An award-winning journalist and literacy advocate provides a clear, step-by-step guide to helping your child thrive as a reader and a learner. When her child went off to school, Maya Smart was shocked to discover that a good education in America is a long shot, in ways that few parents fully appreciate. Our current approach to literacy offers too little, too late, and attempting to play catch-up when our kids get to kindergarten can no longer be our default strategy. We have to start at the top. The brain architecture for reading develops rapidly during infancy, and early language experiences are critical to building it. That means parents’ work as children’s first teachers begins from day one too—and we need deeper knowledge to play our positions. Reading for Our Lives challenges the bath-book-bed mantra and the idea that reading aloud to our kids is enough to ensure school readiness. Instead, it gives parents easy, immediate, and accessible ways to nurture language and literacy development from the start. Through personal stories, historical accounts, scholarly research, and practical tips, this book presents the life-and-death urgency of literacy, investigates inequity in reading achievement, and illuminates a path to a true, transformative education for all.
Discover new, practical methods for teaching literacy skills in your early childhood classroom. Has teaching early literacy skills become a stumbling block to getting your preschool students kindergarten ready? Break out of the tired “letter of the week” routine and learn how to transform your lessons with fun and effective techniques. Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers will equip teachers to infuse every aspect of their teaching with exciting hands-on literacy teaching methods that engage students and help them build authentic connections with books, so that 100% of their students will have a strong literacy foundation and will be fully prepared for success in kindergarten and beyond. Respected author Vanessa Levin, veteran early childhood educator and author of the “Pre-K Pages” blog, breaks down the research and translates it into realistic, actionable steps you can take to improve your teaching. Features specific examples of teaching techniques and activities that engage students in hands-on, experiential learning during circle time, centers, and small groups. Offers a simple, four-step system for teaching literacy skills, based on the foundational principles of early literacy teaching Demonstrates how to build your confidence in your ability to get 100% of your students ready for kindergarten, long before the end of the school year Understand the problems with traditional literacy teaching and identify gaps in your current teaching practice with this valuable resource.
"This acclaimed teacher resource and course text describes proven ways to accelerate the language and literacy development of young children, including those at risk for reading difficulties. The authors draw on extensive research and classroom experience to present a complete framework for differentiated instruction and early intervention. Strategies for creating literacy-rich classrooms, conducting effective assessments, and implementing targeted learning activities are illustrated with vivid examples and vignettes. Helpful reproducible assessment tools are provided. Purchasers also get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. Subject Areas/Keywords: assessments, at-risk students, beginning readers, CCSS, classroom environments, classrooms, Common Core State Standards, differentiated instruction, early childhood reading, early literacy, ELA, emergent, English language arts, foundational skills, interventions, kindergarten, language, literacy development, preschool, prevention, programs, reading difficulties, response to intervention, RTI, struggling, teaching, writing Audience: Preschool and kindergarten teachers; reading specialists; school and child care administrators; instructors and students in early childhood education and early literacy"--
Bringing together prominent scholars, this book shows how 21st-century research and theory can inform everyday instructional practices in early childhood classrooms (PreK-3). Coverage includes foundational topics such as alphabet learning, phonological awareness, oral language development, and learning to write, as well as cutting-edge topics such as digital literacy, informational texts, and response to intervention. Every chapter features guiding questions; an overview of ideas and findings on the topic at hand; specific suggestions for improving instruction, assessment, and/or the classroom environment; and an engrossing example of the practices in action.
This resource presents assessment and instructional activities that are evidence based, practical, and easy to implement. This comprehensive text demonstrates how to link assessment and instruction practices for every component of literacy learning and helps teachers become informed decision makers about purposeful literacy instruction. Addressing the Early Reading First areas of phonological awareness, print knowledge, and language development, the book also covers parent involvement, integrated curriculum, and suggestions for working with children with special needs and English language learners. Using vignettes of four children representing diverse backgrounds, the authors weave together theory and practice and describe how instructional strategies are implemented in classroom settings. Each chapter contains figures and graphic organizers and includes sections on instructional strategies, assessment, and diversity
"Created by teachers for teachers, this activity-based curriculum is based on Project ID, a 5-year pilot program in several Baltimore City public schools. Expertly organizing their lessons into one hands-on, step-by-step guide, the authors give pre-K teachers 10 complete units of small-group instruction." -- Page 4 of cover.
In a period of increasing economic and social uncertainty, how do immigrant communities come together to advocate for educational access and their rights? This book is based on a 5-year university partnership with members from Indonesian, Vietnamese, Latino, Filipino, African American, and Irish American communities. Sharing rich examples, the authors examine how these diverse groups use language and literacy practices to advocate for greater opportunities. This unique partnership demonstrates how to draw on the knowledge and interests of a multilingual community to inform literacy teaching and learning, both in and out of school. It also provides guidelines for reimagining university/community collaborations and the practice of ethical partnering. Partnering with Immigrant Communities focuses on: Minoritized immigrant populations, including groups with undocumented status and those who came to the United States to flee religious persecution. The intellectual and activist legacies that are already present in communities as people come together to take action on matters that directly impact their lives. A local cosmopolitanism that serves as a refuge for many immigrants who may otherwise be scapegoated within the dominant culture. A coalition of multilingual, multiethnic communities whose experiences are intertwined by overlapping histories of colonization and shared present struggles.Ethical and effective community-based research, including concrete and theoretically informed examples. “Supported by theory and written with clarity, this inspiring account sets the gold standard for research that is both committed and ethical.” —Hilary Janks, emeritus professor,Wits University “A game-changing text.” —Elizabeth Dutro, University of Colorado, Boulder “A powerful illustration of intentional ethical engagement through practitioner and participatory research methodologies to support sustainable community-based inquiries toward social and political transformation.” —Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz, senior program officer for Tribal College and University (TCU) Early Childhood Education Initiatives, American Indian College Fund
The book attempts to build a new foundation for practice-based understanding of adult education in India by analyzing divergent perspectives at the field level.