This article explores some of the challenges that young children face when they begin formalised literacy learning in the classroom, in particular learning to write. The challenges are discussed in terms of the transitions children are faced with when moving from family and community literacy practices to more explicit and formal school learning…

Four separate bibliographies list references regarding infants with such disabilities as blindness, visual impairments, mental retardation, and Down Syndrome. Citations listed include journal articles, books, manuals, and other publications. The first bibliography lists 24 references regarding blindness or visual impairments in infants and ways to…

The pamphlet reviews research on creativity and applies it to the learning process. After discussing the definition and measurement of creativity, the components of creative performance are outlined, including domain-relevant skills, creativity-relevant skills, and intrinsic task motivation. Factors which destroy students' creativity are noted,…

This final report reviews a program of theoretical and empirical research focusing on the ability determinants of individual differences in skill acquisition. An integrative framework for information processing and cognitive ability determinants of skills is presented, along with principles for ability-skill relations. Three major patterns of…

This document reports a study designed to identify the factors that facilitate or impede training in South Africa, based on data collected in interviews and by a questionnaire mailed to 4,500 employers (from whom 659 usable responses were received). The study was conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council/National Training Board (HSRC/NIB).…

A study surveyed current presentation skills training practices of "Fortune 500" industrial companies. Each company's chief executive officer was sent a cover letter explaining the study and a copy of the survey. Data were obtained from 154 respondents (for a 36% response rate). Results indicated the importance of presentation skills to…

Utilizing specialized classroom strategies to foster greater social acceptance of mainstreamed learning disabled students may be more efficient than having school personnel constantly involved in resolving student-to-student conflicts and assuaging hurt student feelings. Learning disabled students assigned to mainstream classes often present…

This study explored the nature of dictionary instruction in several basal reading series. Three basal reading series from major academic publishers (Scott Foresman, Ginn, and Holt) with 1989 copyrights, were selected for detailed analysis. Results indicated that even where the professed aim of the basal reading series was to incorporate dictionary…

Intended for student use at home as a supplement to schoolwork or at school as a phonics text, this workbook presents initial consonant sounds in order of difficulty. The lesson for each sound is four pages in length. The first page consists of an illustration showing familiar objects; students are asked to circle the objects whose names begin…

Intended for student use at home as a supplement to schoolwork or at school as a phonics text, this workbook is a follow-up to "Initial Consonants." The first part of the workbook provides practice for consonants at the end of words. Most letters are given a four-page lesson. On the first page, students are asked to look at pictures, name them,…

Intended for student use at home as a supplement to schoolwork or at school as a phonics text, this workbook presents the most common and regular sounds of vowels. The short vowels are presented first. The lesson for each vowel consists of six pages of exercises. On the first page, the vowel sound is introduced by a cartoon. On the second and…

Intended for student use at home as a supplement to schoolwork or at school as a phonics text, this workbook presents the irregular vowel sounds, including the vowel diphthongs, the r-controlled vowels, and other irregular vowel combinations. Each vowel or combination is presented in a lesson of two to six pages, depending on its perceived…

Intended for preschool children, this workbook provides practice in the readiness skills for handwriting. The workbook's activities, presented in sequence of difficulty, promote the following skills: developing language; seeing similarities; seeing differences; filling in missing parts; writing basic strokes; drawing objects; establishing…

Intended for children in first grade, this workbook provides practice in writing correctly all 26 manuscript letters, both upper and lower-case, and numerals from 0 to 9. The alphabet used in the workbook is the Zaner-Bloser style of handwriting, the most widely used system in the schools of the United States. The strokes used to make each letter…