A whole language and traditional instruction comparison: Overall effectiveness and development of the alphabetic principle

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of whole language instruction in first‐grade classrooms. Three whole language classrooms were compared with three traditional classrooms. Data were collected for end‐of‐the‐year achievement in reading comprehension, vocabulary, phonemic awareness, decoding, spelling, and writing. There were no significant differences between the two instructional programs on any of the variables. The study also examined whether there would be differences between whole language and traditional instruction in end‐of‐the‐year reading, writing, and spelling achievement for children with varying levels of incoming phonemic awareness, reading, and writing ability. Results suggested that neither program was more likely to close gaps between children high and low in these incoming abilities.