Ss were presented with the task of naming lower case letters "b,""d,""p," and "q" in 30-second and untimed trials, respectively. The results, in general, showed that reversal errors decreased abruptly when incentives were introduced and, in some instances, did not increase when incentives were removed. (Author/DLS)

The development of four-year-old children's knowledge of letters and printed words was studied to determine if preschool children begin reading, and if so, how. A natural hierarchy of knowledge was noted. (MKM)

Suggests that the initial teaching alphabet has been demonstrated to be an effective tool in teaching reading to bilingual students and to students with reading and cognitive disabilities. (TJ)

Discusses the hazards that the English language contains for children learning to read, reports the Bullock Report's recommendation to judge I.T.A. on its merits, and describes research findings suggesting that the probability of reading failure is considerably greater when T.O. is used than when I.T.A. is used. (GT)

Describes a six-month experimental library program carried out in Venezuela that sought to develop a home alternative to regular preschool education by providing parents and other adults in the family with the means of teaching children academic and problem-solving skills required by school. (Author/JD)

At the first Conference on Navajo Orthography held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1969, participants agreed upon a uniform orthography for Navajo developed by William Morgan and Robert Young and recommended development of a Navajo adult literacy program. Participants included representatives of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Navajo Tribal Council…

Evaluates the effects of training in phonemic segmentation and of instruction in letter names and letter sounds on kindergarten children's reading and spelling skills. Finds that phoneme awareness instruction, combined with instruction connecting the phonemic segments to alphabet letters, significantly improves the early reading and spelling…

Forty developmentally delayed and 40 non-delayed kindergarten children completed an alphabet matching task and a spelling task using 2 different computer input devices: a traditional computer keyboard and a touch-sensitive computer screen. The touch-sensitive screen generally improved the performance of both groups. (Author/JDD)

A cohort of 92 children was followed through sixth grade to investigate the relationship of preschool skills and first-grade phonological awareness to later reading and spelling abilities. In particular, the focus was on the changing roles of letter naming, orthographic awareness, and phonological processing in prediction of reading vocabulary,…

Maintains that alphabet books are an overlooked valuable resource for children's literature to enhance social studies instruction. Possible uses include introducing students to new concepts and ideas as well as initiating group discussions and creative activities. Presents an annotated bibliography of 38 alphabet books. (CFR)

Two experiments are reported on the array-scanning characteristics of Malaysian subjects exposed to arrays of Roman and Arabic letters. Unique search patterns were found with both letters. Ways are discussed in which these patterns may be related to the underlying linguistic structure of words in Bahasa Malaysia, English, and Arabic. (13…

Examined the relationship between phonological sensitivity and letter knowledge in 4- and 5-year-olds in a one-year longitudinal study. Found that phonological sensitivity predicted letter knowledge growth, and letter knowledge predicted phonological sensitivity growth, when controlling for age and oral language abilities. Also found that the…

Study examines first-grade students' growth in oral reading fluency as predicted by their kindergarten letter-naming and letter-sound fluency using growth curve analysis. Results reveal that kindergarten letter-naming fluency uniquely contributed to the prediction of first-grade reading growth. Findings also reveal that Native American and…

Examines whether mnemonic strategies can be successfully applied to the learning of a non-Roman foreign-language alphabet. Students were given materials presenting Russian letters and their English sounds on each page. Beneath each letter was a mnemonic. Findings indicate that these strategies enhance the learning speed of non-Roman…

Describes an art activity that enables beginning art students to practice their skills and techniques using watercolor as a medium. States that the students use paint, paper, and an inexpensive stencil set of the alphabet. Explains that students create a symmetrical design that fills the sheet of paper. (CMK)