Very little research has occurred about students with severe disabilities and verbal difficulties and their ability to learn phonics, decoding, and other early literacy skills(Ainsworth et al., 2016 and Johnston et al., 2009b). Ainsworth et al. (2016) used the Accessible Literacy Learning curriculum to teach phonics and decoding. Johnston et al. (2009b) used a three-step instructional strategy, step one - increased opportunities for adult-directed teaching and active teacher child interaction, step two- use of time delay to teach, step three-consequences, to teach phonics and decoding. While both studies utilized time delay in some fashion, they were not entirely based upon the evidence-based practice. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine whether constant time delay is effective in teaching phonics and decoding to students with severe disabilities and verbal difficulties and if students can generalize the skill to words that have not been explicitly taught. Results indicated a functional relation between the use of constant time delay and decoding of CVC words. Additionally, students were able to maintain and generalize learning. Students with severe disabilities and verbal difficulties can effectively learn decoding of CVC words through constant time delay and can maintain and generalize the skill. Results were similar to other studies which implemented constant time delay to promote emergent literacy skills (e.g., Browder et al., 2012; Dessemont et al., 2019; Spooner et al., 2015; Tucker Cohen et al., 2008). Practitioners can use constant time delay to teach decoding to students with severe disabilities and verbal difficulties and to promote early reading skills. Future research should replicate the study with students from different age groups as well as examining the effects of this strategy on the acquisition of CCVC and CVCC words.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of constant time delay on decoding letter sounds within consonant-vowel-consonant words and to read constant-vowel-constant words skills for students with severe disabilities and verbal difficulties. This study used a multiple probe across participants design with four students with severe intellectual and/or development disabilities. Results indicated a functional relation between the use of constant time delay and decoding of CVC words. Additionally, students were able to maintain and generalize learning. Results were similar to other studies which implemented constant time delay to promote emergent literacy skills. Practitioners can use constant time delay to teach decoding to students with severe disabilities and verbal difficulties and to promote early reading skills. Future research should replicate the study with students from different age groups as well as examine the effects of this strategy on the acquisition of CCVC and CVCC words.

This scoping review examines studies on the instruction of early literacy practices to pre-service teachers in teacher education programs. The research questions for this scoping review are: a) What are the major themes in the literature surrounding instructional strategies for early literacy in Bachelor of Education programs? and b) Are there any gaps in the existing literature? Six major education databases were systematically searched, which resulted in 16 articles. After conducting a thematic analysis of these articles, three themes were identified in the literature: B.Ed. program have needs that should be addressed, there are gaps in knowledge and content, and perceptions of pre-service teachers. An unexpected theme appeared during the exclusion process, which was the lack of studies on what pre-service teachers learn in B.Ed. programs regarding early literacy practices, and the high number of articles which study pre-service teacher’s perceptions, opinions, feelings, and beliefs about what they learn in B.Ed. programs, regarding early literacy practices. This demonstrates a gap in the literature and the need for further research on early literacy instruction in B.Ed. programs.

Syftet med detta arbete var att undersöka Skolverkets kartläggningsmaterial “Hitta språket” som från och med höstterminen 2019 är obligatoriskt i förskoleklassen. Vi ville undersöka hur materialet var uppbyggt och vilka skriftspråkliga aktiviteter som var synliga, hur lärare beskrev sitt arbete med kartläggningsmaterialet, på vilket sätt kartläggningen bidrog till tidiga insatser, samt vilka för- respektive nackdelar lärare upplevde med kartläggningsmaterialet i relation till elevernas läs- och skrivutveckling.I vårt arbete har vi utgått från de två olika synsätten på språkutveckling, syntetisk samt analytiskt synsätt. Det syntetiska synsättet, även kallat phonics, innebär att gå från del till helhet, med fokus på bokstavskännedom och den fonologiska medvetenheten. I språkutveckling, utifrån analytiskt synsätt, utgår man istället från helhet till del, i ett meningsfullt sammanhang. I vår undersökning ville vi dels analysera kartläggningsmaterialet utifrån det analytiska och syntetiska synsättet, dels belysa lärares åsikter, tankar och funderingar kring materialet. Vi genomförde kvalitativa intervjuer, med sex olika lärare. Våra intervjuer var semistrukturerade, då frågorna var förutbestämda och möjliggjorde för öppna svar. Intervjuerna mynnade ut i en tematisk analys som gav tre teman. Analysen av den insamlade datan visar att pedagogerna uppmärksammar både de syntetiska och de analytiska delarna i materialet och uttryckte att de största svårigheterna syntes i de analytiska delarna. Våra intervjuer visar även på bristperspektivet i form av både utbildning kring materialet, tidsaspekten samt förutsättningarna innan, under och efter kartläggningen. Samtliga pedagoger uttryckte att svårigheter finns på olika nivåer men att de största anpassningarna efter kartläggningen gjordes på gruppnivå.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the effects, if any, of a supplemental phonics curriculum, Saxon Phonics, on the reading achievement of first-grade students in one mountain-west, semirural, school district. The design was casual-comparative and ex post facto, and answered the questions: (1) Do students taught using a traditional basal program and students taught using both the traditional basal program and a supplemental phonics program (control vs. treatment) differ on selected end-of-year reading achievement scores (i.e., portions of the DIBELS Next assessment—nonsense word fluency [NWF], oral reading fluency [ORF], and accuracy [ACC])? (2) do any possible interactions among selected variables (i.e., instructional program, gender, and beginning-of-year reading level) exist related to performance differences on end-of-year reading achievement scores among students receiving reading instruction with or without a supplemental phonics program? The independent variables were the instructional program Saxon Phonics, a traditional/basal reading curriculum and the reading levels of low, medium, and high. The dependent variables were oral reading fluency, accuracy and nonsense word fluency, measured by the DIBELS Next assessment. The 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 DIBELS Next data were collected from the school district database upon approval from the Institutional Review Board in January of 2017. A mixed effects model was utilized to explore the relationship between use of the selected supplemental phonics curriculum and selected reading achievement scores of first-grade students. Results revealed that there was no significant difference between the control and treatment groups, though there was a statistically significant improvement of low readers in the treatment group over the control group.

