Research

Introduction

Reading A-Z pays close attention to the National Reading Panel's recommendations and other research findings when developing its reading resources. The student and teacher resources on the Reading A-Z Web site have been developed to reflect the instructional practices and reading strategies that are best supported by research findings from a wide variety of sources. The resources also correspond to the findings of the Put Reading First federal initiative.

In 2000, the National Reading Panel published its research-based findings on the reading strategies and instructional practices that demonstrated the best results for reading achievement in developing readers. The panel reviewed several hundred key studies that met its criteria for sound scientific research on reading. Of those studies, a subset of qualifying studies was further evaluated through a meta-analysis. The results are organized around five key areas of reading instruction--phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

The findings are intended to help educators and publishers understand and address the best methods of instruction and develop the most effective instructional resources. The hopeful outcome is improved reading performance on the part of all children.

This document addresses each of the five areas of reading instruction identified by the National Reading Panel. It identifies specific Reading A-Z resources designed to support effective instruction. It also covers other areas cited by research that fall outside the parameters of the five key areas.

White Paper

Providing Differentiated Reading Instruction to Meet the Individual Needs of Students
By Adria F. Klein

Description

Phonological awareness addresses the sounds of language. It does not teach the symbols that represent sounds, but rather the sounds alone. Instruction in phonological awareness includes the following:

Word Awareness

Word awareness is the knowledge that words have meaning. Students with word awareness can discriminate individual words in a passage read to them. Beginning readers must have this skill before they can extract meaning from what they read. For example, a student needs to know that the spoken word dog represents a creature that has four legs and barks before he or she can understand what is meant by the printed word dog.

Rhyme Awareness

Rhyme awareness is the understanding that certain word endings sound alike, and therefore contain the same sounds, such as the short /a/ and /p/ sounds in cap and map or the long /i/ and /t/ combination in fight and kite.

Onset and Rime

Onset is the initial consonant in a one-syllable word. Rime includes the remaining sounds, including the vowel and any sounds that follow. For example, in kite, the /k/ sound is the onset, and the /ite/ sound is the rime.

Syllable Awareness

This is the recognition that words are divided into parts, each part containing a separate vowel sound. A student with syllable awareness can identify bat as one syllable and batter as two syllables.

Phonemic Awareness

This is the student's awareness of the smallest units of sound in a word. It also refers to a student's ability to segment, blend, and manipulate these units. A student with phonemic awareness hears three sounds in the word bat: /b/, /a/, and /t/.

Findings and Recommendations

The National Reading Panel’s findings focus on the phonemic awareness aspect of phonological awareness. Phonemic awareness can be taught and learned. Effective strategies include teaching students to: identify a particular sound in a word; recognize the same sound in different words; recognize one word that begins or ends with a different sound from a group of three or four words; segment and blend the sounds in a word; and manipulate sounds in a word through deletion, addition, and substitution of other sounds. Phonemic awareness helps students learn to read and spell. The most effective instruction quickly moves the student from awareness of a particular sound to an association of that sound with a letter symbol. Once letter symbols are introduced, students should be able to manipulate the sounds within words by using the letter symbols. < The best results occur when instruction focuses on one or two phonemic manipulations at a time, rather than three or more manipulations. Several simultaneous manipulations may cause confusion, dilute the teaching of a particular manipulation, or introduce more difficult manipulations before easier ones have been mastered.

Citations

• Phonemic awareness is the key indicator of a child’s success in learning to read and central to later spelling achievement. (Stanovich, 1986,1994; Ehri, 1984)
• Children who have phonemic awareness skills are likely to have an easier time learning to read and spell than children who have few or none of these skills. (Armbruster and Osborne, 2002)
• Children who cannot hear or manipulate the sounds that make up words will have severe difficulty connecting sounds to individual letter symbols and combinations of letters. (Adams, 1990)

Reading A-Z Alignment with Research

Reading A-Z materials support the suggested practices and recommendations of the National Reading Panel in the following areas:

Word Awareness

• Reading A-Z offers many resources for teaching word awareness. Materials that are well suited for "read-aloud" or "read to" instruction include Read-Aloud alliterative books, Alphabet Chants, High-Frequency Word books, and Alphabet Books.

