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Much of the current discourse surrounding the practice of early reading has emerged from policies that dictate the definition and means by which reading is taught and by which reading success is measured. Although this discourse directly influences the work of preschool teachers, little is known about what preschool teachers think about early reading and how they develop these understandings or constructions. Research concerning preschool teachers’ constructions is useful because of the potential influence on teachers' decisions and classroom behaviors. The purpose of this study is to better understand preschool teachers’ constructions concerning early reading and the process of learning to read. Six preschool teachers, with a variety of personal, educational, and professional experiences, from four diverse early childhood programs in the North Texas area were interviewed over a nine-month period during which each participant was interviewed for approximately three hours. Through systematic, inductive analysis, three themes were identified under an overarching theme of the interdependent and relational nature of early reading influences: out-of-school interactions, in-school interactions, and interactions with text. Without exception, these teachers referred to their life experiences as influencing their approach to teaching in general and to teaching reading in particular. The goals these preschool teachers had for their students and their instructional decisions were indications of their unique and evolving constructions of early reading and are absolutely grounded in their practice – in their life experiences and in their daily interactions with children. This study suggests that stakeholders should remember that these practical experiences are a primary influence on how preschool teachers think about early reading and the process of learning to read.

The Early Reading First Program emphasizes that preschool classrooms provide services to better prepare children entering kindergarten with the necessary language, cognitive, and literacy skills that can avert reading difficulties. This study investigated two questions. The first addressed the effectiveness of the ERF program on students identified with a disability within control and experimental groups. The second addressed the effectiveness of the ERF program on subpopulations of students within the ERF program categorized with a severe language delay or a mild/moderate language delay. To address the first question, results showed a statistically significant difference between the control sample and experimental sample of posttest data in the area of language development. Addressing the second question, results showed a statistically significant difference in posttest scores between the mild/moderate sample of students versus the severe sample of students on the Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDI) Alliteration subtest and the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) Print-Word Awareness subtest. A major limitation of this study is the small number of children and, thus, it is difficult to draw any firm conclusions.

Early Reading First is a federal initiative that seeks to buffer against the detrimental effects of poverty on children‟s academic outcomes by incorporating all of the elements supported by scientifically-based reading research to address the present and future reading gaps of high-risk preschool children. The tenets of ERF are teacher professional development, high quality language and print-rich environments, the teaching of emergent instruction of emergent literacy skills based on scientifically based reading research (SBRR) and the early identification of reading problems through the informed use of appropriate assessment measures. The present study was designed to assess the effectiveness of ERF enriched preschool classrooms located in a small city in a Southwestern state on both short- and mid-term early literacy outcomes of high risk preschoolers in a treatment condition and a comparison group. A total of 239 children participated in the study; 110 children in the ERF treatment group and 129 children in the "practice as usual" contrast group. The longitudinal effect of the ERF intervention on participating students (from pre-kindergarten through the middle of first grade) was investigated via multilevel modeling. Four multilevel models were developed for two subtests of the Tejas Lee (Francis, Carlson, and Cardenas-Hagan, 2006): Spanish alphabet knowledge (i.e, identificación de las letras) and Spanish story comprehension (i.e., comprensión auditiva); and two subtests of the Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI; Center for Academic and Reading Skills, 2004): English Alphabet Knowledge and English Story Comprehension. Results of the present study support the findings reported by similar prior studies, indicating that while ERF effectively increases students' alphabet knowledge, greater effort is necessary toward programming for increasing student outcomes on story comprehension.

This study focused upon the established importance of the reading-writing relationship and its posited effect on literacy development. A repeated-measures experimental design investigated the effects of interactive writing instruction on 151 kindergarten students’ acquisition of early reading skills. Multilevel modeling was used to evaluate the impact of the reading-writing relationship as operationalized with interactive writing and writing workshop on the acquisition of early reading skills as repeated outcome measures at four points in time (Level 1) were clustered within students (Level 2). Results of this study indicated that instruction grounded in the reading-writing relationship, namely, interactive writing and writers’ workshop combined with existing reading instruction, led to equal growth in kindergarteners’ acquisition of early reading skills for each of the outcome measures at each of the four time points assessed. The growth effects obtained from the use of the reading-writing instructional treatments used in this study compared with the national normative samples from the outcome measures indicated that the reading-writing instruction significantly increased the rate of growth for the early reading skills of phonemic awareness, alphabet knowledge, and word reading.

