DOES WHOLE LANGUAGE OR INSTRUCTION MATCHED TO LEARNING STYLES HELP CHILDREN LEARN TO READ

Both whole language and learning styles instruction have made a signif icant impact in how reading is taught in the primary grades. The resea rch on whole language suggests that its effects on achievement vary ma rkedly from site to site, suggesting that it is not whether a teacher uses a whole language approach, but how that approach is-implemented, that makes a difference. The research on learning styles, however, sug gests that there is little to be gained by matching children to method s using learning styles. Instead, any approach would need to take into account various aspects of reading and would combine aspects from dif ferent approaches.