The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the content and characteristics of the currently available commercial reading software for Pre-K through third grade children. The design of the study was a content analysis. Based on the evaluation rubric established by the researcher, ten commercial reading software were selected to be analyzed. By reviewing and transcribing, the data were obtained, and then coded, categorized, and interpreted. The findings from the analysis revealed that all reading software programs offered exercised for practicing basic phonics skills; the alphabetic principle, letter-sound association, word knowledge, sentence building, and reading comprehension. Depending on the software developers, phonics-based practice was presented in two ways; separate skill-based practice emphasis and storybook-reading emphasis. All software programs utilized drill-and-practice, direct instruction and mastery learning methods and utilized gaming strategies to motivate and engage the learners. Multimedia technology was used to make the software more appealing. All reading software programs were developed on the perspectives that view learning to read as the continuum of a child's oral language development and background experience about words. It is recommended that parents and teachers review and select the software based on reliable information sources, use the software as supplementary practice based on the learning objectives identified and individual student needs.

The current study investigated the factors that have a positive impact on reading development by examining the influence of the home and school environment on students who started school already able to read (early readers). The reading proficiency of the students in the study was determined by a variety of reading tests conducted at the beginning of the school year and students were identified as “early readers”, “average readers”, or “non readers”. The intent was to provide a comprehensive picture of early readers with an emphasis on historical, cultural, and social factors. Many factors influence the development of reading, but this study concentrated on the learning environment at home and in the school. Several methods were used to facilitate a broad description of the reading development of early readers, including observations, interviews, questionnaires, and reading tests. The theoretical concepts were derived from a social constructivist perspective and build on Vygotsky’s theories of learning and development. Among the factors considered were formal reading instruction and literacy. The results demonstrated that the early readers’ reading ability greatly exceeded that of their classmates at the start of the formal school experience. The early readers maintained this advantage through the first three years of school, but the gap was reduced over time. A comparison of the timing of the reading development showed that the early readers developed primarily before the start of school, while the average readers developed during school years one and two, and the non readers, during school year two. A comparison of the learning environments in home and school showed considerable differences. Learning in the home came about as a result of the child’s interests and occurred in the zone of proximal development. Parents gave support without controlling the activities and, along with older siblings, served as good models for reading. In the school setting, the national curriculum and the goals set in the syllabus determined the content of the instruction. The child’s interest did not guide the learning and early readers often worked on concepts they had already mastered. Early readers also worked independently more often, facilitated by their ability to read instructions. As a result, the individualization that occurred was often simply that children accomplished the same tasks in different amounts of time. This study concluded that the stimulation and support that parents provide can have a significant impact on reading learning and development. It is important that teachers take into account the prior knowledge and experiences that children have, since this can greatly impact their motivation to learn. Reading development does not occur at any one specific age, but can be influenced by a number of factors including the child’s development in other areas, and historical, social, or cultural influences.

Early readers are defined as students that are able to read fluently before beginning year 1. In this study, I have investigated some teachers' perceptions of early readers and the teaching of early readers from a phenomenographic research approach. The empirical evidence of the study consists of six recorded and semi-structured interviews with primary school teachers from three public schools. All participants have been involved in teaching students that are early readers. The inductive and phenomenographic inspired analysis generated eight different categories based on the participants' perceptions of early readers, and the other four categories addressed the perceptions of the teaching of early readers. Early readers are in general perceived to be strong, alternatively to be affected by factors at home, to have a strong motivation, or to have gained input from the pre-school and pre-school classes. The perceptions about the teaching of early readers are either based on their specific needs and the need of challenges that should be provided by the teacher, or the inclusion of the early readers in groups, in order to increase the involvement in a group learning process. Other perceptions are that the early reader should learn based on the current possessed level of knowledge, or that the early reader can be a resource for other students. The result of this study can be related to previous research, suggesting that the development of reading can occur in several different ways and that the teacher's own knowledge, attitude, and willingness in meeting with early readers, is significant for the student's motivation and future reading development. The findings in this study suggest that teaching of early readers requires reflection and presence from the teachers, and reflections of what, how, and why the teaching is performed in a certain way, and how it can benefit early readers.

Samhällets krav på läskunnighet och att utveckla sin läsning samt vad vi som lärare kan göra för att främja elevernas läsutveckling har intresserat mig. Våra styrdokument kräver ett aktivt arbete med att låta eleverna utveckla sin förmåga att läsa och Förenta Nationerna samlar statistik över hur olika länders läskunnighet ser ut. Vi behöver därmed arbeta med läsutveckling på individ- och gruppnivå för att kunna få ett positivt resultat, för att sedermera kunna presentera detta utåt genom olika undersökningar. Detta arbete bygger på en sammanställning av 10 vetenskapliga artiklar som tillsammans utgör en grund för vilka aspekter som påverkar läsutvecklingen och strategier som främjar läsutveckling.  Eleven behöver känna sig inkluderad, motiverad, få återkoppling och stöd från dels läskunniga vårdnadshavare men också lärare i form av instruktioner anpassade för elevens behov. Resultatet i detta arbete visar på vad skolan kan göra för att främja läsutvecklingen och även att hemmet genom vårdnadshavare bidrar med läskunnighet. Vidare förtydligas vad som bör ingå i lärares kompetens, hur denna främjar elevernas läsinlärning och deras motivation till läsning.

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...

Syftet med detta examensarbete är att undersöka hur lärare med erfarenhet av Wittingmetoden beskriver sitt arbete med den samt om det på vetenskaplig grund går att argumentera för användning av metoden. Frågeställningarna är, om och varför lärare med erfarenhet av Wittingmetoden anser den vara lämplig för undervisning i läs- och skrivinlärning i årskurs 1–3 samt om det barn som redan kan läsa med ett visst flyt och förståelse i början av årskurs 1 också har nytta av metoden och i så fall hur. Frågeställningarna har uppstått när uppsatsförfattaren har ifrågasatt beskrivningar av metoden i kurslitteratur under lärarutbildningen. Beskrivningarna hävdar bland annat att metoden är så pass grundlig att den inte är relevant för undervisning av dagens elever då många av dem redan har en del förkunskaper. Underlag till studien utgörs dels av intervjuer med 10 lärare med utbildning i samt längre eller kortare erfarenhet av Wittingmetoden, dels av litteratur om Wittingmetoden, skriven av dess upphovskvinna Maja Witting samt tidigare forskning inom läs- och skrivinlärningsområdet kopplat till vissa karakteristiska delar av Wittingmetoden. Resultatet visar att Wittingmetoden ofta är inkorrekt beskriven samt att den förhåller sig mycket väl till vad den senaste forskningen menar är god och avgörande läs- och skrivundervisning i alfabetiska skriftspråk, nämligen ett arbetssätt med utgångpunkt i fonologisk medvetenhet och sammanljudning av fonem och grafem. Till detta ska sedan läggas olika arbetssätt för att skapa förutsättningar för god läsförståelse såsom utökat ordförråd, lärares högläsning, läsförståelsestrategier och allmänbildning. Sådan undervisning kan också, visar forskning, vara till nytta för den tidiga läsaren, särskilt det som gäller läsförståelse. Informanterna menar att Wittingmetoden är högst relevant och lämplig för läs- och skrivinlärning, liksom för ytterligare utveckling, för alla elever men att det finns lärare som den passar sämre för.