Research Basis

Research has shown that most conventional group instruction is not effective with many students. In some cases, even gifted students experience difficulty learning to read in a group setting.

Research has consistently shown tutorial instruction is effective with students of all ages. Tutorial instruction accommodates the unique learning style of individual students and makes it possible to provide extensive practice with the rudimentary skills associated with reading. If students who experienced difficulty learning to read in a classroom setting are tutored, a large majority become fluent readers. If young children are tutored, they will excel in reading at school.

The author's early research on reading problems revealed that at the core of most reading failure is the inability to blend letter sounds to form words. Based on this finding, procedures are provided in Dr. Harrison's instructional materials for teaching children to blend letter sounds. In addition, the materials cover other critical aspects of reading. The materials explain how to: 1) teach basic attack skills (blending individual sounds to form words); 2) teach the most frequently encountered sight words, those whose pronunciation must be memorized (e.g., the, where); 3) teach phonetic rules; and 4) teach students to read fluently and comprehend what they read.

The only way to ensure children are proficient in their ability to "decode" or sound out words, is to give them extensive practice reading phonetically regular words which have not been encountered previously. The surest way to do this, is to have them read nonsense words (e.g., faf, thexcon, brime). In that it is more difficult to read nonsense words than it is to read phonetic words; if children can pronounce nonsense words you can be assured they will be able to decode previously unencountered phonetic words.

About the Author

Grant Von Harrison is a native of Cedar City, Utah and is the father of seven children. He received his B.A. degree from Brigham Young University in 1962; his M.A. from Adams State College in 1965; and his doctorate in Instructional Science from U.C.L.A. in 1969.

Dr. Harrison is an Emeritus Professor of Instructional Science at BYU. During his tenure, he developed numerous instructional programs for professionals and wrote numerous books on Church subjects. He is the author and developer of the structured tutoring model which has provided the basis for literacy programs the Church has used in South America; he has also developed and authored various instructional materials designed to be used by nonprofessionals to teach reading, mathematics, and foreign languages.