reading achievement
Running Head: Reading Achievement Reading Achievement READING ACHIEVEMENT The purpose of this study was to conclude if the phonics method of teaching was a superior method (based on student achievement) than the whole language approach over the coarse of one school year. ... The results showed that students instructed with the phonics method of instruction experienced greater achievement in reading acquisition, spelling, and vocabulary skills. ... The importance of a student’s reading development of paramount. The development of good reading skills factor in to the overall development of the whole student. No matter what profession a person chooses in life, good reading skills are essential. Knowing the emphasis placed on good reading skills, how should it be taught to teach students? ... More specifically, what is the effect of these teaching methods on reading achievement of first grade students? ... Sometimes when reading, a new word may appear. ... “Reading Achievement” will be operationally defined as the difference in the student’s reading scores on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills from the previous year. ... The dependent, quantitative variable is the first grade student’s reading achievement. The student’s reading achievement will be measured by the Iowa Test of Basic Skills given in the late spring. The purpose of the research will be to determine the effects of teaching methods on reading development for first grade elementary students. Literature will be reviewed that relates to the phonics method of teaching reading skills and the whole language method of teaching reading skills. Students must possess adequate reading skills for them to be successful in future endeavors. These areas will be discussed which present educators ideas about reading development. Early Studies Carbo (1996) examined the high stakes involved in reading instruction---high stakes for the teachers and administration. She recorded that principals, especially, need to understand both systems and use the best of both phonics and whole language alone with other effective reading programs to help the students learn to read well. ... Children who did will with phonics usually displayed strong auditory and analytic reading styles. ... An understanding of an individual’s reading style helped in deciding which type of learning style should be taught for the approach to reading. ... Cassidy (1996) examined the techniques between the teaching of phonics and the teaching of whole language by the use of decoding processes, fluency in reading, and reading progresses. ... Cassidy cited a survey done by Martin Turner of the Dyslexia Foundation that “shows reading age has declined by six months since the introduction of ‘whole language.’” Cassidy challenged the term “reading age,” and he questions how the results were measured and if they were reliable. ... Later Studies In Baumann’s and Hoffman’s (1998) article review, a survey was conducted to get the teacher’s opinions and reactions to the great debate over the best method of teaching reading in the elementary schools (pre-K through fifth grade).