A Comparison of Young Children Learning to Read in Different Instructional Settings

Abstract

Children's acquisition and use of reading strategies and their evolving stance toward reading in 2 instructional settings, skills-based and whole language, were compared. The authors selected 6 low-income participants who represented a range of reading development from emergent (least proficient) to conventional (most proficient). The children also had a controlled, common reading task outside the classroom for comparison. The 1st-grade students' literacy strategies were coded for self-correction and substitutions that were meaningful and had letter-sound correspondence. The children in the constructivist-based whole language classroom used more reading strategies and exhibited positive stance patterns. Results provide insight into characteristics of young children's reading development that are not often researched.