Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning about Print [Paperback]

Marilyn Jager Adams (Author)

Book Description

Series: Learning, Development, and Conceptual Change | Publication Date: February 3, 1994

Beginning to Read reconciles the debate that has divided theorists for decades over the "right" way to help children learn to read. Drawing on a rich array of research on the nature and development of reading proficiency, Adams shows educators that they need not remain trapped in the phonics versus teaching-for-meaning dilemma. She proposes that phonics can work together with the whole language approach to teaching reading and provides an integrated treatment of the knowledge and process involved in skillful reading, the issues surrounding their acquisition, and the implications for reading instruction.A Bradford Book

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is destined to become a classic work on earlyreading instruction." Judith A. Bowey, Quarterly Journal ofExperimental Psychology

About the Author

Marilyn Jager Adams is a Senior Scientist at Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc. She was Principal Author and Curriculum Coordinator/Editor for the five-volume classroom instruction series, Odyssey: A Curriculum for Thinking.

Product Details

• Paperback: 504 pages
• Publisher: A Bradford Book (February 3, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262510766
• ISBN-13: 978-0262510769
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #183,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adams' book is the most informed source on reading ,, June 4, 1998

By 

Bruce Howlett "Getting Warm" (Ithaca, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning about Print (Paperback)

Marilyn Adams lead a Federally funded research team to conclusively determine what methods best support beginning readers. All educators can gain for Adams' informed investigation of whole language, phonics and other methods for teaching reading. The limits and strengths of these programs are clearly defined. More importantly, Adams defines what works for all readers- understanding the role the 44 sounds of spoken language plays in reading. Adams has put this understanding- phonemic awareness- in the forefront of reading. 70% of students acquire this awareness as part of their early development, as part of learning to speak. The 30% of students -millions of people- that do not pick this up after learning to speak and being exposed to literature rich environments need explicit instruction in this code. This is not phonics, but must be taught before phonic can help struggling readers. This is a wonderfully simple, easy to teach method that makes sense to children. It makes sense because this is how our brains have learned to process sounds for hundreds of thousands of years. This is important reading. Adams' other book, "Phonemic Awareness in Young Children", is a wonderful methods book for children under 6 years old.

44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best research compendium available on learning to read., February 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning about Print (Paperback)

This book was written under a federal contract in conjunction with the International Reading Association. Marilyn Jager Adams has compiled the most comprehensive review of the literature on learning to read done in the last 25 years. I have worked with teachers of reading for 20 years and this is the best book I have ever seen to give them guidance on what they should and should not do in the classroom. Well worth the money

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A summary is available., October 28, 2004

By 

Kathie (Texas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning About Print (Paperback)

I have 30 years of experience as an educator in the area of indigenous education. This is a wonderful and exciting book for educators and researchers, who are used to the technical terminology and academic genre, but for teachers and parents, a 148-page summary of the book has been published, which is not an easy-reading style, but is beautifully written. Unfortunately it is out of print, but it is listed on Amazon.com, and sometimes it might be available used. This unabridged version was comissioned by the US government, to evaluate all of the research in beginning reading to the date when it was written. The author did a remarkable job of pulling it all together under one cover, and a brilliant job of evaluating and applying the research. Obviously there could be one or another research project since its publication which might invalidate some conclusion in the book. However, the major questions involved in teaching beginning reading have been thoroughly researched and there ARE definitive answers to the questions that are still being debated by teachers and parents ten and twenty years after the research was done. For example, this book (and its summary edition) tells you what kind of reading methods are most effective (there is no reason to continue to debate the phonics vs. whole language issue based on how you feel about them - see what research has proven to be most effective), what kind of preschool experience can still set the students apart even when they are graduating from high school, and other important facets of education which teachers and parents ignore to the detriment of their students.