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NICHCY Connections...to Literacy

Beginning Reading Instruction

• What are the developmental milestones for reading and writing?
  www.ed.gov/pubs/CheckFamilies/
  Read Checkpoints for Progress in Reading and Writing for Families and Communities to find out the developmental milestones for kids from birth through grade 12. Also find out what most children will be able to read and write within those milestone periods. Print out the reading suggestions for each age group to take with you to the library. Read about strategies and resources parents can use to assist their children.
• Building early literacy skills of preschool children.
  http://getreadytoread.org/
  The Get Ready to Read site is friendly, colorful, and chock-full of ideas for building the early literacy skills of preschool children. Information is broken down into helpful categories for parents, educators, health care professionals, and advocates. Use the twenty-question, easy-to-use, research-based screening tool to determine your child's progress in building the skills needed to learn to read and write.
• Dynamic indicators of early literacy skills.
  idea.uoregon.edu/
  The acronym is IDEA but on this Web site, it stands for the Institute for the Development of Educational Achievement. Educators, this site is especially for you! You'll find lots of useful reading and literacy materials. Don't miss the links to Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills and Big Ideas in Beginning Reading.
• Check out the Early Literacy Network.
  http://literacy.edreform.net/
  The Early Literacy Network at the Education Reform Network connects you to resources promoting early literacy. The materials are organized by the following categories: phonemic awareness; phonics and spelling; fluency; comprehension; vocabulary; writing; motivation; family literacy; struggling readers; English Language Learners; professional development; and instructional approaches.
• 103 things to do before, during, and after reading.
  www.readingrockets.org/articles/82
  This article features ideas on how to engage students in what they read in class.
• Match the books you use to the literacy goals you have.
  www.uth.tmc.edu/circle/
  Visit the Center for Improving the Readiness of Children for Learning and Education (CIRCLE). There, you'll find a terrific list of children's books (both English and Spanish) categorized by different literacy goals (e.g., "Motivation to Read" "Phonological Awareness"). Don't miss the fun activities to help children learn letters, sounds, and more. Also available is a list of publications produced from research studies.
• Try this early childhood learning kit.
  www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/RSRkit.html
  Ready Set Read! was developed to help every child in America read well, on their own, by the end of the third grade. The kit includes activity guides for families and caregivers, a growth chart, and an activity calendar filled with helpful tips and special activities to promote reading and language skills for young children. A Spanish version is also available.
• Getting children started on the right track.
  bob.nap.edu/readingroom/books/sor/
  Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting Children's Reading Success is reader-friendly. It explains how children learn to read and how adults can help them. It provides realistic tips and ideas that parents, educators, policy-makers, and others can use to help young children get on the right track for reading.
• And what if there's a problem?
  www.readingrockets.org/helping/target
  Target the Problem! is a Web site by Reading Rockets that helps parents and teachers determine the specific problem a child may be experiencing with reading. The Web site describes aspects of reading such as phonological awareness and fluency and gives examples of how each area affects a child’s reading. Here, you'll find ways to help and resources for more information.
• For parents.
  A Child Becomes a Reader: Proven Ideas for Parents from Research-Birth to Preschool. This booklet offers advice for parents of children from birth to preschool on how to support reading development at home, and how to recognize preschool and day care activities that start children on the road to becoming readers. It's available online at: www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/pdf/low_res_child_reader_B-K.pdf. A separate booklet looks at kindergarten through grade 3, available at: www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/pdf/low_res_child_reader_K-3.pdf

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