The Big Lift™ (Big Lift) is a preschool-third-grade collective impact initiative in San Mateo County, California. The initiative is a partnership of the County of San Mateo, San Mateo County Office of Education, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Launched in 2012, the initiative aims to boost children's reading proficiency by third grade…

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…

This book uses phonics to teach reading in a complete manual for beginning and remedial readers of all ages. The book builds sounds and spelling patterns slowly and systematically into syllables, phrases, and sentences of gradually increasing complexity, presenting only one sound per lesson--each new sound builds upon previously learned skills for…

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)

This biweekly newsletter contains news and information about school improvement in the United States. It is designed expressly for parents and families. This issue highlights a pilot reading program under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) launched at 11 sites nationwide in April. The NCLB Summer Reading Achievers Program encourages students in grades…

Over the summer, many children lose ground in the reading skills they are building at school. Weave reading into the family's summer, and children will go back to school refreshed, excited, and ready to pick up where he or she left off. Advice for parents and caregivers includes: seek out books and reading materials that tie into children's summer…

This handbook for parents begins with an overview of academic standards: how Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's standards compare to standards set at the state, national, and international levels; how parents can use standards to help their children; and how parents will know if their children's work meets these standards. The handbook goes on to present…

The 15 adapted fairy tales presented in this book were prepared for use in practicing oral reading by a parent and a child, a teacher and a child, or two children, one of whom reads slightly better than the other. The stories in the book are arranged in dialogue format for two readers. The high interest/low readability stories in the book are…

This short book gives an overview of a curriculum plan, a plan to develop the kind of learners that young children should become. The purpose of this self-directed learner curriculum is to help parents and educators guide young learners so they become capable, purposeful, responsible citizens. It provides an outline of the steps needed to develop…

This phonics outline is designed as a guide for parents, as a manual for teachers, and as a handbook for those who wish to improve their reading pronunciation skills. The purposes of the handbook are: (1) to show parents what a person needs to know to become a good reader; (2) to provide a convenient source of words that follow rules of phonics;…

This book was written for parents to assist them in becoming active participants in their children's literacy development. Each chapter presents frequently asked questions from parents, examples of student writing, strategies for home use, and parent's written reflections, as well as explanations of literacy based in research and theory. Chapters…

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.…

Pointing out that the label of dyslexia carries an acute stigma of mental incompetence (and the researcher/author is herself dyslexic), this booklet intends to provide educators and parents with a frame of reference regarding the topic of dyslexia. Defining dyslexia broadly as "characterized by a consistent difficulty with processing…

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)

This brochure offers parents tips on helping their children connect writing with reading. It begins by noting that preschool children often want to scribble on paper, scribbles which sometimes represent a story. It suggests making space in the home for literacy, and encouraging early efforts. The brochure then offers four brief activities for…