1. Askew, Billie J. and  Fountas, Irene C. “Building an Early Reading Process: Active from the Start!” The Reading Teacher 52, no. 2 (October 1998): 126-134.

2. Brabham, Edna and Villaume, Susan. “Building Walls of Words” The Reading Teacher 54, no.7 (April 2001): 700-702

Answers several questions related to word walls, which are used to aid Language Arts education. Characteristics of word walls; Purposes of word walls; Use of word walls for teaching several types of readers and writers.

3. Button, Kathryn and Johnson, Margaret. “The Role of Shared Reading in Developing Effective           Early Reading Strategies.” Reading Horizons 37, no. 4 (1997): 262-73.

Explains that shared reading uses a familiar text to help children engage in the act of reading even before they can independently decode words. Describes how it works in a kindergarten classroom within a balanced literacy curriculum and the teacher’s role in its effective use.

The current mantra calls for resolving the early reading wars through a “balanced” approach.  Defining balance will require careful theoretical and practical examination of specific elements in the acquisition of early reading skill. Phonemic awareness provides one opportunity for such an exercise.  This article reviews origins of the construct from auditory perception through onset-rhyming patterns to the current emphasis on phoneme manipulation.  Two points emerge from this review. First, both analysis of English orthography and survey of correlational data suggest that beginning readers are more likely to grasp the alphabetic principle when they can grasp the concept of the individual phoneme. Second, acquiring this competence is quite difficult for young pre-readers, but may be feasible if (1) students learn to use articulatory features as the basis for understanding phonemes, and (2) phoneme awareness and spelling-sound relations are taught synergistically.  Remaining to be completed is the task of development and evaluation of effective instructional programs to assess these hypotheses in large-scale naturalistic settings.  The article describes a design-experiment strategy for approaching this task.

5. Cambourne, Brian. “Explicit and Systematic Teaching of Reading --- A New Slogan?”  The Reading        Teacher 53, no.2 (October 1999): 126-127

 The support for Direct Instruction in most western democracies seems to have brought with it a new slogan: Explicit and Systematic Teaching of Reading. Cambourne discusses the role of explicit and systematic teaching.

This article defines phonological awareness and discusses historic and contemporary research findings regarding its relation to early reading.  Common misconceptions about phonological awareness are addressed.  Research-based guidelines for teaching phonological awareness and phonemic awareness to all children are described.  Additional instructional design guidelines are offered for teaching children with learning disabilities who are experiencing difficulties with early reading.  Considerations for assessing children’s phonological awareness are discussed, and descriptions of available measures are provided.

7. Dixon, Barbara. “Reading: Mysterious or Meaningful Beginnings?” Reading 18, no. 3 (December      1984): 168-72.

 Relates the belief that “shared reading” using big books will provide children with a meaningful introduction to reading.

8. Ford, Michael P. and Opitz, Michael F. “Using Centers to Engage Children During Guided Reading Time:  Intensifing Learning Experiences Away from the Teacher.”  The Reading Teacher 55, no. 8 (May 2002): 710-71

Discusses some suggestions that can be used to maximize the literacy learning that can occur during independent learning time. Organizational structures of instruction away from the teacher; Considerations for successful learning centers; Centers that meet established criteria.

9. Good, Roland H.; Simmons, Deborah C. and Smith, Sylvia B. “Effective Academic Interventions in the United States: Evaluating and Enhancing the Acquisition of Early Reading Skills.” School Psychology Review 27, no. 1 (1998): 45-56.

 The alignment of assessment, intervention, and meaningful student outcomes is arguably one of the most exciting developments in school psychology.  This linkage is especially apparent in the areas of early literacy where the convergence of three areas of research and development form a dynamic process of information and feedback to enhance the effectiveness of interventions in preventing and remediating reading problems for children in early elementary grades.  In this article, we develop the rationale for early and intensive literacy intervention, review the major implications of the converging evidence in early literacy and reading acquisition, and propose mechanisms to enhance early literacy development through the strategic and timely linkage of assessment and intervention.  The major areas of convergence from research regarding what to teach and how to teach it are presented.  The contributions and role of assessment information in developing and providing effective beginning.

10.  Hadaway, Nancy; Vardelli, Sylvia and Young Terrell. “Scaffolding Oral and Language Development Through Poetry for Students Learning English.” The Reading Teacher 54, no.8 (May 2001): 796-806

 Hadaway, Vardell, and Young discuss the importance of providing opportunities for ongoing oral language development for all students, the particular needs of children learning English as a second language, and the uniqueness of poetry as a vehicle for providing practice and pleasure in oral language skill development.

11.  Koskinen, Patricia  S.;  Blum, Irene;  Bisson, Stephanie; Phillips, Stephanie; Creamer, Terry S. and  Baker, Tara Kelley. “Shared Reading, Books, and Audiotapes: Supporting Diverse Students in School and at Home.” The Reading Teacher 52, no. 5 (February 1999): 430-444  

 Discusses how a school-home program helped young English Second Language (ESL) students and native English-speaking students achieve in reading. Classroom environments that fostered children’s growth; How to enhance book access in school and at home; Ways to enhance book access at home with books and audiotapes.

12.  Metsala, Jamie L.  “Effective Primary Grades Literacy = Balanced Literacy Instruction.” The Reading Teacher 50, no. 6 (March 1997): 518-521

Wharton-McDonald et al conducted two surveys of the practices of US teachers who are considered to be highly effective in developing primary-level literacy competencies in their students. Data from their studies strongly support the position that teachers should be educated to blend perspectives, to weave together a variety of methods and contents.

A Canadian school district devised a benchmarking system to rank early reading materials for instruction and assessment.  Benchmarking reading materials according to difficulty on a ten‑level system, this procedure provides guidelines that teachers can use to quickly and appropriately choose suitable reading materials for each student. Development of this leveling system, books at each level of the system, reading strategies required by readers to access books at each level, other leveling systems, and use of leveled reading materials are described.

14.  Slavin, Robert E. “Reading by Nine: What Will It Take?” Peabody Journal of Education 73, nos. 3 & 4 (1998): 68-80.

Discusses what it would take to end reading failure in the U.S., examining what is already known, looking at the problem of early reading, and presenting a comprehensive strategy for reading by age 9 that involves dissemination of existing best practices, basic and applied research on beginning reading, and development and evaluation of new approaches to beginning reading.

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