The importance of letter sound knowledge (LSK) as a precursor to later literacy skills has been well-documented. Since English language learners (ELLs), or students who first acquired a language other than English, continue to underperform in reading compared to their English-speaking peers, they are particularly at-risk for reading and academic…

This randomized-control trial examined the learning of preservice teachers taking an initial Early Literacy course in an early childhood education program and of the kindergarten or first grade students they tutored in their field experience. Preservice teachers were randomly assigned to one of two tutoring programs: Book Buddies and Tutor…

The purpose of the study was to understand reading tutors' perceptions of the effectiveness of tutorial programs on reading achievement of at-risk students in a South Texas school district. Fifty-eight reading tutors tutoring at-risk students in grades 3-8 were asked to complete a survey entitled "Reading Tutor Survey" and…

Description of a tutoring program for struggling 1st grade readers focuses on use of Sound Partners, a program designed for non-teacher tutors. This program emphasizes basic phonological awareness and phonological reading skills. The article describes the program's theoretical ancestry, application, research outcomes, and obstacles/solutions…

Tutoring sessions within a LATCH-ON (Literacy and Technology-Hands On) program were provided to a 19-year-old woman with Down syndrome. Instruction focused primarily on phonics instruction, as well as other decoding strategies. She developed the ability to associate consonant and vowel sounds with letter presentations and to recognize whole word…

This study evaluated the adaptation of individual reading tutorial methods to small-group instruction with 24 low-achieving readers in Grades 2 and 3. Students were instructed in phonemic awareness, phonetic decoding, high-frequency sight words, application of word identification strategies, and rereading of familiar text. Results support use of…

This case study of an adult with developmental disabilities and no educational history reports on the successful literacy tutoring method used, which entails echo reading of brief passages and moving from holistic recognition of print to analysis of decoding and spelling. This approach contrasts with methods that first use small units of…

Twenty-three first-graders at risk for learning disabilities received one-to-one tutoring from noncertified tutors for 30 minutes, 4 days a week, for one school year. Tutoring included instruction in phonological skills, explicit decoding, writing, spelling, and reading phonically controlled text. Participants significantly outperformed controls…

Sixteen children with severe reading problems in first grade received a year-long individual tutorial intervention. Growth curve analyses found significant gains on measures of orthographic and phonological coding, word identification, word attack skills, reading comprehension, letter automaticity, and spelling and marginally significant gains in…

This research-based review discusses effective computer applications for students with mental disabilities. Most computer-based instruction currently in use is of a drill-and-practice variety, which is needed to develop fluency in basic academic skills. Studies conducted on math fluency indicate that when students are using counting strategies to…

The instructional concept guide is part of a system developed for tutor training and support. It is primarily designed for volunteers, but it can also be adapted to the training of paraprofessional tutors for any type of adult literacy program. A key component in the system is the Tutor Support Library, consisting of Instructional Concept Guides…

This instructional manual consists of materials for use in implementing a computer-assisted instructional program in reading skills development for adult nonreaders. Discussed first are the project during which this instructional program and manual were developed and the goals of the computer-assisted beginning reading program, a major feature of…