This dissertation investigated whether specific music training components of pitch and rhythm had a differential effect on early literacy skills of phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, and concept of word awareness. In addition, this study examined associations between musical aptitude and early literacy skills. The central element of this…

Reading fluency has been acknowledged as a key component in the process of learning to read. As students enter kindergarten, many of them do not have the early or emergent literacy skills they need in order to become fluent readers. Kindergarten students in a Midwest suburban elementary school were studied focusing on their development of reading…

The prevalence and effects of lagging or delayed early literacy and motor skill development in children of low-SES backgrounds is a significant issue that can have adverse developmental consequences and affect children's ability to succeed in school (Evans, 2004; NELP, 2008; Stodden et al., 2008). This study examined the impact of the…

Young children's emergent literacy skills, particularly phonological awareness (PA) and alphabet knowledge (AK), are two of the strongest predictors of future reading skill. There is limited research evaluating the effectiveness of emergent literacy interventions on the dual language PA and AK skills of at-risk Latino preschoolers who are Dual…

This pilot study examined the effects of the Interactive Book Reading at Home (IBR; Wasik, 2009) parent training program on the emergent literacy skills of preschool children and parent beliefs about reading. A quasi-experimental, pretest and posttest design was utilized. Twenty parent-child dyads were randomly assigned to a control or treatment…

Reading instruction has historically been deemphasized for students in special education, and the limited research on this topic reveals that sight word vocabulary is most commonly taught in special education classrooms (Browder, Wakeman, Spooner, Ahlgrim-Delzell, Algozzine, 2006). However, successful reading instruction must target the five…

This study strived to determine the effectiveness of the AR phonics program relative to the effectiveness of the scripted phonics program for developing the letter identification, sound verbalization, and blending abilities of kindergarten students considered at-risk based on state assessments. The researcher was interested in pretest and posttest…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether kindergarten-reading achievement could be increased by implementing Response to Intervention (RtI) strategies. Kindergarten children (N = 290) who were identified as at-risk for reading difficulties were assigned to receive intervention through a) small reading groups (SRG), b)…

Reading research indicates a student's academic achievement is connected to his or her reading ability (Tindall & Nisbet, 2010). Children do not have sufficient reading skills because they lack the literacy skills necessary to be successful readers. These fundamental areas include phonics, reading comprehension, fluency, alphabetic awareness,…