This narrative review discusses quantitative indices measuring differences between alphabetic languages that are related to the process of word recognition. The specific orthography that a child is acquiring has been identified as a central element influencing reading acquisition and dyslexia. However, the development of reliable metrics to…

More than one third of American children cannot read at a basic level by fourth grade (Lee, Grigg, & Donahue, 2007) and those numbers are even higher for African American, Hispanic and poor White students (Boorman et al., 2007). These are alarming statistics given that the ability to read is the most basic and fundamental skill for academic…

Lists criticisms and responses to the i.t.a. (MM)

The "Auditory Discrimination in Depth (ADD) Program[R]" (currently called the "Lindamood Phonemic Sequencing (LiPS) Program[R]") is designed to teach students skills to successfully decode words and to identify individual sounds and blends in words. Initial activities engage students in discovering the lip, tongue, and mouth…

Finds that children's ability to identify and label the letters of the alphabet and to write their own name at school entry were the most powerful predictors of successful reading by the end of the year. Finds a weaker, but still positive, relationship between understanding the conventions of print and reading achievement. (RS)

Concludes that speed in identifying letters and graphonemes correlates highly with reading achievement. (RB)

A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE CONCERNING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MEASURE OF PREREADING VISUAL DISCRIMINATION AND FIRST-GRADE READING ACHIEVEMENT IS GIVEN. THE RELATIVE PREDICTIVE POWER OF VISUAL DISCRIMINATION OF LETTERS, WORDS, GEOMETRIC DESIGNS, AND PICTURES WHEN THESE ABILITIES ARE STUDIED INDIVIDUALLY AND IN COMBINATION IS INDICATED. STUDIES…

Discusses an experiment that links phonological awareness and reading performance in children with Down syndrome. Examines the results within the framework of the author's metalinguistic development theory in which alphabet reading is a pacemaker for the development of explicit phonological awareness. (PM)

Investigates selected reading readiness tests and points out that they measure a single generalized factor of readiness. The subtest concerning alphabet letter names provides the best predictor of successful reading in the tests examined. Bibliography. (RW)

Concludes that i.t.a taught first grade students demonstrate no negative achievements characteristics in reading, language arts factors, or spelling when compared to their T.O. counterparts in the 10th grade year on standardized tests of achievement. (RB)

To make this report more readable for teachers and still present all the data, it was compiled in two parts: (1) Report to Teachers and (2) Technical Report. The investigation was conducted (1) to compare the longitudinal effects of the initial teaching alphabet (i.t.a.) and traditional orthography (T.O.) beginning reading programs through and end…

The achievement of four groups of children as measured by the Stanford Achievement Test was compared at the end of the first, second, and third year of school. The four programs used were the initial teaching alphabet (i.t.a.), Words in Color (WIC), Phonetic Keys, and teacher-designed analytic programs. At the end of the first year there appeared…

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect on first-grade reading achievement of completing a program designed to teach the names of the letters of the alphabet before beginning formal reading instruction. Information was sought on the differential effect of this program on either boys or girls of different levels of…