Helping Your Child Learn To Read
With activities for children from infancy through age 10
By Bernice Cullinan and Brod Bagert
Foreword
"Why?"
This is the question we parents are always trying to answer. It's good that children ask questions: that's the best way to learn. All children have two wonderful resources for learning--imagination and curiosity. As a parent, you can awaken your children to the joy of learning by encouraging their imagination and curiosity.
Helping Your Child Learn to Read is one in a series of books on different education topics intended to help you make the most of your child's natural curiosity. Teaching and learning are not mysteries that can only happen in school. They also happen when parents and children do simple things together.
For instance, you and your child can: sort the socks on laundry day-sorting is a major function in math and science; cook a meal together-cooking involves not only math and science but good health as well; tell and read each other stories--storytelling is the basis for reading and writing (and a story about the past is also history); or play a game of hopscotch together playing physical games will help your child learn to count and start on a road to lifelong fitness.
By doing things together, you will show that learning is fun and important. You will be encouraging your child to study, learn, and stay in school.
All of the books in this series tie in with the National Education Goals set by the President and the Governors, The goals state that, by the year 2000: every child will start school ready to learn; at least 90 percent of all students will graduate from high school; each American student will leave the 4th, 8th, and 12th grades demonstrating competence in core subjects; U.S. students will be first in the world in math and science achievement; every American adult will be literate, will have the skills necessary to compete in a global economy, and will be able to exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship; and American schools will be liberated from drugs and violence so they can focus on learning.
This book is a way for you to help meet these goals. It will give you a short rundown on facts, but the biggest part of the book is made up of simple, fun activities for you and your child to do together. Your child may even beg you to do them. At the end of the book is a list of resources, so you can continue the fun.
Let's get started. We invite you to find an activity in this book and try it.
Contents
Foreword
Introduction
The Basics
Start Young and Stay with It
Advertise the Joy of Reading!
Remember When You Were Very Young
Home Is Where the Heart Is
Important Things To Know
It's Part of Life
One More Time
Talking about Stories
The More the Merrier
How Do I Use This Book?
Read Along
Look for Books
Books and Babies
R and R: Repetition and Rhyme
Poetry in Motion
Read to Me
Family Reading Time
Story Talk
Write and Talk, Too
Tot Talk
What's in a Name?
World of Words
Book Nooks
Family Stories
Now Hear This
P.S. I Love You
Easy as Pie
Write On
TV
Make a Book
Make Your Own Dictionary
Parents and the Schools
A Postscript about Older Children
Resources
Acknowledgments
Introduction
When parents help their children lean to read, they help open the door to a new world. As a parent, you can begin an endless learning chain: You read to your children, they develop a love of stories and poems, they want to read on their own, they practice reading, and finally they read for their own information or pleasure. They become readers, and their world is forever expanded and enriched.
This book focuses primarily on what you can do to help children up to 10 years of age. During these years you can lay the foundation for your child to become a lifelong reader. In the first section, you will find some basic information about reading to your child. This is followed by suggestions that guide you to
While most of the book is for parents of children up to 10 years of age, there is a brief section for parents of older children on how to help them continue to grow as readers.
Finally, there is a resource section. As you make reading with your child a routine part of your lives, this section will help you to find new ideas and a variety of books you both might like.
You don't need to be an especially skillful reader yourself to help your child. In fact, some public libraries offer adult literacy programs that involve reading to children as a way to improve literacy skills for the whole family. Nor do you have to devote great amounts of time to reading with your child. It's the quality of time that counts. Just be consistent--give as much time as you can each day to help your child. The activities suggested are designed to fit into busy schedules.
Helping your child become a reader is an adventure you will not want to miss. The benefits to your child are immeasurable, and in the process you will find your world becoming richer as well.
The Basics
There is no more important activity for preparing your child to succeed as a reader than reading aloud together. Fill your story times with a variety of books. Be consistent, be patient, and watch the magic work.
Start Young and Stay with It
At just a few months of age, an infant can look at pictures, listen to your voice, and point to objects on cardboard pages. Guide your child by pointing to the pictures, and say the names of the various objects. By drawing attention to pictures and associating the words with both pictures and the real-world objects, your child will learn the importance of language.
