Advocates of high standards and expectations usually believe that gaps in reading achievement can be eliminated with good teaching, but slow readers need a specially designed reading curriculum. The teacher first needs to use an informal reading inventory to determine the student's reading level. Functioning generally on a higher level than…

Noting that oral communication skills need continuous refinement, this document outlines various methods of practicing these skills, such as literature circles in reading; a reader's theater; presentations of book reports; story telling; a poetry reading club; and choral reading. The document describes literature circles as small groups of readers…

This report describes a literacy program that provides readers with materials and instructions that fit their individual levels of development. The targeted population consists of kindergarten students in a northwest suburb that is characterized by higher than average household earnings, highly educated residents, and a population encompassing all…

As part of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, this brochure (in English and Spanish) provides a guide to assist parents in helping their children become ready to read and to learn. The suggestions include: (1) talking to infants/toddlers to help them learn to speak and understand the meaning of words; (2)…

This book, one of a series, shows how to help children develop a sense of personal, local, and national history. The message of the series urges parents and children to spend time together, talk about stories, and learn together. The first part of each book presents stories appropriate for varying grade levels, both younger children and those in…

This paper reviews the existing research on joint storybook reading practices, outlining the behaviors essential for success. It then describes and reports on the efficacy of an assessment instrument, the Adult/Child Interactive Reading Inventory (ACIRI). The ACIRI is an observational tool for assessing the joint reading behaviors of both adults…

This book addresses common questions to enable teachers to make informed decisions about the appropriateness of integrating phonological awareness activities into their language arts programs. The primary purpose is to call attention to recently published (mid to late 1990s) children's literature that can be used to foster children's…

Reading aloud can help students who have problems comprehending social studies subject matter. Teachers, parents, and volunteers can all serve as effective oral readers. Teachers and principals should list goals for volunteers to achieve when reading aloud. In addition, to vary the oral reading approach, students can take turns reading aloud.…

This 14-minute videotape recording describes Florida's Born to Read program, which teaches young at-risk parents the importance of reading to their children, even infants and toddlers. It notes that librarians, health care providers, and community service organizations form partnerships that reach out to at-risk expectant and new parents. In the…

Suggesting that students in grades 4-12 can develop their ear for expository writing and improve their skills by having well-written expository pieces read to them regularly, this book contains a broad variety of sample expository read-aloud pieces with accompanying notes that highlight the techniques each writer has used particularly well. After…

One of the purposes for providing children with multiethnic books is to promote acceptance of diversity, yet the results of this exposure have rarely been empirically studied. The purpose of this study was to explore the story-related topics of discussion initiated by eleven 4- and 5-year-olds as they used multiethnic books during small group…

Emphasizing that reading aloud is a way to show children how to handle books and give them chances to talk about those stories, this manual provides several activities that reinforce parents' belief that they are their children's first and best teacher. The activities also reaffirm and validate their prior knowledge about reading and its benefits.…

Within the fundamental context of "how children learn to read," attention is drawn towards an understanding of the "components" that are necessary for the child to move from oral language to early literacy. Looking at this transition requires the educator to consider whether literacy can develop as naturally for the child as speaking, or if not,…

The years when a young child's language skills are "exploding" are the years between three and five. What can make a dramatic difference in a child's life is if parents take a few minutes a day to read to him or her. Reading to a child helps him or her become a successful reader. The child develops a sense of phonics and learns that stories have a…

This model responds to the need of many Massachusetts schools and teachers for specific guides to the required scope of core knowledge, to curriculum design, and to teaching resources. Each unit of study in the model is accompanied by a group of sample readings from children's literature, largely nonfiction selections. The model is not…