This study investigated the process by which the representational activity and knowledge about drawing and letter and number writing emerge in children 21-46 months old. The results revealed that representational activities developed with age through several phases. Beginning at age 2, children produced different marks for different systems, but…

A REACTION TO THE CRITIQUE CONCERNING I/T/A PREPARED BY MARSH AND PUBLISHED IN THE "READING RESEARCH QUARTERLY," FALL 1966, IS PRESENTED. IN THE AUTHORS' OPINIONS, MANY OF MARSH'S ASSUMPTIONS WERE FAULTY BECAUSE OF INADEQUATE INFORMATION, AND THE ASSUMPTION THAT THE I/T/A STUDENTS RECEIVED MORE AND BETTER MATERIALS AND INSTRUCTION IS UNFOUNDED…

This article offers a short history of spelling reform and reviews current arguments pro and con. (SB)

Methods of teaching the alphabet to English speaking children are discussed. (CK)

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…

Discusses the positive effects that can be gained from using the initial teaching alphabet in beginning reading instruction. (RB)

Compares the effects of ITA and TO instruction; based on Auguste's master's thesis, Queens College, New York, n. d. (RD)

An assessment is made of the initial teaching alphabet method of teaching reading 10 years after its introduction. (DB)

Reports on a visual-auditory analysis of each of the 1575 e-ending words found on the "Rinsland Vocabulary List" to determine whether the e should be considered as a diacritic. (RB)

This article describes the successful use of the initial teaching alphabet at Lenwood Elementary School in Barstow, California. (PD)

REPORTS ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE INITIAL TEACHING ALPHABET (I.T.A.) FOR INSTRUCTION IN BEGINNING READING SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WITH CAUTION. SINCE NO DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS USED IS AVAILABLE, EDUCATORS FAIL TO ASSESS RESULTS OBJECTIVELY AND ARE MISLED BY DRAMATIC GAINS WHICH REFER TO SPECIAL CONDITIONS. HAWTHORNE…

AN EXPERIMENTAL GROUP OF 461 CHILDREN WAS TAUGHT TO READ WITH THE INITIAL TEACHING ALPHABET (I/T/A) BEGINNING IN KINDERGARTEN AND WAS READING TRADITIONAL ORTHOGRAPHY (T/O) MATERIALS BY THE END OF THE SECOND GRADE. THE CONTROL GROUP INCLUDED 462 CHILDREN WHO WERE TAUGHT TRADITIONAL ORTHOGRAPHY IN A PROGRAM CENTERED AROUND CONVENTIONAL BASAL READING…