Rosen Publishing

Documentation of the Scientifically-Based
Reading Research forPowerKids Press books for grades K – 5

The Theory and Research Behind PowerKids Press

The pedagogic theory behind PowerKids Press is supported by the findings of the National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998) and the National Reading Panel Report Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction (Langenberg, et al, 2000), which confirm that five of the critical components for skilled reading include phonemic awareness, phonics instruction, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

PowerKids Press incorporates all of these elements, and take reading instruction a step further by placing each of these skills within the context of leveled nonfiction readers, an approach called for in Text Matters in Learning to Read (Hiebert, 1998), and supported by the research featured in the articles Trying Something New: Meaning-based Reading Instruction in a Finnish First-Grade Classroom (Korkeamäki, 1996) and The Scarcity of Informational Texts in First Grade (Duke, 1999). The content of these nonfiction books is correlated directly to the national standards for social studies, science, and math curricula for grades K – 4. We believe that reading instruction administered through the use of nonfiction text that is correlated to the curricula gives young children an excellent basis from which to become successful, fluent readers.

Each book contains ample opportunities for phonemic awareness and phonics instruction. Studies such as those featured in Sources of individual differences in reading acquisition (Share, et al, 1984) show that phonemic awareness is one of the two best predictors of how well children will learn to read. An emerging reader with a high level of phonemic awareness is better positioned to decode unfamiliar words (Ehri, 1991, 1994), a necessary skill when dealing with informational text. There is a heavy emphasis on acquiring new vocabulary at these early levels, and indeed at each subsequent level.

Fluency and comprehension are also critical components of skilled reading. Per the findings of Fountas & Pinnell (1996), these feature close picture/text correlation; a combination of site words, high-frequency words, and new words; and subject matter that is of interest to the reader. By doing so, PowerKids Press books are effective in helping children learn to read fluently, that is to say with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. Comprehension skills are enforced simply by the nature of the subject matter of the books, which correlates directly to what the child is learning in the classroom.

How Do PowerKids Press Books Work?

We understand that teachers are encouraged to spend a majority of their time on reading instruction in addition to the other subjects dictated by national curriculum standards. As such, we have closely correlated the text in PowerKids Press books to the social studies, science, and math curricula for grades K – 4, giving teachers the ability to reinforce critical reading skills, such as phonemic awareness, phonics instruction, vocabulary, fluency, and reading comprehension, while introducing young students to a variety of informational content. Because the content is closely tied to the curriculum, children are encouraged to read fluently and for comprehension. As their reading skills grow, so does their knowledge of a subject and their vocabulary.

Evaluation-Based Evidence of Effectiveness

PowerKids Press books have been used effectively in schools around the country for more than seven years. Pre- and post-tests results reveal the striking effectiveness of this program.

Support for the Methodology Behind PowerKids Press

See attached

References

Adams, M.J. (1990) Beginning to read: Thinking and Learning about print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Chall, J. (1967) Learning to read: the great debate. New York: McGraw Hill.

Dreher, M.J. & Korkeamäki, R-L. (1996) “Trying Something new: Meaning-Based Research Instruction in a Finnish First-Grade Classroom.” Journal of Literacy Research (Vol. 28, pp. 9–34)

Duke, N.K. (1999) “The Scarcity of Informational Texts in First Grade.” Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA) report # 1-007.

Ehri, L. (1994) Development of the ability to read words: Update. In R. Ruddell, M Ruddell & H. Singer (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading (4th ed., pp. 323–358). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Ibid. (1991) Development of the ability to read words. In R. Barr, M.L. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, & P.D. Pearson (Eds.) Handbook of reading research (Vol. 2, pp. 383, 417). New York: Longman.

Fountas, I. & Pinnell, G.S. (1996) Guided Reading: Good first teaching for all children, Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Hiebert, E. (1998) “Text Matters in Learning to Read.” Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA) report # 1-001.

Hoffman, J., Roser, N., Salas, R., Patterson, E. & Pennington, J. (2000) “Text Leveling and Little Books in First-Grade Reading.” Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA) report # 1-0010.

Langenberg, D., Correro, G., Ehri, L., Ferguson, G., Garza, N., Kamil, M., Marrett, C. B., Samuels, S. J., Shanahan, T., Shaywitz, S., Trabasso, T., Williams, J., Willows, D. & Yatvin, J. (Panel) (2000). “Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction”. Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Share, D., Jorm, A. Maclean, R. & Matthews, R. (1984) Sources of individual difference in reading acquisition. Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 1309–1324.

