Early and continuous monitoring of emerging reading skills is a major component of preventing reading failure as well as an effective approach to lowering the incidence of special education referrals. In this article, seminal and contemporary research pertinent to the development of reading skills is highlighted and the critical relationship of phonological processing ability to the understanding of letter-sound associations is outlined. The findings regarding the long-term consequences of early reading difficulties are discussed and the benefits of a diagnostic/prescriptive approach to instruction are examined. The developmental sequence of phonological awareness skills is presented along with a detailed discussion of screening and assessment measures that can be used to guide reading instruction in pre-kindergarten through the second grade.
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