ERIC Number: ED335635
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1991-May
Pages: 11
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Early Literacy Instruction with Computers and Whole Language: An Evaluation of the Writing-To-Read Computer Program with Disadvantaged Minority Children.
Decker, Barbara C.
A study examined the effectiveness of the Writing-to-Read Computer Program in elementary school language arts education. The program is designed to teach children to read through interacting with a computer by learning sound/symbol relationships and by composing stories. First through fourth graders from predominantly black, urban schools and from a rural, racially integrated school were tested in vocabulary, reading recognition, reading comprehension, and language subtests of the Metropolitan Achievement Test, and in the reading, language, and spelling subtests of the California Achievement Test. Results indicated that the Writing-to-Read Program produced significant gains in language and spelling which hold up over time. However, it did not seem to influence reading ability. Traditionally, poor language skills have been seen as a detriment to normal development in reading yet the children in this study had strong language scores. Results also suggest that if these children had a whole language start in reading instruction beginning in kindergarten, the children's scores in reading would improve dramatically. (Three tables of data are included.) (PRA)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Metropolitan Achievement Tests; California Achievement Tests
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A