Some Semantics of Basic Word Lists

Lists of words compiled on the basis of their frequency of occurrence in writings of various kinds have long been considered basic materials for reading instruction. It is said teachers should use such lists because the child best learns to read if the order of the words presented to him for this purpose is governed by the relative frequency words occur in written materials. Put another way, it is argued that if word A occurs more often in written matter of different types than does word B it then should be presented for a child to learn to read before word B is presented. There is a certain logic to support this procedure. Unknown words that appear frequently in a child\u27s reading material surely pose more of a handicap to his success here than would unknown words that appear infrequently. Consequently, one can agree with Hillerich1 that most educators accept the need for a basic list

Children\u27s Recognition of Words in Isolation and in Context

The extent to which young children use, or should use sentence contexts as cues to word recognition is an unsettled issue. It is clear, on the one hand, that there are inherent limitations in this cue system to its successful use for this purpose (Groff, 1975). Also, the notion that beginning readers have little else on which to rely for word recognition except context cues, as offered by Karlin (1971, p. 145) has also been demonstrated as false. To the contrary, the research on word recognition suggests that these young children use letters as the main cues for word recognition from the time they first begin to learn to read (Groff, 1974)

A Test of the Utility of High Frequency Words

How much utility there is for reading instruction in the lists of the most frequently used words (MFUW) has been a topic of great interest for several reading experts. For example, Dechant (1970, p. 248) notes that the 150 MFUW (in this case those of the basal readers from several different series) are especially useful in group activities such as experience charts, word games and word drills. Durkin (1970, p. 118) also believes that these MFUW are highly serviceable for basal reader stories. So much so, she says (1970, p. 424), that one good way to diagnose children\u27s speed-of-reading habits is to have them read Dolch\u27s (1951) list of the MFUW. (Durkin appears to contradict herself on this matter, however, when she [1972, p. 249] insists on another occasion that the easiest words to learn often are the least useful. ) Heilman (1967, p. 189) agrees with the position that the MFUW are highly important when he comments that a child who has trouble with many of these [the 100 MFUW] will find reading a frustrating task

The Effect of Music on Reading

It is apparent that music and language reading are both perceptual acts. To read either language or music one obviously must pay close attention to selective details of a graphic display. To listen to music or to words read aloud also involves some common perceptual abilities. Therefore, it is predictable that some have claimed that children\u27s experiences with music will help them to learn to read language. There are several parallels in music and language reading, Monroe contends

Direct Instruction Versus Incidental Learning of Reading Vocabulary

Advice to teachers that the direct teaching of reading vocabulary to children is an inferior procedure for gaining this linguistic goal is still circulating. It is easy to find recent statements from reading authorities that are intended to substantiate the belief that extensive reading will develop children\u27s vocabulary better than direct instruction. For example, Smith ( 1978 ) maintains The best way to acquire a large and useful vocabulary for reading is by meaningful reading (p. 168). Johnson and Pearson (1978) would not apply this rule at the very beginning stage of reading instruction, but would put it into force quite early in the reading program. They note that once children have acquired some basic proficiency in reading, that proficiency develops with practice, practice in reading, not in doing work sheets (p.178)

The Mythology of Reading: I--Sight Words

It is significant to note that the teaching of sight words was not one of the persistent questions on beginning reading which a carefully- selected group of experts recently chose to discuss (1). Indeed, from what one knows of this topic it would have been surprising to find the notion that young children should be first taught words as wholes being given critical examination in any such discussion. This is because the validity of instruction in sight words is accepted without question by almost all of today\u27s experts in reading instruction

The Effectiveness of Intensive Phonics

An examination of the history of reading instruction reveals that there has been a long-standing controversy over the effectiveness of the teaching of phonics. It is readily apparent from such an historical study that the enthusiasm for phonics as an effective methodology by the experts in reading instruction has waxed and waned over the years (Matthews, 1966). Only in relatively recent times, however, have carefully controlled and analytical reviews been made of the total of the respectable research evidence that deals with this issue

New tools and new tests in comparative political economy - the database of political institutions

This paper introduces a large new cross-country database on political institutions: the Database on Political Institutions (DPI). The authors summarize key variables (many of them new), compare this data set with others, and explore the range of issues for which the data should prove invaluable. Among the novel variables they introduce: 1) Several measures of tenure, stability, and checks and balances. 2) Identification of parties with the government coalition or the opposition. 3) Fragmentation of opposition and government parties in legislatures. The authors illustrate the application of DPI variables to several problems in political economy. Stepan and Skach, for example, find that democracy is more likely to survive under parliamentary governments than presidential systems. But this result is not robust to the use of different variables from the DPI, which raises puzzles for future research. Similarly, Roubini and Sachs, find that divided governments in the OECD run higher budget deficits after fiscal shocks. Replication of their work using DPI indicators of divided government indicates otherwise, again suggesting issues for future research. Among questions in political science and economics, that this database may illuminate: the determinants of democratic consolidation, the political conditions for economic reform, the political and institutional roots of corruption, and the elements of appropriate and institutionally sensitive design of economic policy.Decentralization,Parliamentary Government,National Governance,Information Technology,ICT Policy and Strategies,National Governance,Parliamentary Government,ICT Policy and Strategies,Information Technology,Governance Indicators

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph Instrument Overview and Status

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph Instrument is a critical technology demonstrator for NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory. With a predicted visible-light flux ratio detection limit of 1E-8 or better, it will be capable of reaching new areas of parameter space for both gas giant exoplanets and circumstellar disks. It is in the final stages of integration and test at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, with an anticipated delivery to payload integration in the coming year. This paper will review the instrument systems, observing modes, potential observing applications, and overall progress toward instrument integration and test.Comment: Proceedings of SPIE: Techniques and Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets XI, vol. 12680 (2023