Onset and Rime Awareness

• Strategic lessons that teach word families (phonograms) are part of Reading A-Z’s systematic phonics lessons. Blending and substitution activities are included in these lessons.
• Phonogram Flashcards can be used in word manipulation/building activities.

Rhyme Awareness

• Reading A-Z offers two types of books for teaching rhyme—poetry books and Leveled Books with rhyming text.
• Alphabet Chants are excellent resources for teaching rhyme awareness.
• Picture flashcards with objects whose names rhyme can be used in sorting and classifying activities as well as oddity tasks.

Syllable Awareness

• Lessons in selected Leveled Books provide strategies for teaching syllable awareness.
• Picture cards with objects whose names contain different numbers of syllables can be used in sorting activities and oddity tasks.

Phonemic Awareness

• Each phonics lesson begins with a phonemic awareness section. Strategies include listening to alliterative passages, blending and segmenting words, and manipulating sounds in words through substitution, deletion, and addition of phonemics. Elkonin boxes are provided for tactile blending and segmenting activities.
• Each Leveled Book lesson from levels aa through J contains a specific strategy for teaching a targeted phonemic.
• Read-Aloud Books have a high occurrence of words that contain the targeted phonemic. Reading A-Z provides books for all the major phonemics.
• Picture cards with objects whose names begin or end with the various phonemics can be used in sorting, classifying, and oddity tasks.
• Chants for each of the major phonemics can be used in identifying phonemics during read-aloud activities.

Reading A-Z Resources

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Read-Aloud Books
The Digging Dog	Grandpa\'s Goat
Alphabet Chants
Alphabet Chant B	Alphabet Chant W
Alphabet Books
Alphabet Book R	Alphabet Book U
High-Frequency Word Books
What Is It?	Look At Me
Poetry Books
Hey, Diddle Diddle
Summer's a Bummer
Alphabet Flashcards
Alphabet Picture Flashcards D	Alphabet/Sound Flashcards

Description

Phonics teaches developing readers the relationship between phonemes (sounds of oral language) and graphemes (letters that represent sounds in print). Students who learn phonics master the sound/symbol code that enables them to read and spell. Mastering phonics, or the alphabetic principle, will help readers decode unfamiliar words and automatically recognize familiar words.

Findings and Recommendations

Contrary to conventional wisdom, research has found that phonics instruction can and should begin as early as kindergarten. Early instruction has a significant and substantial effect on later reading ability.

Not all phonics instruction is equally effective. Research findings show that a phonics program must contain two elements in order for instruction to lead to real reading results:

Systematic Instruction
Direct and explicit teaching of the major sound/symbol relationships in a specific and clearly defined sequence, known as systematic phonics, is a more effective instruction strategy than teaching phonics without a systematic order or without direct and explicit instruction.

A systematic phonics program should cover all the major sound/symbol relationships, including consonants, blends, short and long vowels, consonant and vowel digraphs, diphthongs, and variant sound-symbol relationships. However, instruction of sound/symbol relationships is most effective when combined with plenty of practice and application through the reading and writing of words.

Systematic phonics instruction improves word recognition and spelling in kindergarten and first-grade students from a wide range of economic and social backgrounds. It also significantly improves students' reading comprehension. This systematic instruction is particularly beneficial to students who are having difficulty learning to read.

Practice
Phonics instruction is a component of reading instruction, but it should not constitute the entire reading program. It should be integrated with other reading instruction in phonemic awareness, fluency, and comprehension strategies in order to create a complete reading program. Phonics instruction is greatly enhanced when it provides ample opportunity for students to practice the sound/symbol relationships they have been taught.

Practice should include reading word lists and phrases, as well as continuous text in books and stories. Students also should have an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of sound/symbol relationships through writing.

