Digital mediation strategies are key soft skills to develop amongst students as they prepare to interact in increasingly collaborative settings, socially and professionally. Defined as a set of communication strategies deployed to reach mutual agreement over a dispute, mediation enables students' cooperation in task-based language teaching…

This article describes the experiences of some of the many families of the deaf and hard of hearing children who come to Shared Reading Saturdays at Northern Essex Community College (NECC) in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The program, which includes monthly gatherings and is coordinated by the NECC's Gallaudet University Regional Center, features deaf…

The focus of the articles in this theme issue of a journal for librarians and teachers working with young children is storytelling. The first article, "Observations on Storytelling," (K. Roberts) relates how storytelling can be essential to reading--if one observes the law of diminishing returns. The second article, "How to Turn a Story Hour Into…

The Florida Library Youth Program is an extension of the Florida Summer Library Program. Many libraries have wanted to provide programs for school-age children at times other than the traditional summer vacation, and this guide responds to their needs. The theme, "Once Upon a Tale," focuses on folklore, stories, and storytelling. The…

Children who are not encouraged to read at home are less likely to be successful in reading later. Parents who were unsuccessful in school or who were not read to themselves are less likely to read to their own children and may need direction in how and what to read. Parents can be taught how to talk through a story with their children through…

Arguing that local governments exercise control over public library services within their jurisdictions, this report summarizes the range of services and collections provided for Illinois children as identified by a 1977 survey of the state's public libraries. Additional children's services and programs in other U.S. public libraries are briefly…

The Florida Library Youth Program is an extension of the Florida Summer Library Program and has emerged in response to a need to provide programs for school-age children at times other than the traditional summer vacation. The theme, "Rhythm and Books--Feel the Beat!," focuses on music and rhythms that abound around children in the…

This document is the 1994 manual for the Iowa Summer Library Program. The 1994 theme will take children and librarians on adventures and journeys featuring the following themes and subtopics: shoes, feet, socks, giants and giant steps, nature trails, dancing, movement, travel and vacation trips, and fairy tale adventures, especially those that…

This manual for the 1993 Louisiana Summer Reading Program has ideas for libraries to get the summer program started. The theme is trains, and all of the ideas have something to do with this theme. The following topics are covered: (1) evaluation; (2) promotion, publicity, and programs; (3) calendar; (4) decorating the library; (5) storytime…

This report describes the development of a story-reading program called Story Telling and Retelling (STaR), and its effects on the language and comprehension of disadvantaged prekindergarten and kindergarten children. Following an introduction, an initial section describes the development of this program as part of an urban school restructuring…

In the most general sense, family literacy is any intergenerational program that focuses on family reading. One of the important goals is to break the cycle of illiteracy, and another is to promote reading and encourage families to enrich their lives through the shared experience of reading. The Utah State Library has offered literacy grants with…

This manual was designed to help Wisconsin librarians plan their 1994 summer library program based on the theme: "Rock 'n' Read." The ideas in the manual were contributed by Wisconsin librarians and were culled from recent program manuals in other states. Part 1, "Planning and Promoting Programs," examines the planning aspects…

This manual was assembled to help Wisconsin librarians plan summer children's programming based on the theme "Sportacular Summer." Ideas in the manual were submitted by more than 45 Wisconsin librarians and gleaned from similar manuals in 5 other states. All materials have been designed to reflect a spirit of fun and to encourage delight…