Children learn to love the sound of language before they even notice the existence of printed words on a page. Reading books aloud to children stimulates their imagination and expands their understanding of the world. It helps them develop language and listening skills and prepares them to understand the written word. When the rhythm and melody of language become a part of a child's life, learning to read will be as natural as learning to walk and talk.
Even after children lean to read by themselves, it's still important for you to read aloud together. By reading stories that are on their interest level, but beyond their reading level, you can stretch young readers' understanding and motivate them to improve their skills.
Advertise the Joy of Reading!
Our goal is to motivate children to want to read so they will practice reading independently and, thus, become fluent readers. That happens when children enjoy reading. We parents can do for reading what fast food chains do for hamburgers... ADVERTISE! And we advertise by reading great stories and poems to children.
We can help our children find the tools they need to succeed in life. Having access to information through the printed word is an absolute necessity. Knowledge is power, and books are full of it. But reading is more than just a practical tool. Through books we can enrich our minds; we can also relax and enjoy some precious leisure moments.
With your help, your children can begin a lifelong relationship with the printed word, so they grow into adults who read easily and frequently whether for business, knowledge, or pleasure.
Remember When You Were Very Young
Between the ages of 4 and 7, many children begin to recognize words on a page. In our society this may begin with recognition of a logo for a fast food chain or the brand name of a favorite cereal. But, before long, that special moment when a child holds a book and starts to decode the mystery of written words is likely to occur.
You can help remove part of the mystery without worrying about a lot of theory. Just read the stories and poems and let them work their wonders. There is no better way to prepare your child for that moment when reading starts to "click," even if it's years down the road.
It will help, however, if we open our eyes to some things adult readers tend to take for granted. It's easier to be patient when we remember how much children do not know. Here are a few concepts we adults know so well we forget sometimes we ever learned them.
These are examples of hieroglyphics.
Imagine how you would feel if you were trying to interpret a book full of such symbols. That's how young readers feel. But, a little patience (maybe by turning it into a puzzle you can solve together) is certain to build confidence.
Home Is Where the Heart Is
It's no secret that activities at home are an important supplement to the classroom, but there's more to it than that. There are things that parents can give children at home that the classrooms cannot give.
Children who are read to grow to love books. Over the years, these children will have good memories to treasure. They remember stories that made them laugh and stories that made them cry. They remember sharing these times with someone they love, and they anticipate with joy the time when they will be able to read for themselves.
By reading aloud together, by being examples, and by doing other activities, parents are in a unique position to help children enjoy reading and see the value of it.
Important Things To Know
It is important to keep fun in your parent-child reading and to let joy set the tone and pace. Here is a story to keep in mind.
Shamu is a performing whale, to the delight of many. However, she sometimes gets distracted and refuses to do her tricks. When that happens, her trainers stand around in dripping wetsuits and wait for her stubbornness to pass. They know that when a 5,000-pound whale decides she doesn't want to flip her tail on cue, there is very little anyone can do about it. But whales like to play, and sooner or later Shamu returns to the game of performing for her audience. Shamu's trainers know this so they're always patient, they're always confident, and they always make performing fun.
While helping your child become a reader is certainly different from training a whale, the same qualities of patience, confidence, and playfulness in your approach will get results. If, from time to time, your child gets distracted and loses interest, take a break. Children love to learn. Give them a little breathing room, and their interest will always be renewed.
It's Part of Life
Although the life of a parent is often hectic, you should try to read with your child at least once a day at a regularly scheduled time. But don't be discouraged if you skip a day or don't always keep to your schedule. Just read to your child as often as you possibly can.
If you have more than one child, try to spend some time reading alone with each child, especially if they're more than 2 years apart. However, it's also fine to read to children at different stages and ages at the same time. Most children enjoy listening to many types of stories. When stories are complex, children can still get the idea and can be encouraged to ask questions. When stories are easy or familiar, youngsters enjoy these "old friends" and may even help in the reading. Taking the time to read with your children on a regular basis sends an important message: Reading is worthwhile.