Academic learning time (ALT) has long had the theoretical underpinnings sufficient to claim a causal relationship with academic achievement, but to this point empirical evidence has been lacking. This dearth of evidence has existed primarily due to difficulties associated with operationalizing ALT in traditional educational settings. Recent advancements in computer-based instruction provide an unprecedented opportunity to model ALT and to test the underlying theory. A widely-used computer-based early-reading curriculum was operationalized using Berliner's model of ALT (Berliner, 1991). This curriculum was then mapped to a computer-based assessment to determine an appropriate method of quantifying early-reading ALT. Software limitations required that ALT be quantified as a summative measure. Data were collected from 1,347 prekindergarteners and were analyzed using a dose-response approach that associated usage of the curriculum with a generalized variable of early-reading achievement. Gains across four early-reading skills were demonstrated via linear regression to be predicted by minutes of usage (Adj. R2 = .078). A sample optimized to test the hypothesis showed a stronger correlation (Adj. R2 = .096). Time spent using the Free Play version of the curriculum did not uniquely predict additional variance. Similarly, gains on reading skills that were not taught explicitly by the curriculum were not predicted by overall usage. These three results were interpreted as supporting the ALT learning model. Post-hoc analyses were performed on curriculum-usage compliance and on within-curriculum progress, both of which were statistically significant when added to the basic dose-response model. Multiple exploratory best-fit models were constructed. The strongest accounted for just under 20% of the overall variance (Adj. R2 = .186). Effect sizes were in the medium-to-large range for the entire sample (D = 0.71) with significant improvement for the optimized sample (D = 1.26). Children in the optimized sample who used the program over 20% more than recommended had even stronger gains (D = 1.67). The ability to remotely and accurately quantify interaction with a computer-based curriculum and assessment in the home defines a new vista in ALT research.

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The aim of this diploma thesis is to present one of the aspekts of teaching of early reading and writing in primary schools in England. By this aspekt we mean methods that are used during teaching early reading and writing. The theoretical part of the diploma thesis familiarize the reader with the education system in England as whole, describes the National Curriculum and closely familiarize the reader with the pre-school curriculum and primary school curriculum. From both curriculums are pointed out especially those aspects which relate to teaching English language. In addition, there will be presented programs of teaching early reading and writing and closely described methods of teaching early reading and writing. The practical part of diploma thesis is based on research which was performed in community primary school "Dale Community Primary School". The research was conducted by several methods: questionnaire survey, observation and controlled observation. The questionnaires and observation aimed at finding methods of teaching early reading and writing which are used at the specific primary school. In addition, two modelled lessons were prepared and later reflected. During both modelled lessons were used methods of teaching early reading and writing. The knowledge and information gained from...

Early reading literacy development of early readers at the beginning of the school attendance Abstract The aim of the dissertation is to monitor the development of the initial reading literacy of early readers, i.e., children who have learned to read with the comprehension before beginning of their school attendance. The aim of the research was to find answers to the questions how and when these children learned to read and how their initial reading literacy and motivation to read developed during the first year of primary school. Subsequently, the subject of the research was the verification of the connection between early reading and intellectual giftedness and family background. The theoretical part is devoted to current trends in primary school, the basic principles of primary education are described with emphasis on personal and constructivist conception of teaching, focusing on the topics of pupil assessment and inclusive education, including the education of gifted and exceptionally gifted students. The term reading literacy is defined, the stages of its development are distinguished and questions concerning reading are discussed, including the results of research on early reading in the Czech and foreign contexts. The chapter devoted to giftedness defines the term of giftedness and its...