Provides research-based data about effective literacy instruction processes.

If you are an educator of young children, you're likely to have participated in the ongoing dialogue about the reading wars - the historical debate about the best way to teach reading. You can address some of the difficult issues at the center of these debates with this synthesis of more than 30 years of literacy research that provides compelling evidence for a balanced approach to beginning reading instruction. Author Cowen's discussion of six U.S. studies, from the 1967 First-Grade Studies to the 2000 National Reading Panel Report, makes the findings and conclusions of this vital research accessible and reader friendly to stakeholders in the early literacy community, enabling you to make more informed decisions about teaching reading to young children.

In this groundbreaking new book, Richard Gentry clears the fog that has long shrouded early literacy development and illuminates beginning reading instruction with major new insights from decades of research. Gentry's unifying, comprehensive theory shows how reading and writing develop in fi ve phases:

Most children learn to read, irrespective of the method of instruction. Yet up to a fifth of children struggle with reading in their first few years at school. Unfortunately, those who struggle in the early years will continue to struggle throughout their school career. Yola Center offers a systematic, research-based guide to teaching reading in the first three years of school. Her aim is to ensure that teachers can work with at-risk or reluctant readers in the regular classroom as effectively as with children for whom reading seems to come naturally. Taking an analytic approach to reading, Beginning Reading shows how children can be moved through the key stages of early reading acquisition. Each chapter includes an overview of relevant research, practical classroom strategies and guidelines for lesson planning. Center adopts a balanced view of reading instruction, stressing the importance of phonological processes at the beginning of literacy instruction, as well as semantic and syntactic ones. This supports at risk children in regular classrooms, who are provided with the maximum opportunity to develop the accurate and fluent word recognition skills that are needed in order to extract meaning from print. 'At last! A book that combines an overview of recent research findings and their implications for the teaching of reading with sensible and practical suggestions for classroom teachers.' Morag Stuart, Professor in the Psychology of Reading, University of London 'This is an excellent book. It comprehensively reviews the research literature and shows how to apply it to the nuts and bolts of teaching reading in the first few years of school. It is a must-read for teachers.' Professor Tom Nicholson, University of Auckland, New Zealand 'This is the book that we have all been waiting for. It is the only book that I have seen that focuses on a theoretically sound approach to the teaching of reading with a focus on children who experience difficulties in the regular classroom.' Ruth Fielding-Barnsley, Queensland University of Technology 'It is indeed rare when a reading scientist can explain the intricacies of reading development, reading difficulties, and reading instruction with such clarity and comprehensiveness. Most importantly, Dr Center provides a masterful synthesis of the most current converging scientific evidence available that defines what research-based reading instruction is all about.' G. Reid Lyon, PhD, National Institutes of Health, USA

A step-by-step program that shows parents, simply and clearly, how to teach their child to read in just 20 minutes a day.

Beginning with braille provides a wealth of effective activities for promoting literacy at the early stages of braille instruction. The text includes creative and practical strategies for designing and delivering quality braille instruction and teacher-friendly suggestions for many areas such as reading aloud to young children, selecting and making early tactile books, and teaching tactile and hand movement skills. This book also includes tips on designing worksheets, introducing braille contractions, teaching the use of the braillewriter, and facilitating the writing process in braille. Chapters also address guidelines for individualizing instruction, the literacy needs of students with additional disabilities, and assessment of student progress in developing literacy skills.