Citations

Systematic Instruction

• The greatest improvements in reading came from a systematic phonics program. (National Reading Panel, 2000)
• Systematic and explicit phonics instruction is more effective then non-systematic or no phonics instruction. (Armbruster and Osborne, 2002)
• Systematic and explicit phonics instruction significantly improves children’s reading comprehension. (Armbruster and Osborne, 2002) Systematic phonics instruction is a valuable and essential part of a successful classroom reading program. (National Reading Panel, 2000)
• Systematic phonics instruction should be integrated with other reading instruction in phonemic awareness, fluency, and comprehension strategies to create a complete reading program. (National Reading Panel, 2000)

Practice

• The most effective practice in enhancing phonics, reading, and spelling skills included explicitly and systematically teaching children manipulation of sounds with letters, focusing the instruction on one or two types of manipulation rather than multiple types. (National Reading Panel, 2000) 
• Programs that focus too much on teaching letter-sound relations and not enough on putting them to use are unlikely to be very effective. (National Reading Panel, 2000)
• Fluent and automatic application of phonics skills to text is another critical skill that must be taught and learned to maximize oral reading and reading comprehension. (National Reading Panel, 2000)
• Effective phonics instruction helps students apply their knowledge of phonics as they read words, sentence, and text. (Armbruster and Osborne, 2002)

Reading A-Z Alignment with Research

Systematic Instruction
Reading A-Z provides 58 lessons that cover all of the major sound/symbol relationships, including consonants, vowels, consonant blends, consonant digraphs, vowel digraphs and diphthongs, r-controlled vowels, irregular vowels, and silent consonants. These lessons include direct and explicit instructional guidelines. The Reading A-Z phonics program delivers this explicit set of sound/symbol lessons in a specific sequence. The sequence begins with single letter sound/symbol relationships (initial and final consonants and short vowels) and progresses toward more complex sound/symbol relationships.

Each lesson for Reading A-Z's Leveled Books from Level aa through Level P has a section devoted to phonics.

Practice
The phonics lessons and resources are only part of Reading A-Z's collection of reading resources and instructional strategies. They are part of a balanced approach to literacy that includes materials for phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.

Reading A-Z's sound/symbol cards and direct, explicit instructional strategies provide students with practice manipulating sounds and symbols to form new words and alter existing words.

Each Reading A-Z phonics lesson includes reproducible Phonics Practice Sheets of decodable words, phases, and sentences. The lists consist solely of words containing the target sound/symbol relationship, previously taught phonic elements, and high-utility words.

Decodable books accompany each new lesson. These books consist entirely of words formed with previously taught sound/symbol relationships and high-frequency words. They place the sound/symbol relationships in the context of continuous text in book format.

Reading A-Z Resources

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Phonics Lessons Jake and Gail Go to Spain Bob and Nell Don and Dots
Decodable Books
Tot and Dots	No More Sad Tunes
Phonics Cards
Lesson 8: Picture Cards Lesson 8: Word Cards Lesson 8: Picture/Word Cards

Description

Fluency consists of two parts: (1) the ability to read text at a standard reading rate, and (2) the ability to read text with proper pauses and expression. Fluent readers can recognize words automatically and effortlessly. They group words into phrases and meaningful chunks as they read, creating vocal expression and fluidity.

Fluent readers connect ideas within a text and connect texts to their background knowledge to form meaning. Less fluent readers expend much energy on decoding, leaving little energy to devote to comprehension.

Findings and Recommendations

Fluent readers read words as wholes without much conscious effort, and can focus instead on comprehension.

The following approaches contribute to improved fluency and overall reading achievement:

• Repeated and monitored oral reading with guidance
• Instructor modeling of fluent reading followed by student re-reading
• Repeated practice with familiar passages and books at the student’s independent reading level
• Graphing reading rate over repeated readings
• Buddy reading, partner reading, and student-adult reading
• Performance of reader’s theater scripts

Citations

• Good readers develop automaticity, or the ability to read words as wholes, with little conscious effort, and thus have the mental attention and thinking capacity to focus on comprehension. (Share and Stanovich, 1995) 
• Fluency develops gradually over considerable time through substantial practice. (Armbruster and Osborne, 2002)
• Fluency is important because it provides a bridge between word recognition and comprehension. (Armbruster and Osborne, 2002)
• A close relationship exists between fluency and reading comprehension. (NAEP Study, 2000)

Reading A-Z Alignment with Research

Reading A-Z provides hundreds of developmentally appropriate Leveled Books. They are easy to access and can be downloaded and printed for pennies. This means that students can keep the books for repeated reading.

