Informed by sociocultural and systems theory tenets, this study used ethnographic research methods to examine the feasibility of using speech recognition (SR) technology to support struggling readers in an early elementary classroom setting. Observations of eight first graders were conducted as they participated in a structured SR-supported…

This article describes two educational settings in Nigeria where teachers adapted a language experience approach for reading and writing instruction. The first setting is a professional development workshop for public school teachers of students in grades 1-6. The second setting includes two groups of students with special needs: a grade 6 class…

A first grade teacher relates various techniques, based on her knowledge of linguistics, which she uses to teach reading and language awareness; illustrated. (RD)

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 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)

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…

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…

A supplemental reading program designed to increase basic reading vocabulary was implemented as a practicum project with first-grade students demonstrating deficiencies in reading. The students were assigned to teams (organized according to alphabetized lists of topics generated by the students) to write, illustrate, and read books cooperatively…

Reports on two studies that examined differences in the processing strategies of beginning readers, as indicated by an analysis of oral reading errors. (FL)

Language acquisition theory and classroom applications are discussed, with a focus on the role of speaking and grammar in the early stages of English acquisition in the English-speaking elementary school setting (kindergarten and first grade). Three stages of natural language acquisition are: (1) the comprehension stage…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether lower-class students would exhibit greater retention of reading vocabulary with a language experience approach to reading than with a basal text approach. Sixty low socioeconomic level students from the seven first grades of one elementary school in a small South Carolina town were randomly…

This study sought to determine how retained first grade students function in a whole language classroom after meeting with failure in a traditional first grade setting. Data collection for the five retained students, plus six "at-risk" students, involved naturalistic observation. Reading began from language experience stories that the students…

Twenty-seven summaries of first-grade reading studies sponsored by the United States Office of Education are included. The studies, done in the 1964-65 school year, were made in different localities, and each was concerned with a different problem. More than one-half of the directors were full-time college professors; a few were senior authors of…