Using student dictated stories to create class books is an exciting way to teach young children about books and writing. Children can thus use their own material as they learn to read, the books provide a class library, and writing through dictation allows young children to learn about reading and writing before they can read or write--even with…

An intensive 6-week summer readiness program held in the Beaver Area School District, Beaver, Pennsylvania, developed linguistic facility among 15 preschool children. Daily activities included discussion, picture study, creative arts, field trips, developing experience charts, and other nonlanguage arts activities. A combined experiential,…

Parents and teachers are encouraged in this paper to provide home and school cognitive science activities to help their preschool-age children develop prereading skills. Many of the activities mentioned could be introduced prior to the age of 3 years and all by the age of 5 years. In general, activities that develop cognitive skills should precede…

This joint statement expresses concerns about present practices in pre-first grade reading instruction and makes recommendations for improvement. The statement was prepared by seven organizations concerned with preschool education and/or reading instruction. (BD)

A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF ATTENDING AN 8-WEEK HEADSTART PROGRAM DURING THE SUMMER PRIOR TO THE FIRST GRADE ON THE FIRST-GRADE READING ACHIEVEMENT OF 152 PUPILS IN SCOTT COUNTY, KENTUCKY, INDICATED A NEED FOR A CLASSROOM CONTINUATION OF THE EXPERIENCE APPROACH IN READING METHODS. AT THE OPENING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, THE HEADSTART PUPILS WERE MIXED IN…

The central focus of this second edition is the same as that of the first edition: to describe the language-experience approach and to identify instructional practices which can be followed to teach reading with this approach. In addition, the volume expands the theoretical foundations of language-experience communication, extends the…

The inclusion of talk, written language, and body language are critically important in primary classrooms. Although reading and writing may be regarded as cognitive activities, they are embedded in a social/cultural milieu, and the practice of mechanical decoding as a necessary precedent to real reading is not pedagogically sound. A whole class…

When used diagnostically at the readiness level, language-experience becomes an effective way to meet individual differences and to differentiate instruction in a group setting. For a 5- or 6-year old, school should be an exciting, happy, purposeful place, and language-experience lends itself well to such a setting. The first steps are to…

Based on information gained in two longitudinal research studies of the beginning reading process, this book offers insights into the detection and prevention of reading failure. The 13 chapters of the book deal with the following topics: barriers to the early identification of reading problems, preschool experiences, school entry, early reading…

The product of a two-year study investigating the literacy behavior of nine kindergarten students and their classmates, this report first explains the impetus and the theoretical foundations for the investigation and describes its subjects and setting. It then presents the methodology and the data collected from several related studies: (1)…

This digest links the development of listening comprehension to the emerging reading comprehension of young American Indian students, and suggests ways that teachers can use locally produced materials to enhance young students' emergent literacy. Reading comprehension is the key to literacy, and prior knowledge supports listening and reading…

Seventy-eight kindergarten children were randomly placed in four experimental classrooms. Two of the classes were taught with the basal reader approach to reading readiness, and two were taught with the conceptual-language program approach. An extensive pretest battery was given to these children in October 1967. Instruction in the two approaches…

Designed to assist reading tutors in the Champaign, Illinois, Unit 4 schools, this illustrated guide offers the following: practical suggestions for relating to children and specific teaching techniques for tutoring reading, an explanation of reading readiness and a series of readiness activities; a chapter on word attack skills that considers…