This booklet tells how parents can use all their language skills to build those of their children. The booklet is designed for helping children from infancy to age 6--the most important years for learning the skills they will need to become readers. It offers parents suggestions on how to: talk with their children; read aloud with him/her; help…

Reports on a study that compared drawing, discussion, and dramatic play as follow-up activities for reading aloud. Concludes that the children who played had better comprehension of the stories read to them. (FL)

Argues that readers are created, in part, by the materials and models they have for reading. Recommends a number of books that teachers might want to share with their students. (FL)

Reviews selected theoretical and empirical work on the topic of parents reading aloud to their children to assess the state of the art in this area and suggests some aspects still unknown about the nature and consequences of reading aloud to children. (HTH)

Indicates that story time experiences are a positive factor in successful beginning reading. (FL)

Shows that reading aloud to students can improve students' reading and writing skills, as well as their attitudes toward reading. (RL)

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)

Describes a program for children and incarcerated fathers called "Breaking Barriers with Books," which seeks to promote closer father-child bonds through booksharing. Shows how journal writing provided a unique outlet for personal expression by fathers, and discusses the program's three parts: the instructional component, the parent-child…

Examines approaches and structures that students and teachers may use to explore connections between poetry and jazz. Suggests specific techniques for intermingling the two. Looks at the relationship between the two in terms of "mood,""program," and "allusion." Provides examples of paired pieces and marked-up poetry texts. (TB)

Explores more deeply the role of oral reading in instructional practice, primarily in the elementary grades and with students who struggle in reading. Attempts to conceptualize more fully the positive role oral reading may play in classroom instruction, notes ways in which some persisting forms of oral reading practice in classrooms are counter to…

This article describes strategies for using storybooks to facilitate emergent literacy. It begins by providing background information about three areas of emergent literacy: oral language, phonological awareness, and print awareness. It then describes how teachers can facilitate the development of these three areas through purposeful, yet playful…

Presents the results of a study in which British grandmothers (n=16) were audiotaped reading aloud and conversing with their grandchildren and an adult interviewer. Finds that grandmothers show a raised pitch while interacting with their grandchildren when reading and conversing with them. Includes references. (CMK)

Notes that it is not unusual for students with autism to follow a different curriculum than the one offered to their classmates. Suggests the following strategies for designing lessons that are appropriate, appealing, and challenging for every learner in an inclusive classroom: recognize all literacies; capitalize on students' interests; use a…

Discusses advances in the field of child language and three major findings in language development: (1) infant communication begins at birth; (2) warning signs of language delay are evident by age 2; and (3) the benefits of reading aloud to young children can be strengthened through parent education. (CR)

Development of children's phonological and orthographic processing was studied from middle of grade 1 to end of grade 4. Signs of reliance on phonological processing were found on reading aloud, spelling, and silent reading tasks, even with indicators of reliance on orthographic processing. Phonological and orthographic processing appeared to be…