Reading A-Z also provides leveled fluency passages written at graduated reading levels. These passages can be practiced, timed, and graphed to promote fluency.

Reader’s theater scripts are play scripts that provide practice in oral reading, fluent delivery, and correct expression through characterization.

Reading A-Z Resources

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Leveled Books
Changing Seasons
The Tinosaur	Severe Weather
Reader\'s Theater
Irma\'s Sandwich Shop
Fluency Passages
Level G Level M Level T

Description

Reading specialists often refer to four types of vocabulary—listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Oral vocabulary, which includes listening and speaking, is important to understanding both spoken and printed words. Readers connect, or "map," written words with their known oral vocabulary as they read. If a reader has a limited oral vocabulary, he or she will have difficulty making meaning from words, even if he or she is able to sound them out. If a reader reads the sentence The dog is in her abode, and the word abode is familiar, then the sentence makes sense. On the other hand, if a reader is unfamiliar with the word abode, the text will not make sense.

Reading and writing vocabulary consists of the words students see or can place in print. The reading and writing vocabulary for many beginning readers, especially second language learners, is limited.

Findings and Recommendations

The easiest way to increase vocabulary is through exposure to new words through frequent reading, writing, and speaking. Students will pick up many words indirectly through independent reading. However, teaching specific words before reading a text helps both vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension. Having dictionary and glossary resources for explicit instruction of vocabulary also makes instruction more effective.

Teachers can help students foster an awareness of and interest in new words through engaging word activities, interesting word facts, and word play.

Vocabulary is key to getting meaning from printed language. Beginning readers and second language learners with weak oral vocabularies will have difficulty comprehending text.

Citations

• Although a great deal of vocabulary is learned indirectly, some vocabulary should be taught directly. Students need opportunities to use word-learning strategies to get at the meaning of unknown words. (Armbruster and Osborne, 2002)
• Vocabulary growth has not been adequately addressed in early years of a child’s education, and more direct teaching strategies are needed. (Chall 1983/1996; Chall, Snow et al., 1982)
• Vocabulary work should focus on root (base) words instead of inflected endings and the derivation of words. (Lorge and Chall; Beck and McKeown, 1990)
• Anywhere from 600 to 1,200 root (base) words are acquired per year during the elementary years, and researchers suggest the numbers need to be much higher. (Anglin, 1993; Biemiller and Slonim, 2001).
• Research indicates that children, particularly those under 10 years of age, do not acquire vocabulary through inference. There is also evidence that children profit less from simply being read to as opposed to being provided with some explanation when unfamiliar words are encountered during the reading. (Beck, Perfitti, and McKeown, 1982; Elley, 1989; Feitelson et al., 1991; Whitehurst et al., 1998)

Reading A-Z Alignment with Research

Reading A-Z makes a vast collection of books from many genres readily accessible to teachers and students. The books are written at graduated levels of difficulty so that students can be matched to books that are suitable for independent reading. Extensive independent reading helps build a student\'s vocabulary and therefore promotes comprehension.

Reading A-Z’s Leveled Books introduce glossaries and bold-faced vocabulary terms beginning at the second-grade levels. Both fiction and nonfiction books include words that expand a student’s vocabulary. These words are bold-faced to draw the reader’s attention and signal that they are included in the glossary.

Reading A-Z provides direct vocabulary instructional strategies for each Leveled Book lesson. Vocabulary terms are listed at the front of each lesson for introduction, pre-teaching, and discussion before a book is read.

Each Leveled Book lesson also includes vocabulary strategies for teaching prefixes, suffixes, multiple meaning words, synonyms and antonyms, figurative language, and more. Each Leveled Book is accompanied by at least one vocabulary worksheet. These worksheets allow students to work with words using crossword puzzles, anagrams, and other exercises. They also provide word-building activities with prefixes, suffixes, base words, synonyms, antonyms, and other language elements.

