Describes a technique for helping children learn the names of the letters of the alphabet. In the Alphabet Mnemonic System, each alphabet letter is assigned a phrase that will cue the learner to recall the name of the letter. A table is provided of the mnemonic alphabet cues. (CR)

This paper provides a rationale which rejects misinformation, assumptions, and biases as bases for decision making on the use of i.t.a. in teaching reading and writing to primary school children. A discussion is provided which questions the reality of professionalism in teacher-administrator populations as well as the reality of a concern for the…

Analyzes the Bullock commission's view on the methodology of beginning reading instruction with special reference to i.t.a. (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)

In a partial replication of Samuels' (1972) experiments, 60 first grade pupils were assigned to a letter name group, a letter discrimination group, or a control group to investigate the effect of letter name knowledge on learning to read words. Artificial letters formulated by Gibson, et al. (1962) were used instead of those of Samuels, and…

The history of teaching people to read is explored from the introduction of the Greek alphabet about 3,000 years ago to the present renewed interest in sound symbol relationships. Greek schoolboys were required to learn first the alphabet in order, next commonly used syllables, and then words. English was first written in the Latin alphabet using…

Eight approaches to the teaching of elementary reading are described briefly. The Executive Committee of the Department of Elementary-Kindergarten-Nursery Education of the National Education Association selected the approaches to be discussed. They include (1) Language Experience Approach by R. V. Allen, (2) Phonic Approach by Charles E. Wingo,…

Provides information concerning the value of letter names in the teaching of reading and spelling. Presents specific discussions about the importance of letter names to prereading phonics abilities, the phonemic values in letter names, and the use of letter names in word analysis, semantic word recognition, and semantic spelling. (MKM)

To investigate the effect of the Initial Teaching Alphabet (ITA) on spelling proficiency, a study was devised whereby seventh grade students who had been taught reading in the first and second grade using ITA were compared with students who had been taught in the traditional manner. Each group of students was tested on the spelling sections of two…

This longitudinal study compared the longterm effects of beginning reading instruction in traditional orthography (TO) and the initial teaching alphabet (i.t.a.) on two pupil populations comparable in intelligence, socioeconomic status, and preschool experience. Teacher and school factors were rigorously controlled. A continuous comparison of…

Descriptions of reading programs and services related to elementary reading instruction in 16 Washington, D.C. schools are included in this report. Data are reported for grade levels only and combines information for all schools. Basal readers are the most commonly used materials, with approaches used with these materials varying greatly across…

This article addresses two sets of organizing principles to guide prevention and intervention in beginning reading: (1) the complexity in our alphabetic writing system, and (2) the complexity in our schools. The first set is related to instructional design, while the second set is related to a schoolwide model. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)