Intended to be used as an assessment instrument in conjunction with North Carolina's Basic Education Program, this communication skills notebook reflects an instructional program that is developmentally appropriate for first and second graders. The notebook contains resource materials which include strategies for teachers to use in evaluating…

Based upon the Mother-Infant Literacy Knowledge (MILK) program--in which imprisoned mothers are allowed to care for their children until they are one year old--a study investigated how placing parents in a print rich environment affects parental ability to provide their children with book oriented experiences. The study was conducted in a…

A group of elementary teachers enrolled in a graduate class in language arts at the University of North Dakota explored how children construct their own meanings as they interact with texts. One teacher regularly read to her 20-month-old grandson, and excerpts from the journal she kept reveal that his understanding of a specific text evolved to…

To encourage children's creative writing in a classroom setting, student teachers used two types of children's books as models: (1) a traditionally structured picture book in which the story maintains strong development of plot, setting, and characters as in "Peter Rabbit"; and (2) a predictable pattern book that develops a repetitive pattern as…

A selection from the many citations of material in the ERIC/RCS Reprint Bibliography entitled "Helping Parents Understand the Stages of Their Child's Reading Development," this FAST (Focused Access to Selected Topics) annotated bibliography can serve as a guide and beginning point for parents who want to become better informed about any…

The result of an international symposium conducted in Canada, this book contains articles by experts in the fields of anthropology, linguistics, psychology, sociology, and education on the subject of preschool children and literacy. The book is divided into three sections dealing with literacy and culture, learning to be literate, and literacy and…

For nearly a generation, teachers have taught Norwegian school children through songs, explanation, films, and reading about children from other cultures with international understanding as an ideal. Now, however, with nearly 80,000 foreign workers in Norway, incidents of racism and discrimination (such as insults and mobbing in schoolyards) are…

The present study investigated early literacy development in minority middle-class families. The subjects were parents and preschool children ages 3-5 that attended a private early childhood center in Irvington, New Jersey. Each family was given one home visit and a library visit. The literacy practices of the families were observed and recorded…

This study examined how parents' beliefs about skilled reading and shared book reading related to the ways they coached their children in learning to read in kindergarten through grade 2 and whether these beliefs and behaviors contributed to their children's reading skill. The focus of the study was on the ways parents responded to children's…

A warm, loving relationship between a caregiver or parent and a young infant or child provides opportunities for spoken and written language and helps set the stage for children to become successful readers and writers. This booklet offers suggestions for parents and caregivers to help the infants and young children in their care develop early…

This paper discusses how to use stories to promote beginning communication and language in students with severe communication and/or cognitive impairments. It describes a layering approach for building emergent literacy and augmentative and alternative communication skills. This layering approach is used with professional staff to introduce…

Notes that reading aloud to children is the single most important activity for assuring success in reading. Describes types of children's books and offers guidelines for book selection. Discusses several guidelines that help early childhood professionals experience successful infant and toddler book reading sessions, and includes bibliography of…

Studies low-achieving fifth-grade readers to evaluate the feasibility of a cross-age reading program and to clarify implementation details for a large-scale project. Finds that quantitative results and qualitative data suggest that cross-age reading programs are a promising way to help poor readers to improve their reading. (MG)

Examines how a literature-based reading workshop incorporating minilessons, sustained silent reading, and responses to literature in dialogue journals affected the reading attitudes and levels of book involvement of learning disabled middle school students. Finds clear demonstration that students' reading attitudes and involvement improved. (RS)

Describes an adult literacy program in which semiliterate adults improve their skills by reading to children at a New York (New York) daycare center. The adults are able to use developmentally appropriate books without losing self-esteem and the children benefit from initial literacy experiences. (FMW)