There is always a positive outcome when teachers and parents work together for children’s
literacy and school success. Parents provide the foundation for building their children's
literacy skills, and should be encouraged to continue to support and influence their
children's reading development even after their children begin attending school.
Here are some simple ideas for teachers to engage parents in reading aloud to their
children.
Encourage parents to read to their child everyday
Send home a reading log and ask children and parents to keep track of the titles
or time spent reading each week. Include recommended reading and suggestions for
activities inspired by books.
Support reading at home
Teachers lead a number of reading activities throughout the school day that help
students develop literacy skills, like fluency for example. Share those activities
with parents so they can use them at home to reinforce beginning reading skills.
Make your classroom library a lending library
Providing access to books at home will help ensure that reading happens after the
school bell rings. If you have a classroom library, send books home to be shared
and read. Encourage use of the school library and public library as well.
Invite parents to read aloud to your class or host a family reading night at
school
Show parents that you as a teacher value reading aloud. Ask for volunteers to come
and read to your students on a regular basis and for special occasions.
American Reading Company
Created by teachers, curriculum specialists, and literacy activists, the American
Reading Company provides the books, tools and training materials to ensure every
student is reading on or above grade level. More than a million children in more
than 2,100 schools across the country participate in the Company’s reading motivation
programs. As American Reading Company’s programs help improve reading scores for
schools and school districts, they also help to improve self-esteem and confidence
of young aspiring readers and support teachers in using independent reading to drive
both instruction and assessment.
Get books to kids
First Book works through existing community programs, literacy efforts and schools
to provide an ongoing supply of new books and reading materials – at low or
no cost.
Eligible groups are those that serve
low-income families. Depending on the proportion of children in need served, new
books are available through the First Book Marketplace at 50 to 90 percent off retail
prices or your school or program may also be eligible for free books through the
First Book National Book Bank and book grants through First Book’s local Advisory
Boards.
Books From The Heart is a book donation program from the Heart of America Foundation (HOA) that finds books that
are not being used and gets them to where they’re needed most. HOA’s
priority is to provide books for elementary schools with 50% or more of their students
enrolled in the free/reduced meal program.
A non-profit that works with teachers to transform instruction so that children
can become powerful readers, writers, and thinkers, Children’s Literacy Initiative works in classrooms
in low-income neighborhoods, collaborating with school districts in a wide range
of cities to provide professional development and high-quality books to pre-kindergarten
through third grade teachers.
Roads to Reading provides quality reading materials to children in underserved communities
in the United States through its many programs: the Annual Competitive Book Donation
Program, Books for All Kids, The Director’s Discretionary Book Donation Program,
and All Children Need Books and Event Sponsorships.
Professional Development
Teachers never stop learning. Educators will find a number of free professional
development opportunities, classroom strategies and other resources in the links
below.
The mission of the Children of the Code project is to "catalyze and resource a reformation
in how our society thinks about the ‘code’ and the challenges involved
in learning to read it." Project resources include a three hour public television
documentary series; a ten-hour professional development DVD series; and a series
of teacher and parent presentations and seminars.
The International Dyslexia Association
offers this publication on programs with a long history of use in clinics and classroom
to provide information regarding informed, evidence-based reading instruction to
teachers and intervention specialists.
A multimedia project from public television station WETA, Reading Rockets offers
a wealth of reading strategies, lessons, and activities designed to help young children
learn how to read and read better.
Reading Rockets and Colorin
Colorado, its sister site for supporting English language learners,
offer teachers support in building the knowledge and skills required for teaching
reading.
Choice Literacy is dedicated to providing innovative, high-quality resources for
K-12 literacy leaders. A subscription program, Choice Literacy provides hundreds
of tools for literacy coaches and teachers - everything from book recommendations
to advice on designing year-long study groups with colleagues.
Gain ideas on and insight into emergent literacy peer coaching and story time best
practices
The Horn Book Magazine has gathered
some of their best articles for teachers and a variety of booklists for classroom
use and home sharing.
Especially for early childhood educators and caregivers
The early years are such an important time in a child’s development. Check
out the special resources for early childhood educators and caregivers to help get
young children off to a great start.
Language building tips from the National
Institute for Literacy for center-based child care providers to help children
learn new vocabulary and how to use language.
A guide for preschool teachers and child care and family providers from the U.S. Department of Education.
Learn more about promoting early literacy and helping families overcome barriers
to reading aloud with their children.
This resource, compiled by Kathleen T. Horning and Megan Schliesman at the Cooperative Children's Book Center, includes book titles
and reviews.
Photo source:
d@vie(Flickr-Creative Commons)