Early Reading Instruction is a comprehensive analysis of the research evidence from early writing systems to computer models of reading. In this book, Diane McGuinness provides an innovative solution to the "reading war" -- the century-old debate over the efficacy of phonics (sound-based) versus whole-word (meaning- based) methods. She has developed a prototype -- a set of elements that are critical to the success of a reading method.

McGuinness shows that all writing systems, without exception, are based on a sound unit in the language. This fact, and other findings by...