This book presents a method of teaching letter sounds to children; it suggests ways for the elementary teacher or parent to involve children physically, as well as mentally, in the learning process. For example, to learn the letter "Y," children stand with outstretched arms to form themselves into the letter Y; to learn the "Z" sound, children…

This study focuses on the relationship between blending ability and reading comprehension among 80 prereading children from three private preschools. Three methods of instruction were tested: One group was instructed with an auditory method; the second group was instructed with an auditory-visual method; and the third group practiced the basic set…

A study examined hierarchical relationships among three developmental components of reading ability in grades 1 through 3. It was predicted that semantic skills develop initially, followed by letter identification skills, phonological skills, and visual skills. Reading ability was assessed with a word identification task. The semantic components…

THE VIEW THAT READING IS A ROTE, AUTOMATIC, CONDITIONED, NONMEANINGFUL PROCESS WHICH PRECEDES (THUS IS SEPARABLE FROM) COMPREHENSION IS CORROBORATED IN A TWO-PART INVESTIGATION. IN PART I, EVIDENCE IS PRESENTED TO SUPPORT THE POSITION THAT READING IS A NONMEANINGFUL PROCESS. IN PART II, A STUDY OF THE EFFICACY OF AN AUDITORY APPROACH TO…

This book is designed to give parents and teachers of children with Down syndrome and other developmental delays an alternative reading program. The program is based on a functional, language-experience approach which attempts to compensate for common deficits in auditory memory and verbal skills. The seven chapters of Part 1 describe how children…

Focusing on research about children's acquisition of reading and spelling skills, this paper discusses the larger picture of reading acquisition, issues addressed by research, and results of this research. The paper cites numerous studies on the subject, including studies on whether environmental print experiences enable young children to process…