A study examined the position of phonics instruction or direct skill instruction within the context of a whole language, meaning-based approach to reading instruction. A total of 22 first-grade students participated--12 students received instruction in phonics while 10 followed a meaning based curriculum. All were administered a phonics test and a…

Focuses on one procedure in whole-language reading instruction--individualized reading. Pinpoints a need for an adequate supply of appropriate library books to read and opportunities for pupils in a committee to have a group conference with the teacher. Cites selected issues that need resolving when heavy emphasis is placed upon phonics…

This paper reviews literature on the effectiveness of reading-for-comprehension strategies at the primary (kindergarten through second grade) and intermediate (third through fifth grade) levels. The first section of the paper examines studies that seek to examine the distinctiveness hypothesis; the effectiveness of whole language instruction…

This report discusses how reading instruction should be modified to facilitate the development of comprehension strategies in all children (including those labeled as "at-risk" or "disadvantaged"). Current theoretical views of reading comprehension do not support a discrete skills perspective, but classroom research has…

An action research study described and evaluated a program for improving the reading comprehension of targeted first, second, and third grade students, in a progressive suburban community in northern Illinois. The problem was noted by the researchers, who in recent years had observed a need for improvement in reading comprehension as indicated by…

The Easy Steps to Reading Independence (ESTRI) Program is a reading program to be used to support whole language or basal reader programs by enabling limited ability or non-readers to begin reading, or to remediate reading disabilities, at age and grade appropriate levels immediately, without requiring the students to know sight words before…

The purpose of this study was to compare children's acquisition and use of reading strategies and their evolving stance toward reading in two instructional settings, skills-based and whole language. The authors used test-score and descriptive data to select case study children who represented a range of reading development, e.g., from emergent…

The purpose of this review is to present an overview of the research literature relating to the acquisition of literacy. Its focus is on empirical studies that identify the processes underlying the acquisition of literacy, and the instructional strategies that are most effective in developing effective literacy. Its specific focus is on the…