WWC review of this study

The effect of phonics-enhanced Big Book reading on the language and literacy skills of six-year-old pupils of different reading ability attending lower SES schools.

Tse, L., & Nicholson, T. (2014). Frontiers in Psychology, 5. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01222.

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
     examining 
    47
     Students
    , grade
    2

Reviewed: February 2023

At least one finding shows promising evidence of effectiveness
At least one statistically significant positive finding
Meets WWC standards without reservations
Encoding outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Schonell Spelling Test

Big Book reading and phonics instruction—Tse and Nicholson (2014) vs. Business as usual

12 Weeks

Full sample;
48 students

13.18

11.10

No

--
Word reading  outcomes—Statistically significant positive effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Bryant Test of Decoding Skills

Big Book reading and phonics instruction—Tse and Nicholson (2014) vs. Business as usual

12 Weeks

Full sample;
47 students

13.46

5.00

Yes

 
 
34
 

Burt Word reading test

Big Book reading and phonics instruction—Tse and Nicholson (2014) vs. Business as usual

12 Weeks

Full sample;
48 students

29.73

24.40

No

--


Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.

Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.

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    International

Setting

The study took place in South Auckland, New Zealand.

Intervention Group

Tutors implemented phonics instruction and Big Book reading for groups of 4 students. Each session began with pho­nics instruction on letter–sound rules. Then the tutor read aloud a Big Book, with large print that the whole class could see while listening to the story. The intervention involved 30-minute sessions once a week for 12 weeks.

Comparison Group

Tutors imple­mented Big Book reading for groups of 4 students. The tutor read aloud a Big Book but did not con­duct any phonics instruction.

 

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