Metalinguistic Awareness is the ability to consciously reflect on and manipulate language, from the level of the phoneme, to words, to whole phrases. Research has shown that engaging in metalinguistic activities can have a positive impact on reading. This article details some of the component skills of metalinguistic awareness (in this case,…

Points out that children must master a great deal of information about form classes, written conventions, and word referent relationships in order to understand what teachers mean when they use the term "word." (FL)

Discusses four critical areas of instruction (decoding skills, language development/competence, concept/context building, and critical thinking skills/strategies) which can help limited English proficient (LEP) students improve their reading competence. (MM)

Discusses the importance of speech skills as antecedents to learning word perception skills in beginning reading. (RB)

Analyzes six ideas related to language experience intended to improve the teaching of reading. (RB)

Concludes that preschool children know that print conveys information, yet frequently use environmental cues rather than letter knowledge when they appear to read. (FL)

Discusses what children know--and don't know they know--about the linguistic concept of the word, with implications for teaching. (DD)

Examines how different types of word recognition instruction appeared to affect students with different early literacy foundations. Finds differences in instructional practices to be related to growth in reading. Identifies four classroom practices that seemed to have the greatest success with children entering first grade with minimal reading…

Suggests a variety of class activities using word banks. (MKM)

Finds the test useful but criticizes its lack of generalizability of norms and the absence of reliability, validity, or normative information for the Spanish version. (FL)