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The Society for the Advancement of Excellence in Education provides non-partisan education research and information to policy-makers, education partners and the public. Our purpose is to encourage higher performance throughout Canada's public education system.
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Early Literacy Instruction That Makes a Difference
[ March 15, 2004 ] While the debate lingers over whether explicit instruction in phonological awareness should be taught in a purely oral context or embedded in text, new research in a BC school district summarizes the evidence on both sides of the dialogue.
One in four Canadian children struggle with reading, and schools and districts are seeking effective methods of instruction to ensure all young readers acquire the skills they need at an early age. Explicit phonemic awareness is recognized in reading research as an essential foundation for the process.
Two instructional programs for developing phonemic awareness in kindergarten students have led to significant gains in reading and spelling by the end of Grade 1 in Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows, BC. The study, conducted by a team of teachers and coordinators in School District No. 42, deserves scrutiny because of the impact it has had in regular classrooms.
Links to Literacy: Examining phonemic awareness instruction in kindergarten classrooms was authored by Sheridan Angerilli and Noralea Pilgrim. As district coordinators for early literacy interventions, they developed and directed the experimental programs implemented in 8 district kindergarten classes. The research was supported through grants from the Vancouver Foundation and the Society for the Advancement of Excellence in Education (SAEE).
Issues of design, training, support and means of measurement are all powerfully presented in Links to Literacy, offering important lessons for other districts. One of the findings is that teachers need support with lesson structure and sequence and mentoring in the delivery of programs.
This research offers cautious optimism to educators, says primary reading consultant, Dr Lorna Bennett. It suggests that teachers with the support of district help can make significant differences that lead to effective readers in our primary grades. This early literacy study in Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows has provided a very good starting point.
Copies of the report may be obtained from SAEE. The Executive Summary can be viewed on-line at http://www.saee.ca/publications/A_020_EEH_EXECSUM.php
For more information, ontact:
Sheridan Angerilli (604) 465-6737 or Helen Raham (250) 717-1163
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 Society for the Advancement of Excellence in Education
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