Piloting an Approach to Family-Implemented Decoding Instruction for Kindergarten-Aged Children

Although phonics knowledge and decoding skill are crucial for academic and life success, there is little research that examines the effects of home-based, family-implemented instruction on the development of these early literacy skills. The purpose of this multiple baseline across participants single case experimental design study was to evaluate the effects of a family-implemented decoding instructional approach that was designed to "launch" young children into reading. We also measured the extent to which family members were able to implement instruction with fidelity and their perceptions about the appropriateness, feasibility, and acceptability of procedures and materials. The Launch into Reading intervention produced moderate to large effects, on average, on decoding outcomes for kindergarten-aged children. On average, participating families were able to implement the intervention with fidelity. Family members reported a high degree of satisfaction with intervention materials and procedures. Results suggest the need for additional supports for individuals who are having difficulty implementing with fidelity and for children who need more practice to learn letter-sound correspondences and use phonics knowledge to decode words. Still, this relatively simple home-based intervention shows initial evidence of promise.