Describes the Teens for Literacy project, in which teens come up with ideas to improve literacy in their schools. Notes that, in the nearly five years of the program, teens have developed a Big Brother/Big Sister reading program, selected and displayed posters in school corridors, developed videos promoting literacy, read with children, and…

Describes a literacy project (Preschooler's Outreach Program) sponsored by a public library and staffed by students from the children's literature classes at a Texas university. Shows that college students participating in this project have unique insights into literacy acquisition among young children and are able to put into immediate practice…

Describes the Shared Reading Program, a home-school effort of Gallaudet University's Pre-College National Mission Programs. Under the program, mentors teach parents and caregivers how to read to deaf children using American Sign Language. Describes a family with six young children includes 12 tips for reading to a deaf child. (DB)

Examines how the advantages and disadvantages of speech-recognition technology helped shape the design and implementation of Project LISTEN's Reading Tutor. Reading Tutor provides patient, unobtrusive, and natural assistance for reading aloud. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the value of reading picture books aloud to secondary school students. Describes how to select picture books and discusses strategies for reading aloud. Lists 17 suggested picture books for reading aloud. Argues that reading aloud to middle and high school students demonstrates a teacher's enthusiasm for reading, which can be contagious.…

This reproducible for teachers to send home to parents explains why parents should read aloud to their older children: to increase understanding and enjoyment, to give real-life context to stories, to check for mistakes as the child reads aloud, and to share the sheer joy of reading. It is important to choose high-quality literature when starting.…

Describes what constituted literary understanding for one classroom interpretive community of first and second graders by analyzing their oral responses as picture storybooks were read aloud to them. Suggests that the impressive literary critical abilities of children as young as first and second grade are appropriately understood through a wide…

Analyzes why mothers make metacognitive decisions affecting how they scaffold books for children, interviewing them while they watched a videotape of booksharing events with children. Indicates that mothers, regardless of children's ages, made specific strategic metacognitive decisions about how text was best shared with their children. Concludes…

Presents ideas for activities in an elementary school library in collaboration with classroom teachers that introduce students to biographies. Includes book talks, an activity involving food that represents various aspects of information included in biographies, and a list of 20 one-session read-aloud picture book biographies for grades two…

Interviews parents and guardians of 7,566 preschoolers and toddlers. Finds that frequency of reading to children varies by ethnicity, primary language spoken in the home, child's age, number of siblings, and mother's educational attainment; and that income and number of parents in the home did not influence reading frequency when controlling for…

Looks at two case examples of reader experiences, one of an 8th grader and another of a 2-year-old. Considers how to best promote reading by reading aloud in class. Presents a list of 37 highly recommended books for 8th-grade classes and a list of 11 books recommended for read-alouds. (SC)

Focuses on supplementing content-area instruction with read-alouds and discussions of picture books that engage adolescents, enrich content knowledge, and stimulate higher order thinking. Illustrates how a teacher read-aloud and collaborative picture book discussion enhanced students' engagement and content learning. (SG)

This K-6 social studies activity teaches students about the flag's origin while reviewing literacy skills. Students perform a poem entitled "The Flag We Love," which, in rhyming verse, explains the history and symbolism of the flag. Over eight days, students prepare for the performance, and on the ninth day, they perform a choral reading…

Describes how one public library's preschool storytime solved its overcrowding problem by using parent volunteers to offer more programs with fewer children. Offers tips on recruitment and orientation. Discusses planning and organization by library staff, and the need for ongoing observation and evaluation. (AEF)

Assessed the relative benefits of three styles of adult book reading for preschoolers' emergent literacy. Measured children's receptive vocabulary, print, and story comprehension skills after exposure to one style. Found that the describer style resulted in the greatest benefits for children's vocabulary and print skills; a performance-oriented…