This study investigated the effectiveness of a supplemental reading program that emphasizes phoneme awareness and phonics with small groups composed of both at-risk native English-speakers and at-risk English language learners (ELLs) whose first language is not Spanish. A multiple-baseline-across-participants design was utilized to investigate the…

While the research on effective early reading interventions for English language learners is expanding, the majority of the research focuses on students whose native language is Spanish. This study investigated the effects of a supplemental reading program that builds phoneme awareness skills and emphasizes explicit instruction in the alphabetic…

This researcher evaluated the impact of an emergent literacy intervention program implemented in a suburban New York school district. The researcher examined archival data collected by the district during the 2010-2011 school year. The sample consisted of 171 general education kindergarten students from two of five elementary schools in this…

English-speaking preschoolers who knew letters but were nonreaders (M = 4 years 9 months; n = 60) were taught to segment consonant-vowel (CV), VC, and CVC words into phonemes either with letters and pictures of articulatory gestures (the LPA condition) or with letters only (the LO condition). A control group received no treatment. Both trained…

For all students, a high-quality early education is critical to ensuring their long-term academic success. Early learners need to understand why people read and write in order to be motivated to excel in their own literacy development. Through active engagement in the reading process, children learn ways to use their growing knowledge and skills…

Beth attends a New York City K-8, dual-language (Spanish/English) public school where 96% of the students qualify as low-income, based on participation in the federally funded lunch program. Early in Beth's 1st-grade year, she was classified as a struggling reader, based on district-wide assessments that identified academic deficits in such skill…

This study examined whether the "Experience Corps" program improved the reading skills of elementary school students who were at risk of academic failure. Nearly 900 first through third grade students in 23 schools in Boston, New York City, and Port Arthur, TX participated in the study. These students were randomly assigned to either a…

Since phonemic awareness is a crucial element in the invented spelling process, a survey of 15 whole language teachers determined the standpoint of phonemic awareness in the philosophy of whole language teachers. The 15 teachers, all 5 kindergarten and 10 first-grade teachers in a school district in western New York, were administered a 16-item…