Discusses the measurable benefits in reading improvement, language skills, listening skills, and access to material beyond present skills that children receive from teachers reading aloud. Includes guidelines for successfully reading aloud in the classroom and a brief bibliography of sources of good books to read aloud. (HTH)

Telling and listening to stories is an ancient tradition that can benefit foreign language learners of all ages, languages, and levels of proficiency. Stories contain linguistic, paralinguistic, discourse, and cultural features that provide the comprehensible input and output that students need to develop their conversational skills. Instructors…

Nine primary-age children at a residential school for the deaf were read bedtime stories using a Total Communication approach. Every child subsequently demonstrated growth on each of several language assessments, including language comprehension and expressive language. (JDD)

Using a lighthearted and simple approach, this 23-minute videotape in English and Spanish versions presents interactions between parents and children while reading books. The children in the videotape range in age from 0 to 5 years. The video is introduced by scenes of children enjoying books while narration discussing the impact of reading to…

Indicates that oral reading, turning the text into a big book, interpretive activities, and repeated shared readings can give even young children a command of the text. (FL)

Describes strategies for using story reading to help language minority students in grades one through six acquire language proficiency. Discusses ways to make story reading effective, including frequent reading, the use of cueing strategies, and the use of follow-up activities. (FL)

Twelve effective strategies commonly used by deaf adults when reading to deaf children are discussed. Techniques for combining American Sign Language and English exposure are presented, as are story-telling strategies for maintaining attention, using role play, using eye gaze to elicit participation, and relating stories to real world concepts.…

Contributors discuss ways to introduce and motivate: (1) beginning reading, (2) repeated readings in the remedial classroom, (3) vision and cognitive style, (4) guidelines for a reading aloud program, and (5) good beginnings for potential reading teachers. (FL)

Principles of "shared reading," in which a book is read by the teacher, then by teacher and students together, and then by the students independently, are discussed and applied to language acquisition and reading instruction of deaf and hearing impaired children. Students use the book to help them write and compare English and American…

This article provides an overview of the critical elements of emergent literacy, discusses specific strategies for using storybooks with preschoolers to facilitate language development and emergent literacy skills, and provides specific strategies for children learning English as a second language. Sample phonological awareness activities are also…

The National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) was appointed in 2002 and carried out its work under the auspices of the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL). NELP's primary goal was to identify interventions, parenting activities, and instructional practices that promote the development of children's early literacy skills. The National Institute…

Meant to guide administrators and teachers as they strive to meet Governor George W. Bush's goal for all students to read on grade level by the end of grade 3, this booklet presents descriptions of components of a research-based beginning reading program. The first section describes 12 essential components of a beginning reading program. In this…

This booklet is the companion guide to a videotape intended for those who work with young children and want to make their childcare facility a place where reading and books are a part of every child's day. The 10-minute videotape demonstrates practical techniques for reading aloud, choral reading, using Big Books, and storytelling, and suggests…

This booklet presents many examples of instructional activities that occur on a daily basis on the campuses of Spotlight Schools, schools identified by the Texas Education Agency as having student populations that reflect a diversity of ethnicity and socioeconomic backgrounds, and demonstrate that essentially all children can become readers. It is…

This article reviews the literature on the role of first-hand experiences, language, reading aloud, and scribbling on the preliteracy development of normal and visually impaired children. It describes a specific program developed by the American Printing House for the Blind which includes a handbook and 27 tactile-visual read-aloud story books.…