Methods of teaching reading should:
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Teach the simplest phonemes first and the most complex phonemes last.
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First practice phonemes individually, and then in words and sentences.
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Teach individual phonemes before teaching their combinations.
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Teach students to sound out each letter or blend of letters before pronouncing unfamiliar phonetically-regular words.
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Call "decodable" only those phonetically-regular words all of whose phonemes students
have practiced, and only those phonetically-irregular words that they have practiced.
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Avoid teaching/visually presenting phonetically-regular words as sight ("high-frequency," "vocabulary," or "story") words.
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Separate learning to read from reading comprehension until after students can read well,
teaching student comprehension with teacher-read materials in the meantime.
Story content should present:
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A universe that rewards virtue and punishes vice, where good and evil are not moral equivalents
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Behavioral role-models that demonstrate civility, sensitivity, humaneness, and non-destructiveness
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Generally positive attitudes toward, and relations among, children, parents, and other adults
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Sensitive treatment of benefits to children of strong, stable, two-parent families
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Equal stress on Europe's literary, religious, and cultural heritage compared to other regions
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As much note of conflicts between individuals within social groups, as between social groups
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Diverse views on current controversial issues, when raised (e.g., "global warming," feminism, evolution)
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Standard spelling, correct grammar, and grade-level appropriate English vocabulary
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No sensational violence, offensive language or illustrations, occultism, or deviant lifestyles (e.g., homosexuality)
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No pattern of pejoratives stigmatizing one group and superlatives idealizing another
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No politically-correct stereotypes of oppressors and/or victims by race, class, creed, or gender