Snow, C. Burns, M. & Griffin, P. (Eds.) (1998). “Preventing reading difficulties in young children.” Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Vaaca, R., Pikulski, J. Ransom, K., & Farstrup, A., (1997) The Role of Phonics in Reading Instruction. Newark, DE, International Reading Association.

Documentation of the Scientifically-Based
Reading Research forPowerPhonics

The Theory and Research Behind PowerPhonics

The pedagogic theory behind PowerPhonics is based on the findings of the National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998) and the National Reading Panel Report Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction (Langenberg, et al, 2000), which state, in part, that phonemic awareness is a critical component in teaching children to read.

Supported by hundreds of studies, this theory is neither new nor untried. However, PowerPhonics takes phonics instruction a step further by placing phonics skills within the context of leveled nonfiction readers, an approach called for in Text Matters in Learning to Read (Hiebert, 1998), supported by the research featured in the articles Trying Something New: Meaning-based Reading Instruction in a Finnish First-Grade Classroom (Korkeamäki, 1996) and The Scarcity of Informational Texts in First Grade (Duke, 1999), and by the 1997 position statement issued by the International Reading Association The Role of Phonics in Reading Instruction. Our target audience is pre-K to 1, the group for whom phonics instruction has proven to be most effective (Adams, 1990; Chall, 1967).

Other studies, such as those featured in Sources of individual differences in reading acquisition (Share, et al, 1984) show that phonemic awareness and letter knowledge are the two best predictors of how well children will learn to read. We believe that phonics-skills instruction administered through the use of nonfiction text that is correlated to the curricula gives young children an excellent basis from which to become successful, fluent readers. An emerging reader with a high level of phonemic awareness is better positioned to decode unfamiliar words (Ehri, 1991, 1994), a necessary skill when dealing with informational text. Per the findings of Fountas & Pinnell (1996), the books in PowerPhonics feature close picture/text correlation; a combination of site words, high-frequency words, and new words; an increasing level of text difficulty corresponding to the acquisition of phonics skills; and subject matter that is of interest to the reader.

How Does PowerPhonics Work?

We understand that teachers are encouraged to spend a majority of their time on reading instruction in addition to the other subjects dictated by national curriculum standards. As such, we have closely correlated the text in PowerPhonics to the social studies and science curricula for grades pre-K to 2, giving teachers the ability to reinforce critical reading skills, such as phonemic awareness, while introducing young students to a variety of informational contents. Because the content is closely tied to the curriculum, children are encouraged to read fluently and for comprehension. As their phonics skills grow, so does their knowledge of a subject and their vocabulary.

By providing coherent, skills-based reading instruction, PowerPhonics gives children a solid foundation on which to build and strengthen reading skills in five critical areas: phonemic awareness, phonics/decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and construction of meaning.

PowerPhonics is divided into three skill sets of increasing difficulty. Within each skill set there are 18 titles. Each title features one phonics skill, which is consistent with the results of the 2000 NRP study showing that instruction focusing on one or two phonics skills has a larger effect on the ability to read than does a multi-skill approach.

Skill Set I
Beginning consonant sounds
Short vowel sounds
Skill Set II
Beginning consonant sounds
Long vowel sounds
Consonant digraphs (wh, ch, th, sh)
Initial consonant blends (bl, fl)
Skill Set III
Initial consonant blends (cl, pl, sl, gl, br, tr, gr, fr, dr, cr)
Vowel digraphs (ea, oa, ai)
R-controlled vowels (ar, er, ir, or, ur)

The comprehensive Teacher’s Guide walks teachers through the systematic instruction of phonics skills in the context of informational text correlated to the national standards for Pre-K – 2 social studies and science curricula.

The Teacher’s Guide assists teachers in creating lesson plans featuring the following tasks, all of which are commonly used to improve children’s phonemic awareness (NRP, 2000): phoneme isolation, phoneme identity, phoneme categorization, phoneme blending, phoneme segmentation, and phoneme deletion. Each lesson plan also enforces vocabulary, both familiar and unfamiliar, and presents activities to encourage comprehension of the text and integration of the children’s newly acquired knowledge into the rest of the curriculum. A writing component reinforces letter knowledge, another key element in acquiring reading skills (Share, et al, 1984).

Evaluation-Based Evidence of Effectiveness

Three years in the making, PowerPhonics has been available for purchase since September 2001, and is currently being used effectively in schools around the country. Pre- and post-tests results reveal the striking effectiveness of this program.

Support for the Methodology Behind PowerPhonics

See attached

References

Adams, M.J. (1990) Beginning to read: Thinking and Learning about print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Chall, J. (1967) Learning to read: the great debate. New York: McGraw Hill.