Compares selected language features of urban, first grade children in five different reading programs: Lippincott, Language Experience, Houghton-Mifflin, Open Court, and Ginn 720. Finds significant differences among the programs on number of predictions and average length of T-unit, but no program emerged as significantly superior in two or more…

Describes selected plans of teaching reading--individualized reading, basal reader, initial teaching alphabet, language experience and color coding--and suggests each plan's inherent philosophy. (MM)

Students are often provided with background information before reading an assigned selection. This background information functions differently in the following reading variations: individualized reading; basal reading; big book approaches; programmed reading, the language experience approach; and predictable books. Students often pick subjects…

This paper examines reading research and fosters awareness of limitations in such studies. It begins by discussing the historical aspects of the basal reading program and the language experience and individualized reading approaches. It continues by reporting early studies conducted in these areas, and investigating problems with such studies. The…

The zone of proximal development provides guidance to the teacher in taking care of selected prerequisites, prior to pupils doing the actual reading. Three models are presented and elaborated upon to indicate what can be done to fulfill requirements of the zone of proximal reading. The zone may be applied in relation to reading from basal texts…

A study of 46 first-grade children to determine how basal instructed and language experience instructed children would differ in their use of written language cues revealed no significant differences between the two groups in their use of these cues. (TJ)

Survey responses from 478 programs serving about 26,000 hearing impaired students indicated: the basal reading approach is used more than the language experience approach; the basal program, "Reading Milestones'" is the most frequent choice at all instructional levels; and only one-fourth of programs view standardized reading achievement tests as…

Describes an experience based reading program developed in Melbourne, Australia, for low-income and immigrant children and a series of books to be published which are based on this program. (MKM)

Reading instruction is on the verge of a shift to a new paradigm that will be based on a new understanding of cognitive processes and will include five important tenets: (1) the best way to promote the emergence of reading behavior is to use interesting story books; (2) the primary cause of reading problems is too much instruction, too much…

"An Investigation of First-Grade Spelling Achievement by Ronald L. Cramer also appears in this issue, pp. 230-37. (RD)

Nineteen first grade children were randomly assigned to two experimental reading instruction conditions lasting 12 weeks. Both conditions used the language experience approach to teaching beginning language. In the experimental stage, the language experience approach was augmented by a total of six hours of individualized word-bank activities.…

Offers news ways to integrate the language experience approach with a basal reader and in the content areas. (FL)

In Nashville, Tennessee, there are children representing 24 different non-English language groups. Teachers involved with planning instruction for and teaching such language minority children should consider not only the language differences, but also the cultural differences since many foreign students are from cultures very different from the…

Describes the "ALERT" procedure, whereby teachers may combine the language experience approach with the use of radio, television, newspaper, and magazine advertisements in a strategy that is useful for developing critical thinking skills, even in very young students. (ARH)

Discusses the major components, weaknesses, and strengths of three types of reading programs: the basal reading approach, the language experience approach, and the individualized reading approach. (FL)