One More Time
You may go through a period when your child favors one book and wants it read night after night. It is not unusual for children to favor a particular story, and this can be boring for parents. Keep in mind, however, that a favorite story may speak to your child's interests or emotional needs. Be patient. Continue to expose your children to a wealth of books and eventually they will be ready for more stories.
Talking about Stories
It's often a good idea to talk about a story you are reading, but you need not feel compelled to talk about every story. Good stories will encourage a love for reading, with or without conversation. And sometimes children need time to think about stories they have read. A day or so later, don't be surprised if your child mentions something from a story you've read together.
The More the Merrier
From time to time, invite other adults or older children to listen in or join in reading aloud. The message is: Reading is for everybody.
How Do I Use This Book?
There are two types of activities in this book to help
Most of the activities are for children who range in age from 3 to 10 years, with a few for babies. The symbols next to the activities can guide you.
Infant up to 2 years
Preschooler (ages 3-5)
Beginning reader (ages 6-7)
Developing reader (ages 8-10)
Enjoyment is essential in the process of helping your child become a reader. All of the activities are written with this thought in mind. So, if you and your child don't enjoy one activity, move on to something else and try it again later.
Read Along
The following is intended to help you become a parent who is great at reading with your child. You'll find ideas and activities to enrich this precious time together.
Children become readers when their parents read to them. It really is as simple as that. And here's the good news: It's easy to do and it's great fun. With a little practice you will be making the memories of a lifetime, memories both you and your child will cherish.
It is best to read to your child early and often. But it's never too late to begin. Start today. Although the activities in this section are designed to enhance reading aloud with preschoolers and beginning readers, a child is never too old to be read to.
With youngsters, remember that reading is a physical act, as well as a mental one. It involves hand-eye coordination. So, when you read, involve your child by
Look for Books
The main thing is to find books you both love. They will shape your child's first impression of the world of reading.
What to do
Keep in mind your child's reading level and listening level are different. When you read easy books, beginning readers will soon be reading along with you. When you read more advanced books, you instill a love of stories, and you build motivation that transforms children into lifelong readers.
Books and Babies
Babies love to listen to the human voice. What better way than through reading!
What you'll need
Some baby books (books made of cardboard or cloth with flaps to lift and holes to peek through)
What to do
As you read to your baby, your child is forming an association between books and what is most loved -- your voice and closeness. Allowing babies to handle books deepens their attachment even more.
R and R: Repetition and Rhyme
Repetition makes books predictable, and young readers love knowing what comes next.
What you'll need
Books with repeated phrases*
Short rhyming poems
What to do
Wolf Voice: Little pig, little pig, Let me come in.
Little Pig: Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin.
Wolf Voice: Then I'll huff and I'll puff, And I'll blow your house in!
After the wolf has blown down the first pig's house, your child will soon join in with the refrain.
3. Read slowly, and with a smile or a nod, let your children know you appreciate their participation.
4. As children grow more familiar with the story, pause and give them the chance to "fill in the blanks."
5. Encourage your children to pretend to read, especially books that contain repetition and rhyme. Most children who enjoy reading will eventually memorize all or parts of a book and imitate your reading.
When youngsters anticipate what's coming next in a story or poem, they have a sense of mastery over books. When children feel power, they have the courage to try. Pretending to read is an important step in the process of learning to read.
Poetry in Motion
When children act out a good poem, they love its rhyme, rhythm, and the pictures it paints with a few well-chosen words. They grow as readers by connecting emotion with the written word.
What you'll need
Poems that rhyme, tell a story, and are written from a child's point of view
What to do
Poems are often short with lots of white space on the page. This makes them manageable for new readers and helps to build their confidence.
Read to Me
It's important to read to your children, but equally important to listen to them read to you. Children thrive on having someone appreciate their developing skills.
What you'll need
Books at your child's reading level
What to do
Listening to your children read aloud provides opportunities for you to express appreciation of their new skills and for them to practice their reading. Most importantly, it's another way to enjoy reading together.
Family Reading Time
A quiet time for family members to read on their own may be the only chance a busy parent gets to read the paper.
