Noting that all parents want the best school experience for their children, this booklet, presented in both English and Spanish, offers parents specific strategies to provide their children a good foundation for beginning reading. The guide first answers the question, "How Can I Help My Child Be Ready To Read and Ready To Learn?" with emergent…

Reviews more than three decades of empirical research pertaining to the hypothesized influence of parent-preschooler reading experiences on the development of language and literacy skills. Discusses implications of the findings for theory and research on literacy acquisition, for educational practice, and for parental guidance. (TJQ)

Discusses emergent literacy development, which includes meaningful literacy-related activities involving oral language, reading, and writing. Offers suggestions for fostering children's development in each area, such as the use of picture books and puppets for vocabulary development; reading aloud and discussing children's literature; and…

This study examined the frequency and nature of parental support for the emergent literacy of 264 visually impaired children (age birth to 8). Differences in parental support were found to be based on the primary literacy medium (print, braille, or print-braille) and presence of additional disabilities. Parents differed in the literacy…

A study examined whether reading aloud to young children would have an effect on their reading success in first grade. Subjects, 45 first-grade students in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey, were given a questionnaire to be completed by their parents. The three first-grade teachers provided students reading aptitude scores, based on teacher observation and…

Literacy development was studied among 38 4-year-olds in Head Start on the Lummi Indian Reservation. Data consisted of observations during weekly visits throughout the school year, student writing samples, records of "pretend reading," responses to environmental print, and checklists assessing written language displays in the classrooms.…

A practicum addressed the emergent literacy needs of preschoolers at a daycare center. Goals were to increase: (1) the amount of time parents read aloud to their children to 15 minutes a day; (2) the number of library books at the daycare center from 40 to 200; and (3) the number of volunteers at the center from none to 4 who would read aloud to…

A study demonstrated that young children who have difficulty with phonics can be taught to read through other methods, that phonics is only one of the many useful strategies that a child can employ, and that many contextual strategies are easier to learn and more reliable than phonics. A case study was conducted during an intervention with a young…

Children growing up in literate societies, surrounded by the printed word, begin to read and write long before they start school. The extent and scope of early literacy development is examined. Theoretical explanations of this development are offered. Implications for schools are presented. (RM)

All parents want the best school experience for their children. This booklet, presented in both English and Spanish, offers parents specific strategies to provide their children a good foundation for beginning reading. The guide first answers the question, "How Can I Help My Child Be Ready To Read and Ready To Learn?" with emergent literacy…

Describes a program for parents and preschool teachers that has produced positive results in emergent reading behaviors in young children with developmental disabilities. Essential program elements include parents as literacy role models, frequent and regular exploration of print, interactions with adults in reading situations, and family…

Discusses the increased literacy emphasis in schools and how early childhood programs can provide an enriched literacy environment. Defines and provides suggestions for activities related to basic literacy concepts: listening comprehension, phonological awareness, reading motivation, written expression, letter and early word recognition, and…

Parents of preschool children were asked about the frequencies of adult reading, parent-child reading, and children's solitary book activities, and responses were later compared to the children's second grade reading achievement. The 22 preschoolers who became poorer readers had less frequent early literacy-related experiences than the 34 children…

To better understand the early stages of literacy, a study investigated how young children learn about the registers of the written story genre. Subjects, 47 kindergraten children, were individually read to and then asked to "pretend-read" one or two selected picture storybooks on three consecutive days; their readings were audiotaped…

Offers several suggestions for activities to be used with Big Books, including: tracking print, thinking along, cloze activities, and examining text features. (MG)