This edited volume grew out of a conference that brought together beginning reading experts from the fields of education and the psychology of reading and reading disabilities so that they could present and discuss their research findings and theories about how children learn to read words, instructional contexts that facilitate this learning, background experiences prior to formal schooling that contribute, and sources of difficulty in disabled readers. The chapters bring a variety of perspectives to bear on a single cluster of problems involving the acquisition of word reading ability. It is the editors' keen hope that the insights and findings of the research reported here will influence and become incorporated into the development of practicable, classroom-based instructional programs that succeed in improving children's ability to become skilled readers. Furthermore, they hope that these insights and findings will become incorporated into the working knowledge that teachers apply when they teach their students to read, and into further research on reading acquisition.

This highly regarded teacher resource synthesizes the research base on word recognition and translates it into step-by-step instructional strategies, with special attention to students who are struggling. Chapters follow the stages through which students progress as they work toward skilled reading of words. Presented are practical, evidence-based techniques and activities that target letter- sound pairings, decoding and blending, sight words, multisyllabic words, and fluency. Ideal for use in primary-grade classrooms, the book also offers specific guidance for working with older children who are having difficulties. Reproducible assessment tools and word lists can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. New to This Edition *Incorporates the latest research on word recognition and its connections to vocabulary, reading fluency, and comprehension. *Chapter on morphological (meaning-based) instruction. *Chapter on English language learners. *Instructive "Try This" activities at the end of each chapter for teacher study groups and professional development.

A complete road map for word knowledge instruction in PreK-2, this book focuses on developing the word recognition and phonics skills identified in the Common Core standards for foundational skills. It offers clear-cut instructions for assessing students' stages of word knowledge development--emergent, beginning, or transitional--and their specific instructional needs. Chapters on each developmental stage are packed with effective learning activities and strategies, plus guidance for fitting them into the classroom day. Of special value, online-only appendices provide purchasers with more than 50 reproducible assessment and instructional tools, ready to download and print in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

This edited volume grew out of a conference that brought together beginning reading experts from the fields of education and the psychology of reading and reading disabilities so that they could present and discuss their research findings and theories about how children learn to read words, instructional contexts that facilitate this learning, background experiences prior to formal schooling that contribute, and sources of difficulty in disabled readers. The chapters bring a variety of perspectives to bear on a single cluster of problems involving the acquisition of word reading ability. It is the editors' keen hope that the insights and findings of the research reported here will influence and become incorporated into the development of practicable, classroom-based instructional programs that succeed in improving children's ability to become skilled readers. Furthermore, they hope that these insights and findings will become incorporated into the working knowledge that teachers apply when they teach their students to read, and into further research on reading acquisition.

While most children learn to read fairly well, there remain many young Americans whose futures are imperiled because they do not read well enough to meet the demands of our competitive, technology-driven society. This book explores the problem within the context of social, historical, cultural, and biological factors. Recommendations address the identification of groups of children at risk, effective instruction for the preschool and early grades, effective approaches to dialects and bilingualism, the importance of these findings for the professional development of teachers, and gaps that remain in our understanding of how children learn to read. Implications for parents, teachers, schools, communities, the media, and government at all levels are discussed. The book examines the epidemiology of reading problems and introduces the concepts used by experts in the field. In a clear and readable narrative, word identification, comprehension, and other processes in normal reading development are discussed. Against the background of normal progress, Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children examines factors that put children at risk of poor reading. It explores in detail how literacy can be fostered from birth through kindergarten and the primary grades, including evaluation of philosophies, systems, and materials commonly used to teach reading.

Provides research-based data about effective literacy instruction processes.

This volume is designed to prevent and correct most word-level reading difficulties. It trains phonemic awareness and promotes sight vocabulary acquisition, and therefore reading fluency.