What you'll need
Your own reading materials
Reading materials for your children
What to do
A family reading time shows that you like to read. Because you value reading, your children will too.
Story Talk
Talking about what you read is another way to help children develop language and thinking skills. You don't need to plan the talk, discuss every story, or expect an answer.
What you'll need
Reading materials
What to do
Talking about stories they read helps children develop their vocabularies, link stories to everyday life, and use what they know about the world to make sense out of stories.
Write and Talk, Too
While reading with your child is most important, there are other activities that help to get children ready to read. With a solid foundation, your child will not only read, but will read with enthusiasm.
Learning to read is part of learning language. It's like a little leaguer leaning to hit a baseball. The young hitter must learn to watch the ball when it is pitched, to step into it, and to swing the bat to make the hit. It's a single event made up of three acts. Baseball players learn to do all three at once.
The same is true of learning language. When we use language, we speak words out loud, we read words on paper, and we write. This section has activities that encourage your child to
Begin long before you expect your child actually to read, and continue long after your child is an independent reader.
Now, turn the page and start enjoying language.
Tot Talk
What's "old hat" to you can be new and exciting to preschoolers. When you talk about everyday experiences, you help children connect their world to language and enable them to go beyond that world to new ideas.
What to do
Talking enables children to expand their vocabulary and understanding of the world. The ability to carry on a conversation is important for reading development. Remember, it is better to talk too much than too little with a small child.
What's in a Name?
Use your child's name to develop an interest in the world of print.
What you'll need
Paper
Pencil, crayon, or marker
What to do
It's hard to overemphasize the importance of writing and displaying your child's name.
World of Words
Here are a few ways to create a home rich in words.
What you'll need
Paper
Pencils, crayons, markers
Glue (if you want to make a poster)
Newspapers, magazines
Safety scissors
What to do
By exposing your child to words and letters often, your child will begin to recognize the shapes of letters. The world of words will become friendly.
Book Notes
With very little effort, parents can introduce children to the wide world of books.
What to do
When collecting books is an important family activity, parent send the message that books are important and fun.
Family Stories
Family stories enrich the relationship between parent and child.
What to do
It helps for children to know that stories come from real people and are about real events. When children listen to stories, they hear the voice of the storyteller. This helps them hear the words when they learn to read aloud or read silently.
Now Hear This
Children are great mimics. When you tell stories, your child will begin to tell stories, too.
What to do
Having a good audience is very helpful for a child to improve language skills, as well as poise in speaking. Parents can be the best audience a child will ever have.
P.S. I Love You
Something important happens when children receive and write letters. They realize that the printed word has a purpose.
What you'll need
Paper
Pencil, crayon, or marker
What to do
For example:
Dear Grandma,
I like it when you make ice cream. It's better than the kind we buy at the store.
Your grandson,
Darryl
P.S. I love you.
3. Ask the people who receive these notes to respond. An oral response is fine--a written response is even better.
4. Explain the writing process to your child: "We think of ideas and put them into words; we put the words on paper; people read the words; and people respond."
Language is speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Each element supports and enriches the other. Sending letters will help children become writers, and writing will make them better readers.
Easy as Pie
Preparing meals is another good way for children to practice language skills.
What you'll need
Paper
Pencil
Cookbook or recipes
Food supplies
What to do
The purpose of reading is to get meaning from the page. By using reading skills to prepare a meal, children see positive results from reading.
Write On
Writing helps a child become a better reader, and reading helps a child become a better writer.
What you'll need
Pencils, crayons, or markers
Paper or notebook
Chalkboard
What to do
When the children begin to write, they run the risk criticism, and it takes courage to continue. Our job as parents is to help children find the courage. This we can do by expressing our appreciation of their efforts.
TV
Television can be a great tool for education too. The keys are setting limits, making good choices, taking time to watch together, discussing what you view, and encouraging follow-up reading.
What to do
Many experts recommend that children watch no more than 10 hours of television each week. Limiting television viewing frees up time for reading and writing activities.
It is worth noting that captioned television shows can be especially helpful with children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, studying English as a second language, or having difficulty learning to read.
