Thirty-three first grade classrooms in Georgia were observed to determine the state of language experience instruction and to examine whether such instruction makes a difference in students' awareness of the reading purpose, their knowledge of instructional terminology, their reading attitudes, and their reading achievement. The Allen Level of…

A study of the oral language of Native American children indicates that many are not proficient enough in English to learn to read. Suggestions are given for language development. (MKM)

First-graders taught reading by phonics or language experience approach were compared on their ability to orally decode lists of words identified as either real or nonsense words. The two groups did not differ in overall correct responses, nor were their strategies influenced by the "real/nonsense" directions. (SJL)

A FIRST-GRADE LISTENING SKILLS PROGRAM WAS DESIGNED TO BE TAUGHT AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE LANGUAGE ARTS PROGRAM AND TO IMPROVE ACHIEVEMENT IN LISTENING AND READING. THE COMPONENTS AND GUIDELINES FOR THE EXPERIMENT ARE SPECIFIED. THIRTY-THREE CLASSROOMS IN 22 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY PARTICIPATED. THE TREATMENT GROUPS WERE A…

A study investigated reading performance in one dimension of the language experience approach--the dictation of a story to accompany a wordless picture book. A miscue analysis procedure was used to describe the strategies and miscues evidenced by eight first grade beginning readers while reading a basal text story and while reading a dictated…

The purpose of this study was to determine and to interpret the effect of two differing approaches to reading instruction on the self-social concepts of first grade children. The concepts analyzed were self-esteem; social interest; individuation; complexity; realism; identifications with mother, father, teacher, and friend; and preferences for…

Substantial linguistic growth took place in grade one children who were taught beginning reading by a language experience approach. (JH)

Reports on a study with slow first-grade readers showing that sight words are better learned in the context of repetitive "predictable" books and language experience approach charts than from stilted preprimers. Argues that the process meshes with the basal program. (FL)

This publication contains papers contributed to the fifth Perspectives of Reading conference of the International Reading Association which focused on the teaching of beginning reading. The following approaches are described and evaluated: (1) individualized reading, (2) basal reading, (3) linguistic approach, (4) phonics approach, (5) new…

This study investigated the extent to which the language base as described in the three strands of the Language Experience Approach Rationale is provided for in the first grade reading textbook teacher guides adopted by the state of Arizona. Language experiences in a random sample consisting of five pages from each of the 77 books included on the…

Publishers of basal reading series claim that beginning reading materials must contain primarily high frequency words and that new words must be introduced gradually. Inherent in their argument is the position that reading is based on the student's ability to recognize words and that short, phonetically regular words are easier to read. To examine…

The effects of a language-based reading approach on the reading strategies of first grade children were examined in a study involving a total of 40 children. Half of the students were placed in an experimental group that was exposed to the language-based reading approach, and half were placed in a control group that was taught to read by a…