All over the world, great strides have been made in conquering illiteracy. Yet, many adults and children do not spend sufficient time reading to benefit from the well-documented rewards of reading for pleasure. In many countries, literacy achievements have not inherently solved the problems of low reading comprehension and limited engagement with…

Despite significant investments over the past decade in the expansion and improvement of preschool programs, too many children, particularly poor children, enter kindergarten behind their peers. Because it is critical that voluntary pre-kindergarten (VPK) classrooms offer educational programs that both address the needs and developmental levels of…

Personalized account of the interactions among a retired teacher of reading, her daughter, and grandson, in regard to the grandson's reading development. (SS)

Suggests ways parents can encourage the development of reading and thinking skills in their children. (Author/MP)

Provides answers to questions commonly asked by parents concerning beginning reading instruction. Emphasizes the development of oral language competence, and reading and writing for meaning, rather than formal instruction, and drill in reading skills. (PCB)

Reviews research offering the teacher a different perspective from which to view beginning reading and provides a strong justification for activities normally thought to be less than academic. (Author/MP)

Describes the pressures on young children to read at an early age. Discusses the disadvantages of a subskill approach to reading for the improvement of test scores. (RJC)

No Child Left Behind, Reading First, Early Reading First, Good Start, Grow Smart ... the current whirlwind of education initiatives in the United States commits millions of dollars of federal money to "scientifically based" reading and early literacy development. In 2003, President Bush directed Head Start programs across the country to…

Presents a joint statement by various educational associations of concerns about present practices in pre-first grade reading instruction and offers recommendations for improvement. (Author/BB)

Results of research reports can be interpreted to suit personal prejudices, say the authors, since many research studies are not carefully reported. (Authors/MB)

Reviews the environmental and functional print reading research and discusses its significance in relation to children's emerging literacy. (BB)

Describes activities that use a literature- and activity-based approach to teach phonetic skills effectively without using phonics workbooks and worksheets. Activities relate to special letter days during which new letters are featured, games, literature and poetry, music and nursery rhymes, art, writing, and math. (SM)

Calls for reforms in instructional practices and curricula control in literacy programs that disenfranchise five- and six-year-olds who have already served for months or years as active members of the literacy club. Illustrated by one child's early literacy and kindergarten experiences. (BB)

Provides guidelines and suggests activities for the use of big books--oversized children's books--with young children in beginning reading programs. (BB)

Presents early childhood teachers with whole language ideas for helping young children establish a sense of illustratorship; these include studying favorite authors or illustrators, teaching children to recognize salient features of book illustrations, establishing a sense of audience, displaying children's drawings and writing, and publishing…