Make a Book
Turn your child's writing into a homemade book. The effect will be powerful. Suddenly books become a lot more human and understandable.
What you'll need
Construction paper
Yarn or ribbon
Heavy paper or cardboard
Colorful cloth or wrapping paper
Paste
Safety scissors
What to do
Making a book is a multi-step process from planning to writing to producing a final product.
Make Your Own Dictionary
A letter dictionary is a long-term project.
What you'll need
Notebook
Pencil, pen, crayons, or markers
Old magazines
Safety scissors
Paste
What to do
If it stops being fun, you can come back to the project at a later time. When you come back to it, don't worry if your child forgets something. That's the nature of young children.
Parents and the Schools
Success in school depends, in large part, on your child's ability to read, and your role in helping your child become a reader extends into the classroom. The kind of support you provide will, of course, change as your child grows older. Your involvement and monitoring your child's progress in school can help your child become a better reader.
Involvement in school programs can take many forms, from attending PTA meetings to volunteering in school activities. Through action, not just words, you demonstrate to your child that school is important.
In monitoring your child's progress in learning to read, you need to look at both the programs offered at school and your child's performance. Below is a checklist for different levels of schooling. There is much more information available to help you evaluate school reading programs. (See the Resources section, "For Parents.")
Kindergarten
Beginning Reading Programs
When children start school, they receive their first formal instruction in reading. At this stage, they learn to identify words--by translating groups of letters into spoken words.
Developmental Reading Programs
Evaluating Your Child's Progress
It is important to monitor your child's progress through reports from the teacher. Also, it is important to attend school open houses or similar events where teachers are available to explain the program and discuss children's progress with their parents.
If you think your child should be doing better, consider meeting privately with the teacher. In most cases, the teacher and principal will be able to shed light on your child's progress and what you might do to help. Your school system may have access to special resources such as a reading specialist and guidance counselor or to materials to address your child's needs.
You may want additional help for your child. A good starting point is the nearest college or university. Most have reading tutorial services that are available on a sliding-fee scale. If not, there may be faculty or graduate students interested in tutoring. Then monitor your child's progress the same way you would his progress in school. If you do not see a difference in performance in 6 to 8 weeks, discuss the program with your child's tutor. Can the tutor explain the goals of the program and document your child's progress? If not, you may wish to consider another course of action.
Some children struggle with reading problems where the cause is readily identifiable. Some of the more widely recognized causes of reading problems are vision and hearing impairments and poor speech and language development. But there are other schoolchildren who have problems reading because of a learning disability. Whatever the cause or nature of a child's reading problem, the earlier the difficulty is discovered and additional help provided, the better the child's chances are of becoming a successful reader. (See the Resources section, "For Parents.")
The good news is that no matter how long it takes, with few exceptions, children can learn to read. One of the most important roles you can play in relation to your children's schoolwork is that of cheerleader. Applaud their efforts and their successes. Help them have the courage to keep trying.
A Postscript about Older Children
You can't put a teenager on your lap and read stories every night. But you can still help older children become enthusiastic and fluent readers by adapting many of the same principles that work with the little ones. It is especially important to continue the following efforts:
Resources
For Children
What follows is a sampling from the wealth of children's literature available.
Listed by age groups are three kinds of children's materials.
There are many other excellent lists of children's books. For more information, see the next section, "Resources for Parents."
Children's Books and Real-Life Events
One sure way to get children to love to read is to make connections between books and what happens in their lives. If the book relates to what happened in real life and children see themselves in it, both the story and the event take on greater meaning. There are numerous books that deal with almost any event in a child's life. We present here a few illustrative topics to show the relation between books and life. Topics chosen include celebrating family occasions; the very personal experience of a loose tooth; a new baby; and knowing more about explorations in outer space.
Family Celebrations Ages 4 to 8
Clifton, Lucille. Some of the Days of Everette Anderson; Ness, Evaline, illustrator. Henry Holt & Company.
Greenfield, Eloise. Honey, I Love and Other Love Poems; Dillon, Diane and Leo, illustrators. HarperCollins Children's Books.
Ringgold, Faith. Tar Beach. Crown.
