Discusses the literacy progress of an 11-year-old boy with deafness who had reading difficulties. Strategies teachers can use in the classroom are described, including using a variety of books, encouraging writing or dictating storybooks, keeping a file box of word cards, checking students' spelling, and using finger spelling. (CR)

Highlights the teacher's critical role in spelling instruction and provides examples of how to support spelling development in classrooms. Argues that educators need to look closely at children's emerging capacities as writers, focusing especially on the issue of invented spelling, and its use and misuse in classroom practices. (SG)

Describing the SouthEastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE) program and its mission to promote and support the continual improvement of educational opportunities for all learners in the Southeast, this paper focuses on the importance of improving student literacy outcomes in schools due to the demands of living in a technological,…

This paper discusses monitoring the school literacy program. Teachers make many educational decisions about how reading and writing should be taught in the classroom. Some teachers makes these decisions intuitively, but a systematic process of monitoring is more effective. When teachers monitor the school's literacy program, they track the reading…

Developed by national reading experts for the "America Reads Challenge: Read*Write*Now!" initiative, this booklet provides 45 ideas for families, teachers, librarians, and other learning partners to use with all children--including those with disabilities--to help them read well and independently by the end of third grade. The booklet…

Developed by national reading experts for the "America Reads Challenge: Read*Write*Now!" initiative and translated into Spanish, this booklet provides 45 ideas for families, teachers, librarians, and other learning partners to use with all children--including those with disabilities--to help them read well and independently by the end of…

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…

Designed to assist literacy volunteers, this handbook explains specific ways to guide a young child's successful journey into literacy. The handbook includes 10 specific ways of working with children, with guides and suggestions for each; many book lists, including multicultural titles at several grade levels; concrete suggestions; sample lesson…

Suggests social constructivism offers implications for reshaping schooling to correct the gap between the literacy achievement of students of diverse backgrounds and that of mainstream students. Proposes a conceptual framework. Suggests students' literacy will improve as educators address the goal of instruction, home language role, instructional…

Beginning with a simple test that parents can conduct at home, this book presents a comprehensive and holistic program that any parent or teacher can use to help dyslexic children improve their reading, writing, and spelling. After an introduction that answers parents' questions about dyslexia, chapters in the book are: (1) Is Dyslexia Real?; (2)…

Improving literacy skills is fundamental to providing all children with the best possible opportunities to become successful and self-fulfilled at school, at work, and in the community. Developing the skills of reading and writing helps children to achieve and communicate a greater understanding of the subjects within the school curriculum. The…

This book describes a literacy program called Teens for Literacy, in operation over 10 years, and explains how readers can set up a similar program in their school or community. The book states that the program is intended to interest middle school and high school students in promoting literacy while improving their reading and writing skills. It…

Encouraging inquiry into more reflective practice, this book invites English teachers to examine their ways of thinking, their relationship to the subject of English, their standards for good teaching, their place in the professional community, and their attitude toward time. The book offers guidelines for: helping students choose topics that are…

A simple, but useful, handout given to mothers of young children can greatly increase the likelihood that they will present aspects of emergent literacy in their homes. The concept of emergent literacy states that all literacy learning begins in infancy and proceeds forward from that point, and that all of the literacy skills of oral language,…

How kids spend summer vacation has a direct and powerful impact on their success in school. This document presents 8 brief (600-word) newspaper columns that offer parents simple tips on how to promote learning through everyday activities. Each column ends with a referral for free resources to keep children learning outside the classroom. The…