effects of whole language practice versus traditional basal instruction on children's reading attitudes. Finds no evidence that the whole language philosophy offers inevitable advantages over traditional instruction in building students' attitudes toward reading. Suggests that how individual teachers…

Compares results of a modified whole language approach (incorporating daily 15-minute total class phonics instruction) with those obtained from a popular basal approach. Finds that students in the whole language classes made greater gains in phonics, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and total reading achievement than students in the basal…

Results of this study supported the belief that whole language strategies and routines used in first grade classrooms will yield scores on traditional reading standardized achievement tests that are comparable or superior to those resulting from the use of basal reader programs. (Author/IAH)

Trains 94 first graders using a structured phonological reading method emphasizing English phonology and phoneme/grapheme correspondence. Compares to a control group who received a whole-language-plus-phonics approach. Notes that children in all groups improved their phonological awareness by the same amount. Concludes that phonological awareness…

Reports on a two-year descriptive study of eight low-income children's writing in skills-based and whole language instruction. Finds that the students at the "top" did well in whole language instruction, and for less proficient learners, the whole language curriculum appeared to provide more support. (RS)

Presents evidence of learning outcomes in reading from the use of software incorporating two very different styles of learning, structured sub-skills tutoring (using an Integrated Learning System) versus free reading (using a talking book), but which both heavily exploit multimedia presentation. Shows that current debates about whole-word versus…

Observes low socioeconomic-level learners during literacy instruction for two years. Finds similarities in learner concern about accuracy. Notes that cross-curricular differences centered on applications of phonics knowledge, responses to literature, coping strategies, and learner perceptions of themselves as readers and writers. Finds a…