Say, Allen. Tree of Cranes. Houghton Mifflin.
Zolotow, Charlotte. Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present; Sendak, Maurice, illustrator. HarperCollins Children's Books.
______. Over and Over; Williams, Garth, illustrator. HarperCollins Children's Books.
Ages 7 to 12
Adoff, Arnold. In for Winter, Out for Spring; Pinkney, Jerry, illustrator. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Baylor, Byrd. I'm in Charge of Celebrations; Parnall, Peter, illustrator. Macmillan Children's Book Group/Scribners.
Goble, Paul. Her Seven Brothers. Bradbury Press.
Esbensen, Barbara J. The Star Maiden: An Ojibway Tale; Davie, Helen K., illustrator. Little, Brown and Company.
Loose Tooth
Ages 5 to 8
Bate, Lucy. Little Rabbit's Loose Tooth; De Groat, Diane, illustrator. Crown.
Birdseye, Tom. Air Mail to the Moon. Gammell, Stephen, illustrator. Holiday.
Brown, Marc. Arthur's Tooth. Little, Brown and Company/Joy Street.
Carson, Jo. Pulling My Leg; Downing, Julie, illustrator. Orchard.
Cole, Joanna. Missing Tooth; Hafner, Marilyn, illustrator. Random House.
McCloskey, Robert. One Morning in Maine. Viking Press.
McPhail, David. The Bear's Toothache. Little, Brown and Company/Joy Street.
New Baby
Ages 5 to 8
Alexander, Martha. Nobody Asked Me If I Wanted a Baby Sister. Dial Press.
Byars, Betsy. Go and Hush the Baby; McCully, Emily, illustrator. Puffin/Penguin.
Clifton, Lucille. Everette Anderson's Nine Month Long; Grifalconi, Ann, illustrator. Henry Holt & Company.
Henkes, Kevin. Julius, the Baby of the World. Greenwillow Books.
Williams, Vera B. More, More, More, Said the Baby. Greenwidow Books.
Ages 7 to 12
Ellis, Sarah. A Family Project. Macmillan Children's Books/McElderry.
Galbraith, Kathryn O. Roommates and Rachel; Graham, Mark, illustrator. Macmillan Children's Books/McElderry.
Greenwald, Sheila. Alvin Webster's Surefire Plan for Success (and How It Failed). Little, Brown and Company/Joy Street.
Space Exploration
Ages 4 to 8
Barton, Byron. I Want to Be an Astronaut. Crowell.
Branley, Franklyn M. The Sky Is Full of Stars; Bond, Felicia, illustrator. Crowell.
Marshall, Edward. Space Case; Marshall, James, illustrator. Dial Press.
Minarik, Else H. Little Bear; Sendak, Maurice, illustrator. HarperCollins Children's Books.
Murphy, Jill. What Next, Baby Bear! Dial Press.
Wildsmith, Brian. Professor Noah's Spaceship. Oxford.
Ages 8 to 12
Apfel, Necia H. Nebulae: The Birth and Death of Stars. Lothrop.
Blumberg, Rhoda. The First Travel Guide to the Moon: What to Pack, How to Go, and What to See When You Get There. Four Winds.
Branley, Franklyn M. The Planets in Our Solar System; Madden, Don, illustrator and photographer. Crowell.
______. Rockets and Satellites, 2nd revised edition; Maestro, Giulio, illustrator. HarperCollins Children's Books.
Cole, Joanna. The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System; Degen, Bruce, illustrator. Scholastic, Inc.
Embury, Barbara, and Crouch, Tom D. The Dream Is Alive: A Flight of Discovery Aboard the Space Shuttle; with photographs from Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. HarperCollins Children's Books.
Fox, Mary Virginia. Women Astronauts: Aboard the Space Shuttle; revised edition. Messner.
Lauber, Patricia. Seeing Earth from Space. Orchard.
Livingston, Myra Cohn. Space Songs; Fisher, Leonard Everett, illustrator. Holiday House.
Ride, Sally, and Okie, Susan. To Space and Back. Lothrop.
Simon, Seymour. Look to the Night Sky: An Introduction to Star Watching; illustrations and star charts. Puffin/Penguin.
