Reading before school

This paper examines documented studies of the early reader, the child who learns to read at home before entering formal schooling. The historical view of when reading instruction should commence is outlined, as well as the recent intensive studies of the early reader by Dolores Durkin and Margaret Clark. Predisposing factors in early literacy are extrapolated from research studies and several early readers were examined in local state schools to ascertain how closely these young children matched those in studies cited. This leads to a discussion of the relationship between studies of young fluent readers and recent reading acquisition theories, and how these relate to classroom practice.