Good News
Consider the list of factors below that are related to learning to read. Select the two that you think are probably the most powerful predictors, the ones that are most highly correlated with success in early reading:

• Phonemic segmentation
• Letter naming (knowledge of the alphabet)
• Peabody Picture Vocabulary (a measure of oral language and IQ)
• Father’s occupational status (a measure of socio economic status)
• Parents reading to children
• Sex
• Age
• Parents read in their spare time
• Preschool attendance

If you are like many teachers you may have included as one or both of your top two, whether or not the parents have exposed the children to books by reading aloud in the home, or whether the parents model an interest in literacy by reading in their spare time. We know that these environmental factors play an important role in early reading. However, according to a longitudinal study by Share et al. (1984), these factors, selected from a longer list, are in rank order. This means that the most powerful factors are the ability to isolate or segment the individual phonemes or sounds in a word and knowing the alphabet.

The importance of the first two factors should not devalue experiences such as reading aloud to children. However, look at the factors on this list and ask yourself which ones teachers can do anything about. As educators this should come as very good news! We cannot change a family’s economic status as measured by the father’s occupation. We would have limited success convincing parents to read more in their spare time or even to read to their children more. But teachers can certainly do something about the top two. (Of course we can and should read to children a great deal in preschool and primary classrooms to make up for any lack of books in the home.)

Why might phonemic segmentation and alphabet knowledge be more powerful predictors than other factors? Let’s consider this scenario. A kindergarten teacher has taught her students, who are not yet true readers, to memorize the words to a short jingle: Sam, Sam the baker man/washed his face in a frying pan. The two lines are written on a chart and the children are asked to come forward and point to the words as they recite it from memory. If a child has some awareness of oral language, he or she might segment the first line into four rhythmic units: Sam/Sam/the baker/man. Or a child might segment it into six syllabic units: Sam/Sam/the/ba/ker/man. Since the line has five words, a child will get off track with either one of these strategies when attempting to match spoken units to the words on the page. But if the child has alphabet knowledge and the ability to segment at least an initial phoneme, then he or she may realize that when saying the word man, one should have a finger on the group of letters that has an m in it and when saying baker, the letter b should be touched. This ability to track a line of print using at least partial alphabetic clues and to self-correct when off track is known as a concept of word (Morris, 1981, 2003). A concept of word enables a child to actually find the words on the page, certainly an indisputable skill if one is to lean to read. Without a concept of word no amount of book exposure or interest in reading or oral language ability will help a child identify the words out of the sea of letters on a page of print.

The Alphabet
It should come as no surprise that knowing the graphic symbols of the alphabet is critical to learning to read, and this knowledge has been long identified as the most highly correlated factor in numerous studies (see reviews in Chall, 1967, Adams, 1990, Snow, Burns & Griffin, 1998, NRP 2000). Reading is, after all, the process of translating visual symbols on the printed page into meaningful language. Many children learn their letters before they come to kindergarten through playful interactions with puzzles, magnetic letters, videos, bingo games, software, television programs, etc. They learn them from siblings, from parents, and from child care providers. It takes several years for most children to learn to recite the letters in order to recognize and name the different forms of letters (uppercase and lowercase), and to write the letters for themselves. Lucky children from literacy rich homes have both the time and adult attention that it takes to master the alphabet prior to kindergarten.

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Research consistently indicates that phonological awareness—along with alphabet knowledge—is highly correlated with success in beginning reading. EPS recognizes the importance of phonological awareness training and offers several programs that include exercises in this important pillar of instruction.

		Sounds Sensible Grades Pre-K–1 Sounds Sensible is the first level of S.P.I.R.E., a highly successful, systematic, multisensory reading and language arts program that is research-based and time-tested. The kit includes a Teacher’s Manual, picture and letter cards, Key Word Concept Sheets to introduce each letter, its keyword, and its sound, and fun games and activities. Each lesson includes practice in listening, rhyming, segmenting, and other skills. Sounds Sensible works well as the first level of any core program or as supportive/supplementary instruction for beginning readers in Grades pre-K–1. Its Orton-Gillingham philosophy also makes Sounds Sensible uniquely effective as part of an intervention, a remedial, or an inclusion reading program. MORE INFO »
		Handprints Grades K –2 The Handprints series is an appealing and engaging way to introduce young learners to the joys of reading. The approach reflects the latest research on phonemic awareness, phonics, and beginning reading. Students discover and master reading skills through using the workbooks, then use their knowledge to read the accompanying storybooks. Students learn decoding and have opportunities to apply this phonetic knowledge, meaning and language cues, and multiple reading strategies in whole texts. The storybooks and lessons in Handprints are increasingly complex, help students build a strong sight vocabulary, and reinforce skills through frequent review. The series easily accommodates students at different stages of emerging literacy. MORE INFO »
		Get Ready for The Code, Get Set for The Code, Go for The Code Grades K–1 Part of our best-selling Explode The Code series, these books introduce students to the consonant sounds and provide practice in visual discrimination, picture-sound matching, picture-letter matching, letter formation, and left-to-right tracking. MORE INFO »
		Explode The Code Wall Chart and Activity Book (Rated a Teacher Rave by Instructor Magazine) Grades K–1 This colorful hanging chart coordinates with the Explode The Code series. Each letter of the alphabet has its own pocket containing a stuffed toy corresponding to the key word for that letter. The accompanying activity book offers 40 games that help build phonemic awareness skills and reinforce letter-sound relationships.   MORE INFO »

Date		Conference Name		Location
April
4/5-7		Staff Development for Educators (SDE)		Nashua, NH
4/14-16		National Catholic Education Association (NCEA)		Boston, MA
4/14-17		National Council for Exceptional Children (NCEC)		New Orleans, LA
4/21-23		31st Annual National Head Start Association (NHSA)		Anaheim, CA
May
5/2-6		International Reading Association (IRA)		Reno, NV
5/3		Elementary School Principal’s Association		Hartford, CT
5/5		Educational Sales Association of New England (ESANE)		Hyannis, MA
5/5–7		Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators		Green Bay, WI
5/13–15		West Coast Special Education Conference		Anaheim, CA