Comprehension quizzes for each Leveled Book include word-meaning items to check a reader’s grasp of the book’s vocabulary. Vocabulary flashcards promote engaging vocabulary-building activities. Generic graphic organizers for vocabulary instruction are available for downloading.

High-frequency words are taught explicitly and directly, and are used in running text in High-Frequency Word books and Leveled Books beginning at the kindergarten levels.

Reading A-Z Resources

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Leveled Book
Ancient Egypt
High-Frequency Word Books	High-Frequency Word Flashcards
Too Little, Too Big	Too Little, Too Big

Description

Without comprehension, reading is meaningless. Comprehension involves thinking about what has been read. Most reading experts agree that the thought processes and strategies involved in comprehending text can and should be taught directly and explicitly.

Findings and Recommendations

Comprehension is an active process that requires an intentional and thoughtful interaction between the reader and the text.

Following are seven key comprehension strategies that developing readers should be taught:

• Connecting what they are reading to prior knowledge of and experience with the topic
• Generating and answering questions as they read
• Monitoring comprehension
• Recognizing story structure
• Summarizing ideas in text
• Practicing visualization and imagery
• Using graphic organizers and visual devices, such as concept maps and Venn diagrams

Explicit and formal instruction in the application of comprehension strategies has been shown to be highly effective in enhancing understanding.

Good readers have a purpose for reading. They are active thinkers and are engaged in the reading process.

Citations

• Reading comprehension has become the “essence of reading” and is essential not only to academic learning in all subject areas, but to lifelong learning as well. (Durkin, 1993)

Reading A-Z Alignment with Research Findings

Each Reading A-Z Leveled Book lesson targets a comprehension strategy. The lesson indicates the strategy under the lesson objectives, cites it as a purpose for reading, and provides opportunities for discussion and practice before, during, and after reading. The teacher models the strategy using think-aloud techniques written into the lesson.

Each set of Leveled Book worksheets includes a graphic organizer or visual learning device to engage the reader and give purpose to the reading. These resources are aligned with the targeted comprehension skill of each lesson.

Generic graphic organizers can be used to teach comprehension skills and strategies.

Each Leveled Book is accompanied by a set of literal, inferential, and open-ended critical/creative thinking response questions.

Two generic retelling rubrics (scoring forms) are provided to assess a student\'s retelling of a story or book.

Reading A-Z Resources

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Retelling Rubrics (Scoring Forms)
Fiction	Nonfiction

Description

Leveled reading is the widely accepted practice of providing reading instruction in small-group settings using books that are developmentally appropriate.

Research Findings and Recommendations

Repeated oral reading that includes guidance from teachers, peers, or parents has a significant and positive impact on word recognition, fluency, and comprehension across a range of grade levels.

Students should read often to practice the skills they have been taught. They should be given ample opportunity to practice reading books at their independent reading level.

They should read a rich variety of books from a wide range of genres, and they should read developmentally appropriate materials.

Parents can support their children\'s reading development by reading to their children, listening to their children read, and discussing what their children read.

Citations

• All children should receive reading instruction using texts at their instructional reading level. A text in which a child can read 90 to 95 percent of the words accurately is considered instructionally appropriate. (Clay 1991: Fountas and Pinnell, 1996)
• A book should be easy enough to develop a student’s confidence and facilitate understanding, but difficult enough to challenge without frustrating. (Clay, 1991)
• Appropriate reading materials for emergent readers should contain meaningful and natural language patterns and many high-frequency words. (Hiebert, 1998)

Reading A-Z Alignment with Research Findings

Reading A-Z provides educators with a large collection of developmentally appropriate reading books spread over 29 levels of difficulty. The books have been written to strict leveling criteria and then further analyzed using software that rates each book using more than 20 factors of difficulty.

The Leveled Books use natural language in meaningful contexts at the early levels. They make repeated use of high-frequency words. The graduated difficulty of each level ensures that the reader is receiving his or her instruction with materials that adequately challenge without causing frustration.

Reading A-Z allows teachers to download as many copies as necessary to meet their leveled reading needs. Because teachers can download and assemble books for pennies apiece, students can keep the books and take them home for repeated reading.

