Teachers, paraprofessionals, and parents recognize the importance of providing deaf and hard of hearing children with full access to the languages around them. Without full access, reading and academic achievement remain far below intellectual capabilities. This article describes the Continuum of Reading Activities, which provides strategies that…

These handouts describe: Working Together for Safer Communities (a PTA program to provide parents with ideas and resources for talking to their children about potential risks, avoiding danger, and responding to threat); tips for parents on helping children be safe; and the Our Children Newsletter, which contains excerpts from the October 2002 Our…

The most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children at home and in the classroom. At school, reading aloud is important for starting the day, presenting reading and writing mini-lessons, supporting social studies and science curricula, supporting whole-class book studies, and…

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…

This article provides an overview of research about how teachers, parents, and others can help young people develop literacy practices for success in school and life beyond school. The authors, members of the International Reading Association's Commission on Adolescent Literacy, present the results of its review of the literature in the form of…

Board games parents may use to improve their child's basic skills in reading, math, spelling, and reasoning are reviewed. The article describes eight games along with suggestions about how each game may be used to improve skills. Suggested ages and manufacturer of each game are listed. (JL)

Noting the time parents can spend with their children in literacy activities is often limited, identifies and describes eight principles upon which the success of parent-child literacy efforts appear to hinge, such as (1) regular daily time, (2) purpose and motivation, and (3) real literacy activity. (NH)

If a child does not learn to read in the early grades, there are few opportunities for them to catch up. Therefore, the extent of a child's exposure to reading before the early school years is not only important, but critical. In this column, the author suggests ten easy ways to make reading a part of every young child's day: (1) Read and reread…

"Sounding out" is a cultural model capturing an image of reading that parents and children share, is found to enhance reading ability. The role played by "Sounding out" in parent's experiences with reading is described and how they apply their understanding of sounding out words to instructional interactions with their own children is described.

Research indicates that both home literacy activities and direct instruction of reading skills promote reading development. The current study investigates how parent-led direct teaching activities impact emergent literacy. Preschool children (n = 47) were administered subtests from the Test of Early Reading Ability-3 and the Kaufman Survey of…

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.…

Parents can help their children prepare for the future by providing them with a literate home environment. The article suggests that parents model literacy at home, make time for reading and writing, create a literate environment, strengthen bonds while developing skills, and find meaning in reading and writing. (SM)

One way parents can improve their children's literacy skills is to create home portfolios. These showcase portfolios represent the child's best efforts and reflect achievements, and their scope is limitless. Creating home portfolios fosters self-esteem, teaches students about portfolios, encourages parent-child interactions, and improves study…

Reading can become a central focus in family learning. Families should develop reading plans to encourage children to read. Families should develop their own home resource centers of books and other learning materials. (BJV)

Describes how parents can be most effective in teaching their children to value the written language as communication and enjoy reading. Parents are encouraged to keep reading meaningful and make it fun, optimize the child's environment, and maximize success to develop the child's self-concept as a reader. (SM)