A new guide from the National Research Council provides information and hands-on activities to help parents, teachers, and child-care providers prepare young children for learning to read.
“Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting Children’s Reading Success” offers suggestions for preparing preschool children for formal reading instruction and for preventing reading problems. The book includes 55 activities based on the findings of the congressionally chartered research organization’s 1998 report, “Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children.”
For More Information: Copies of “Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting Children’s Reading Success” are available for $14.40 each from the National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Ave. N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242. The report is also available on the Web at: http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/sor/.
The National Academy Press also offers “Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children” for $34.60. It is on the Web at: http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/prdyc/. |
The book groups literacy concepts and skills by age from infancy to the early elementary grades. It outlines three skills it says students must master in order to read well: understanding that letters of the alphabet represent sounds in words, reading for meaning, and identifying words quickly.
The guide recommends that “parents and caregivers immerse children in language and literacy long before they arrive at school.” Parents should also make sure their children’s preschool or day-care settings are stocked with high-quality reading materials.
The guide is available for $14.95 from the National Academy Press at (202) 334-3313 or (800) 624-6242. It is also available on the World Wide Web at www.nap.edu