Each book is accompanied by a lesson built along the leveled reading conventions of strategy instruction before, during, and after reading.

Each Leveled Book includes a quiz that covers literal, inferential, and critical/creative thinking questions.

Reading A-Z provides two benchmarks books and running records for each reading level. These observational records of reading behavior allow a teacher to monitor student progress and guide instruction with developmentally appropriate materials.

Reading A-Z Resources

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Leveled Books
Level A: Bird Goes Home	Level G: Whose Eggs Are These?
Level O: The Beekeeper	Level S: Martin Luther King, Jr.
Level V: The Lost Dutchman	Level Y: Plate Tectonics
Overview of Comprehension and Word-Attack Strategies
Reading and Word Attack Strategies

Description

Alphabet instruction involves teaching the naming, recognition, and formation of the 26 uppercase and lowercase letter symbols used to form every word in the English language.

Findings and Recommendations

After phonemic awareness, recognition of the letters of the alphabet is the most important indicator of early reading success.

Starting at preschool and kindergarten, schools should help students learn the names and shapes of letters. Incorporating writing/printing into letter instruction is a powerful means of developing letter recognition. Using letter/keyword/picture displays when introducing letters is an effective strategy. (Adams, 1990)

Reading A-Z Alignment with Research

Reading A-Z offers a large collection of resources for teaching the alphabet, including alphabet books and chants for each letter, worksheets, flashcards, and a bank of teaching strategies.

The alphabet books reinforce uppercase and lowercase letter recognition. They also teach the student important pre-reading skills, such as recognizing the front and back, top and bottom of a book, left-to-right progression, one-to-one word correspondence, and the notion that words carry meaning.

The flashcards can be used in a number of interactive activities to reinforce letter recognition.

Reading A-Z alphabet books and flashcards use letter/keyword/picture presentation for introducing letters.

Reading A-Z provides several letter formation worksheets for each letter of the alphabet in Print style, Slant Print style, and cursive style. These worksheets promote work with letter formation, which has been shown to improve a student\'s ability to recognize letters.

Reading A-Z Resources

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Alphabet Books
Alphabet Book P
Alphabet Chants	Letter Formation Worksheets
Alphabet Chant A	Letter K Worksheet

Findings and Recommendations

Research has shown that children who read well in early grades are much more assured of later academic success. Furthermore, research shows that those who fall behind in the early years will most likely lag behind academically in subsequent years. (Snow, Burns, and Griffin, 1998)

According to research, the two most important early indicators of reading success are phonemic awareness and letter naming and recognition.

Reading A-Z Alignment with Research

Reading A-Z provides a vast collection of alphabet resources that include an alphabet book for each letter of the alphabet (English, Spanish, and French), alphabet flashcards, alphabet chants, alphabet bingo cards, and letter formation practice sheets. A bank of teaching strategies with engaging student activities for alphabet instruction is also offered.

Reading A-Z Resources

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Alphabet Books
T - English	T - Spanish
T - French
Alphabet Chants
Alphabet Chant T
Alphabet Flashcards
English	Spanish
Letter Formation Worksheets
Letter T Worksheet - English	Letter T Worksheet - Spanish
Nursery Rhyme Books
There Was a Crooked Man

Findings and Recommendations

Research provides compelling evidence that parental involvement has a positive effect on a student's academic achievement. (Clark, 1983; Comer, 1980; Eccles, Arberton, et al., 1993; Eccles-Parsons, Adler, and Kaczala, 1982; Epstein, 1983, 1984.)

Reading A-Z Alignment with Research

Reading A-Z offers hundreds of developmentally appropriate books that can be downloaded from any Internet-connected computer and printed for pennies per book. Many of these books have English, Spanish, and French versions. Reading A-Z books can become a part of each child’s book collection at home for repeated practice with parents and other caretakers.

Reading A-Z Resources

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Leveled Books
Level aa: Verano	Level M: L'art autour de nous
Level W: The Yanomami: Deep in the Amazon
High-Frequency Word Books
Each Will Get	Cada uno recibira
Trouver et donner
Alphabet Books
C	Ñ