Celebrate the Joy of Poetry
Ages 5 to 12
Bagert, Brod. Let Me Be... the Boss, Poems for Kids to Perform; Smith, G.L., illustrator. Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
Bryan, Ashley, ed. All Night, All Day: A Child's First Book of African-American Spirituals; Thomas, David Manning, musical arranger. Atheneum.
Ciardi, John. The Monster Den: or Look What Happened at My House--and To It; Gorey, Edward, illustrator. Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
______. You Know Who; Gorey, Edward, illustrator. Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
de Regniers, Beatrice S., ed. Sing a Song of Popcorn: Every Child's Book of Poems; illustrated by nine Caldecott Medal artists. Scholastic, Inc.
Esbensen, Barbara J. Cold Stars and Fireflies: Poems of the Four Seasons; Bonners, Susan, illustrator. HarperCollins Children's Books.
Giovanni, Nikki. Spin a Soft Black Song, Martins, George, illustrator. Hill & Wang/Farrat, Straus and Giroux.
Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Happy Birthday; Knight, Hilary, illustrator. Simon & Schuster.
______. On the Farm; Molk, Laurel, illustrator. Little, Brown and Company.
Lewis, Claudia. Up in the Mountains: And Other Poems of Long Ago; Fontaine, Joel, illustrator. HarperCollins Children's Books.
Lewis, J. Patrick. Earth Verses and Water Rhymes; Sabuda, Robert, illustrator. Atheneum.
Prelutsky, Jack. For Laughing Out Loud: Poems to Tickle Your Funnybone; Priceman, Marjorie, illustrator. Alfred A. Knopf.
______, ed. The Random House Book of Poetry for Children; Lobel, Arnold, illustrator. Random House.
Sky-Peck, Kathryn, ed. Who Has Seen the Wind? An Illustrated Collection of Poetry for Young People; with photographs of paintings from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Rizzoli International Publications.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. A Child's Garden of Verses; Le Mair, Henriette Willebeek, illustrator. Philomel.
Children's Magazines
General Interest for Ages 2 to 12
Cricket, the Magazine for Children, P.O. Box 52961, Boulder, CO 80322-2961.
Highlights for Children, 2300 West Fifth Avenue, Columbus, OH 43272-0002.
Story Magazines for Ages 4 to 9
Chickadee, Young Naturalist Foundation, P.O. Box 11314, Des Moines, IA 50340.
Ladybug, Cricket Country Lane, Box 50284, Boulder, CO 80321-0284.
Sesame Street Magazine, Children's Television Workshop, One Lincoln Plaza, New York, NY 10023.
Science, Nature, Sports, Math & History for Ages 7 to 12
Cobblestone: The History Magazine for Young People, Cobblestone Publishing, Inc., 30 Grove Street, Peterborough, NH 03458.
DynaMath, Scholastic, Inc., 730 Broadway, New York, NY 10003.
National Geographic World, National Geographic Society, 17th and M Streets NW, Washington, DC 20036.
Odyssey, Kalmbach Publishing Co., P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha WI 53187.
Ranger Rick, National Wildlife Federation, 1400 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036-2266.
Sports Illustrated for Kids, Time Inc., Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York, NY 10020-1393.
3-2-1 Contact, Children's Television Workshop, One Lincoln Plaza, New York, NY 10023.
U*S*Kids, Field Publications, 245 Long Hill Road, Middletown, CT 06457.
Zillions, Consumers Union, 101 Truman Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10703-1057.
Resources
For Parents
The resources below are primarily for parents, but you can use them to guide you to resources for your children as well. Many of the books include excellent children's book lists; two are outstanding anthologies(*). In addition, don't overlook your public library as a source of book lists for children. Many publish their own lists of books that may relate to special programs for children or community needs and events.
Butler, Dorothy. Babies Need Books, 2nd edition. Atheneum.
Cullinan, Bernice. Read to Me: Raising Kids Who Love to Read. Scholastic, Inc.
*Fadiman, Clifton, ed. The World Treasury of Children's Literature. Little, Brown and Company.
