NRC Panel Urges End to Reading Wars

By Kathleen Kennedy Manzo

Let the wars be over. That is one of the central appeals the authors make in a long-awaited report on reading released in Washington last week.

Arguing that the complex process of learning to read cannot be tackled with single-minded methods of instruction, the report attempts to neutralize the phonics vs. whole language debate with a full range of recommendations for teaching reading to children from birth through the 3rd grade.

Instead, says the report sponsored by the National Research Council, the task must encompass an integration of the three techniques that develop phonemic awareness, reading fluency, and...