Learning to Read: Beyond Phonics and Whole Language

by Tom Nicholson (Editor)

This practical text draws on a wide but integrated range of research and theory on how children learn to read and appreciate literature. The authors provide an analysis of both traditional and progressive approaches which goes beyond phonics and whole language. "Learning to Read" features research and a global perspective on such controversial topics literacy and social background, phonemic awareness, self-discovery of letter-sound relations, the use of text structure for comprehension, and the effects of contrasting teaching approaches. The student-friendly text includes preview questions, chapter reviews and study questions to help the reader to reflect on the chapter contents and to discuss the implications for teaching and learning.

269 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1998

About the author

Tom Nicholson

Email: t.nicholson@massey.ac.nz

Academics: MA University of Sydney, PhD University of Minnesota.

Early career:
English and History teacher in Sydney, Australia
Research officer for Research and Planning at the Ministry of Education in South Australia.

Later career
Associate professor at University of Waikato, Personal chair at The University of Auckland, and Professor emeritus at Massey University.

Publications
More than 170 publications.

Recent books
- Teaching literacy effectively in the modern classroom for ages 5-8 (Routledge, 2024)
- Teaching literacy effectively in the modern classroom for ages 9-12 (Routledge, 2025)
- NZ Dyslexia handbook (NZCER Press, 2023)
- Dyslexia decoded (Dunmore Press, 2013)