"Tender Shoots" compared two book-reading and conversation approaches for parents and preschoolers to an activity-based control group. The "Rich Reading and Reminiscing" (RRR) condition taught parents to converse about the storyline; the "Strengthening Sound Sensitivity" (SSS) condition taught parents to converse…

Young children are surrounded by ubiquitous environmental print (e.g. signs, product labels) on a daily basis in their homes and communities. Parent-child interactions with environmental print has the potential to foster emergent literacy. A randomised controlled pre-posttest study was conducted to examine the effects of a parent-child…

There exists an abundance of literature on the use of wordless picturebooks in literacy development, yet very little research exists on their use in the South African context. South Africa is facing what researchers have referred to as a 'national crisis of reading'. Only 5 per cent of parents read with their children, as a result, many children…

Literacy programs often target preschool children who are from minority groups, are from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and are second language learners, as they are deemed to be at risk for academic difficulties. The family literacy program described in this article is unique in that it focuses on families who have an additional risk…

Considering the increased influence of digital technologies on daily life (Fallows, 2004) and young children's increased use of interactive technologies ("Children Now," 2007), early childhood educators are beginning to think about the role of technology in their classrooms. Many preschool programs are beginning to purchase iPads, or…

Preschool experience plays a role in children's development. However, for programs with language and early literacy goals, the question remains whether preschool instructional experiences are sufficiently effective to achieve these goals for all children. In a multisite study, the authors conducted a process-product description of preschool…

Children's vocabulary development represents a critical foundation for their reading skills. This article describes a curriculum-based vocabulary progress monitoring tool that was used to track the development of Head Start children--and particularly those at highest risk for later reading difficulty--as they learned new words during the school…

Examined the impact of a program in Quebec to improve parents' abilities to introduce their preschoolers to the written word. Found evidence for parents' progress and gains in skills. Concluded that the program has significant potential for parental skill development. (Author/KB)

This article, the first of a two-part series, provides background information and a general description of an emergent literacy intervention model for at-risk preschoolers and kindergartners. The embedded-explicit intervention model emphasizes the dual importance of providing young children with socially embedded opportunities for meaningful,…

This document consists of four issues of the quarterly report "Alaska's Children," which provides information on the Alaska Head Start State Collaboration Project and updates on Head Start activities in Alaska. Regular features in the issues include a calendar of conferences and meetings, a status report on Alaska's children, reports…

Discusses activities of emergent preschool writers and editors involved in the Writing Table Project at the Child and Family Center of the University of Nevada at Reno. (BB)

Describes a federally funded partnership between Northeastern Illinois University and Chicago Public Schools to provide an inner-city family literacy program. Details program components, highlighting use of computers, video technology, and photography as tools to develop literacy and to document progress of parents and children. Notes evaluation…

Finds very encouraging results on the effectiveness of a preschool emergent literacy intervention in a "skid row" child-care facility in downtown Los Angeles. Shows that both preschool teachers and parents established regular habits of shared book reading and numerous ways for children to write and display their work. (SR)

The Words Work! early literacy initiative, in Ramsey Action Program (RAP) Head Start centers, was initiated to prepare children to be successful third-grade readers and mathematicians. These reports reflect the standardized test results collected in years 1 and 2 for the first cohort of Words Work! children from four RAP Head Start centers who…

This document consists of the two 2000 issues of "Alaska's Children," which provides information on the Alaska Head Start State Collaboration Project and updates on Head Start activities in Alaska. Regular features include a calendar of conferences and meetings, a status report on Alaska's children, reports from the Alaska Children's…