The purpose of this study was to determine what, if any, associations existed between the implementation of the Open Court Reading® program in kindergarten and students’ reading achievement on the Terra Nova standardized achievement test in the first grade. The study involved first-grade students who attended kindergarten in one school system in East Tennessee. Using a quantitative design, this study included the first-grade Terra Nova scores from 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. Scores obtained by first-grade students who did not receive Open Court Reading® in kindergarten (2001 and 2002) were compared with first-grade scores obtained by students who did receive Open Court Reading® in kindergarten (2003 and 2004). The study factored in gender, ethnicity, students receiving special education services, and Title I and nonTitle I status of the school attended. Reading Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE), vocabulary NCE, reading composite NCE, language NCE, and word analysis NCE scores from four years of Terra Nova scores were used in the analysis. t-tests for independent means and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were employed to examine the information. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Program for the Social Sciences. Based on the findings, implementing the Open Court Reading® program in kindergarten appears to have reduced learning gaps that often emerge in early grades when children are learning to read. The findings indicated that a positive relationship exists between participation in Open Court Reading® in kindergarten and test performance in first grade. From the two years of test data analyzed after the implementation of Open Court Reading® in kindergarten, learning gaps between females and males diminished; in some cases the males surpassed the females. Implementation of Open Court Reading® in kindergarten does not appear to reduce differences in test performance between non-minority and minority students. Students with special needs who are exposed to Open Court Reading® in kindergarten appear to perform higher on reading subtests in the first grade. According to the results of the reading, reading composite, and word analysis subtests, Title I students reduced the gap with nonTitle I students after they participated in the Open Court Reading® program in kindergarten.

Reading is not an easily learned skill for most students. I chose to look at the methodology being used by teachers in East Tennessee to instruct emerging readers. Through my review of literature, I researched reading approaches implemented in American classrooms in the last 150 years. I compared and contrasted data to determine current researchers' findings concerning the most effective techniques for teaching reading and how teachers have implemented this knowledge base into their teaching strategies. Teachers cannot teach what they do not know. Therefore, I also researched literature addressing the growing concern among educators with teachers' preparation and professional development opportunities as well as the amount of specific preparation teachers received regarding the reading methods they are using. After compiling the data from my interviews with 30 East Tennessee first-grade teachers, I found that most said they did not feel adequately prepared to teach emergent readers. These teachers reported they had not had instruction that provided foundations in a wide range of research-based approaches to reading. The professional development offerings for teachers already in the classroom were often sporadic and did not compensate for their lack of preparation in college. There is a need for colleges and universities to re-evaluate the current teacher preparation programs. School systems should strive to provide quality inservice opportunities for instructors of emergent readers as well as hiring reading coaches or specialists to assist the reading instructors.

The aim of this paper was to investigate what principles and approaches can be utilized when helping dyslexic students to improve their reading skills in the English classroom. The structure of this study is narrative research synthesis which means that the paper is based on articles written by others. The results indicate that there are several approaches to make use of, such as the Orton-Gillingham approach, Phonics and Whole language. Many experts support the principle of multisensory structured learning regarding the teaching of dyslexic students. This means that students use all their senses at the same time: visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. In order to further help students improve reading skills, the teacher can create a safe and calm classroom environment to reduce stress.

This study was conducted to investigate the reliability of the Phonics Diagnostic Inventory (PDI), a curriculum-based, specific skill mastery measurement tool for diagnosing and informing the treatment of decoding weaknesses. First, a modified one-parameter item response theory model was employed to identify the properties of potential items for inclusion in each subtest to then inform the construction of subtests using the most reliable items. Second, the properties of each subtest were estimated and examined. The test information and test characteristic curves (TCC) for the newly developed forms are reported. Finally, the accuracy and sensitivity of PDI cut scores for each subtest were examined. Specifically, based upon established cut scores, the accuracy with which students would be identified as in need of support and those who are not in need of support were investigated. The PDI generated from this research was found to more reliably diagnose specific decoding deficits in mid-year second grade students than initially constructed forms. Research also indicates further examination of cut scores is warranted to maximize decision consistency. Implications for future studies are also discussed.

The intent of this thesis is to seek understanding of how word work lessons with children can transfer to their authentic reading and writing practices. Research has shown that when word work is embedded into a balanced approach to teach literacy, it works well and quickly. However, other research shows that word work did not transfer into the students’ authentic writing because the connection between word work and writing was not made explicit to the students. The gap in the literature is that far less is known about how word work transfers to authentic reading and writing. In my study, I engaged in word work lessons, guided reading lessons, and reading response lessons with four second grade students over the course of three weeks. All lessons were video recorded and became data for this study. Data were analyzed deductively by locating critical teaching moments that were taken advantage of. Findings include three different types of prompts being used by the teacher to take advantage of critical teaching moments. Results from this study have implications for educators, namely how they can be more intentional with their phonics and guided reading instruction, so that word work instruction can transfer to authentic reading and writing practices.