Graves, Ruth, ed. The RIF** Guide to Encouraging Young Readers. Doubleday. (** Reading Is Fundamental, Inc.)
Hearne, Betsy. Choosing Books for Children. Delacorte Press.
Kimmel, Margaret Mary. For Reading Out Loud: A Guide to Sharing Books with Children. Delacorte Press.
Larrick, Nancy. A Parent's Guide to Children's Reading, 5th edition. Bantam Books.
*Russell, William F., ed. Classics to Read Aloud to Your Children, 1984 edition. Crown.
Sader, Marion. Reference Books for Young Readers: Authoritative Evaluations of Encyclopedias, Atlases, and Dictionaries. Bowker.
Trelease, Jim. The New Read-Aloud Handbook. Penguin Handbooks.
In Addition
The Library of Congress, Children's Literature Center prepares an annual list of more than 100 of the best children's books recently published for preschool through junior high school age. To order Books for Children, #8 (1992), send $1 to the Consumer Information Center, Department 101Z, Pueblo, CO 81009.
The organizations below also publish lists of children's books and other helpful brochures that are available free or at a nominal cost, as well as books for parents on helping children learn to read. Request titles and ordering information directly from
American Library Association
Publications Order Department
50 East Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611
International Reading Association
800 Barksdale Road
P.O. Box 8139
Newark, DE 19714-8139
Reading Is Fundamental, Inc.
Publications Department
Smithsonian Institution
600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20024-2520
Federal Sources of Assistance If Your Child Has a Reading Problem or Leaning Disability
ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children The
Council for Exceptional Children
1920 Association Drive
Reston, VA 22091
National Information Center for Children and Youth with
Disabilities
P.O. Box 1492
Washington, DC 20013-1492
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services 9000 Rockville Pike,
Bldg. 31
Bethesda, MD 20892
The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20542
(202) 702-5100
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services U.S.
Department of Education
Washington, DC 20202
Federal Publications for Parents on Helping Your Child
In addition to Helping Your Child Learn To Read, the U.S. Department of Education publishes a number of books on related subjects. To find out what's available and how to order, request the Consumer Information Catalog listing nearly 200 useful federal publications. The Catalog is free from the Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, Colorado 81009.
Acknowledgments
Marilyn Binkley of OERI provided a thoughtful review of the manuscript. The book she prepared entitled Becoming a Nation of Readers: What Parents Can Do gave inspiration for a number of the activities and was the basis for the section on parents and schools. Ray Fry, director of OERI's Library Programs, provided invaluable support and guidance in developing this book. Nancy Floyd managed the production of the book, assisted by Torey Evans. Also, our special thanks go to Leo and Diane Dillon for their advice on how to work with illustrators.
Bernice Cullinan is a professor of Early Childhood and Elementary Education at New York University and a highly acclaimed reading specialist. She has authored numerous books about children and reading, most recently Read to Me: Raising Kids Who Love to Read.
Brod Bagert is the author of several books of poetry for children to read out loud. Mr. Bagert visits dozens of American cities as a keynote speaker for Bill Martin, Jr.'s Pathways to Literacy. During the school year he is invited to schools across the nation to read his poetry aloud as a way of motivating children to read.
Darlene Marie Francis is a Guild Member of YA/YA Gallery and an art student at Delgado Community College in New Orleans, Louisiana. She has also studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti, Perugia, Italy. Her work has been displayed in galleries in New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Memphis in the United States, as well as in Paris, London, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Tuscany. Her whimsically painted chairs have appeared on Sesame Street, MTV, Today, and Japanese TV.
What We Can Do To Help Our Children Learn:
Listen to them and pay attention to their problems.
Read with them.
Tell family stories.
Limit their television watching.
Have books and other reading materials in the house.
Look up words in the dictionary with them.
Encourage them to use an encyclopedia.
Share favorite poems and songs with them.
Take them to the library--get them their own library cards.
Take them to museums and historical sites, when possible.
Discuss the daily news with them.
Go exploring with them and learn about plants, animals, and local geography.
Find a quiet place for them to study.
Review their homework.
Meet with their teachers.
Do you have other ideas?