A Balanced Approach to Beginning Reading Instruction: A Synthesis of Six Major U.S. Research Studies

Should I teach phonics? If so, where and when do I begin? How much instruction is necessary? What other instructional methods should I use? Teachers have struggled with these questions since the teaching of reading to young children began, with the anticipated outcome that all recipient children will become successful readers. And, although the education community has debated the best form of beginning reading instruction for decades, the questions about the most effective way to teach children to read have not been answered. A Balanced Approach to Beginning Reading Instruction: A Synthesis of Six Major U.S. Research Studies contends that landmark reading research studies can empower educators to build a consensus about effective beginning reading instruction and help prevent young children's reading difficulties. The purpose of this book is threefold: (1) to summarize and review six influential research studies of beginning reading instruction (see table of contents below for the studies covered), (2) to show how the studies support a balanced approach to beginning reading instruction, and (3) to make the research findings more accessible to all educators, resulting in informed decision making in teaching reading to young children. Author John Edwin Cowen's synthesis of these studies will provide preservice and inservice teachers with a clearer perspective of current knowledge about beginning reading instruction, particularly the importance of phonics instruction in creating a balanced approach to beginning reading. A Balanced Approach to Beginning Reading Instruction will help you get the most from the research and more effectively teach young children to read.

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John Edwin Cowen is Associate Professor of Education/Reading at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, New Jersey, USA.