Beginning to Read : Thinking and Learning about Print

This work reconciles the debate that has divided theorists for decades over the "right" way to help children learn to read.

Drawing on research on the nature and development of reading proficiency, Adams shows educators that they need not remain trapped in the phonics versus reaching-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.