A fascinating study into the first years of literacy instruction. Marie Clay explores the underlying competencies required for successful reading and argues for the importance of inner strategic control in developing readers.

Written for specialists, leading teachers, graduates and academics, this in-depth study discusses the theories, questions and developments in early literacy intervention that have made Marie Clay a leader in this area.This thoughtful and challenging book allows people working in early intervention to draw on the success of others from around the world.

One in three of the Early Literacy Series written for parents, caregivers, early childhood teachers and teachers of children in their first years at school. It presents research-based ideas for at-home instruction in beginning reading concepts, encourages effective one-to-one learning situations and supports in implementing key strategies to develop reading skills.

This guide helps teachers to observe and understand the changes in young children's language. It helps practitioners and literacy leaders to create powerful language programmes and to improve techniques for recording and assessing change in children's oral language development.

The advent of hormonal infertility treatments and in vitro fertilization techniques have led to a sharp increase in the number of quadruplet and higher-order conceptions in recent years. Improved neonatal care and nutrition have meant that many more of these babies survive. Yet it appears that very little research has been done into the lives of such children and the psychodevelopmental consequences of their multiple status. In this book, Marie M. Clay brings together what is known from historical records and reports in the medical, psychological, and popular press. She points to the contribution that research studies on higher multiple sets could make to our understanding of genetic-environmental interactions and gives valuable methodological advice for those wishing to initiate such a study. Changes in social practices and medical knowledge are highlighted, various aspects of pregnancy and birth are discussed, and the practical and emotional problems faced by families of multiple sets are sensitively described. Appended to the book are an illustrated 'Catalog' of quadruplet case reports gleaned from the literature, including birth details and postnatal histories, plus a directory of multiple birth associations, support groups, and study centers around the world.