The current climate of reading instruction calls for fluency strategies that stress automaticity, accuracy, and prosody, within the scope of prescribed reading programs that compromise teacher autonomy, with texts that are often irrelevant to the students' experiences. Consequently, accuracy and speed are developed, but deep comprehension is…

Proposes a diacritical marking system for occasional use in initial reading instruction. (RB)

Describes a study designed to determine the order of introduction of the common phoneme-grapheme correspondences needed for use in decoding written words in the elementary grades. Includes tables showing the order of introduction of vowel and diphthong phonemes and of consonant phonemes, and presents a teaching hierarchy for introduction of…

Teaching students how to read is one of the most important tasks in elementary schools. The majority of schools use published basal programs to teach students to read. Several published reviews have indicated that past editions of basal readers did not align with appropriate instruction for beginning level readers. In this study I reviewed five of…

Supports the position that because of improved conditions and communication in society children are ready to learn earlier than they were in the past. (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)

Cites a number of references from linguists and other researchers about the relative unimportance of knowing where to divide words according to rules. Offers alternative ideas for teaching syllabication. (FL)

Discusses the phenomenon that the definitions recognized for the term "word" is frequently different for teachers and beginning readers. Reviews research exploring the phenomenon. Offers suggestions for classroom activities to resolve this state of cognitive confusion. (RS)

This article focuses on a concept that has rarely been studied in beginning reading research--a child's concept of word in text. Recent examinations of this phenomenon suggest that a child's ability to match spoken words to written words while reading--a concept of word in text--plays a pivotal role in early reading development. In this article,…

Presents the results of research indicating that it is possible to prescreen for predicting the optimum reading instructional approach for each child. (RB)

Reviews the research on the initial teaching alphabet (i/t/a), the sources of conflict and misunderstanding involving its use, and its future in reading instruction. (FL)

Discusses two questions concerning entering first graders' abilities in language awareness: what are the connections from skills knowledge to beginning reading for these children; and what additional skills or experiences are needed that will help these children move toward reading on their own? (NH)

Examines the effectiveness of strategy training for younger readers. Discusses strategies for development of comprehension, including making predictions (both before and during reading), question generating, and summarization. Offers examples of how these strategies can be embedded through literature-circle discussions and gives a suggested…

Reviews the philosophy of the language experience approach to reading instruction and presents a condensation of a lesson that was developed in a basic reading class. (RB)