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How Spelling Supports Reading

And Why It Is More Regular and Predictable Than You May Think

By Louis C. Moats, AMERICAN EDUCATOR (2005)

Voices of Carolina: Phonics program teaches all ages to readT

This article by Ashley Landiss of the SC Policy Council Education Foundation chronicles STEPS success in SC. The author is vice president for public affairs of the South Carolina Policy Council Education Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization in Columbia, SC.

One Teacher.pdf

Often the story of STEPS is in how it changes the definition of "on grade level" in a school.

A 9th Grade Student Quote.pdf

One student speaks.

AP.pdf

This teacher shares how learning STEPS has changed her approach to teaching reading.

A Kindergarten Teacher.pdf

Many kindergarten teachers are reluctant to believe young children can learn to read through explicit phonics. Read what this kindergarten teacher has to say after she's seen the amazing results of STEPS in her class.

GL.pdf

A special education teacher speaks about about learning STEPS.

Susan.pdf

Susan is a ninth grader who took a semester class in STEPS.

Thank You, Whole Language
In this sadly humorous article, the author chronicles the effects of whole language instruction. From Illinois Loop

Whole Language Lives On: The Illusion of "Balanced" Reading Instruction
By Louisa Cook Moats
Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, Oct. 2000.

Teaching Adolescents to Read
By Reid Lyon

See Dick Flunk
By Tyce Palmaffy
The evidence is overwhelming that kids with reading problems need phonics-based instruction.
Why aren't educators getting the message?

12 Components of Research-Based Reading Programs

By Texas Education Agency 1996

Cracking the Code
By Debra Viadero
Teacher Magazine, January 1998

Why Johnny Can't Decode
By G. Reid Lyon
The Washington Post
Sunday, October 27 1996

Who Teaches the Teachers
By Lynne V. Cheney
First published in The Weekly Standard, August 9, 1999, Vol. 4, Number 44

How Johnny Should Read
A war is on between supporters of phonics and those who believe in the whole-language method of learning to read; Caught in the Middle--the Nation's Schoolchildren.
BY JAMES COLLINS
Oct. 27, 1997

Why Reading Is Not a Natural Process
Nearly four decades of scientific research on how children learn to read supports an emphasis on phoneme awareness and phonics in a literature-rich environment. These findings challenge the belief that children learn to read naturally.
G. Reid Lyon
Educational Leadership, March 1998, Volume 55, Number 6

Some Issues in Phonics Instruction
Implicit and explicit phonics instruction.
Dr Kerry Hempenstall

When Older Students Can't Read
Both students and educators become frustrated when students beyond 3rd grade display reading difficulties. Research based reading strategies can build a foundation for reading success in students of all ages.
By Louisa Moats, Educational Leadership, March 2001

The Epidemic of Reading Disabilities
By Carl L. Kline, M.D. with Carol Lacey Kline
Testimony of Mrs. Pam Barret Before the Committee on Education and the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.
September 26, 2000

Reading Recovery: Anatomy of Folly
Kozloff, Martin. 2004

"Whole Language" Faulted for U.S. Reading Woes "Balanced" reading instruction allows worst practices to continue
by George A. Clowes

Ten Important Research Findings, from Scholastic
And the winner is… Phonics!
By Martha Miller, Better Homes and Gardens, November 2001
Good overall article. Consider making copies for parents

Reading Rockets: Ten Myths About Learning to Read

By: Sebastian Wren (2004)

A Scientific Approach to Reading Instruction
Barbara Foorman, Jack Fletcher, and David Francis
Center for Academic and Reading Skills (CARS) 1997
Stanovich, K. E. & Stanovich, P. J. (1995). How research might inform the debate about early reading acquisition. Journal of Research in Reading, 18, 87-105.

Phonics: It is a legitimate teaching method, not a right wing- conspiracy
Lynne Cheney, Dallas Morning News, November, 1999