America Reads - Information for Families
If you are involved in the life of an elementary student, the following information is for you.
The America Reads*America Counts program is a partnership with select Prince George's County Public Elementary Schools.
America Reads mentors work with first and second grade children at Adelphi, Beacon Heights, Calverton, Chillum, Cool Spring, Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, Mt. Rainier, Springhill Lake, Templeton and Woodridge.
America Counts mentors work with fourth grade children at Calverton, Mt. Rainier and Springhill Lake.
Children are selected to participate in the program by their teachers. If your child attends one of our partner schools and you would like them to participate, please contact your child's teacher to discuss whether he/she is an appropriate fit for the program.
Whether your child is a participant in our program or not, we would like to emphasize that it is very important for friends and family members to read with children.
According to a 1985 study by the National Commission on Reading, reading aloud to children is the single most important intervention for developing their literacy skills.
There can be no overestimation as to the importance of the home in preparing children for school:
- Families are a child's first and most influential teachers.
- The best way for families to help their children become better readers is to read to them-- even when they are very young.
- Children improve their reading ability by reading a lot. Reading achievement is directly related to the amount of reading children do in and out of school.
- Telling young children stories can motivate them to read.
- Hearing good readers read and encouraging students to read passages aloud helps them become better readers.
- Use of libraries enhances reading skills and encourages independent reading.
- Families create a "curriculum of the home" that teaches their children what matters.
The following are tips for reading with your child:
Infants and Toddlers
Kindergarten - Third Grade
Fourth - Sixth Grade
Tips for Reading to Infants and Toddlers
- Snuggle with your child with her favorite blanket or toys as you read.
- Read with expression using different voices for different characters.
- Emphasize rhythms and rhymes in stories. Give your toddler opportunities to repeat rhyming phrases.
- Use pictures to build vocabulary by talking about what is shown, pointing to things and naming them.
- Encourage your child to repeat what you say or comment on it. Encourage your child to ask questions. Provide models of interesting questions and examples of possible answers. "I wonder what is going to happen next? I think the rabbit will get lost because he is not paying attention to where he is going. What do you think?"
- Look for books that are about things that interest your toddler. For example, does your child like cars, insects, or animals?
- Make reading a habit before bedtime, after lunch, or after naptime.
- Give your child a chance to choose his own books for reading. If your toddler chooses a book that is too long to hold his attention, read some and skip some, discussing the pictures and how they relate to the story.
- Read stories again and again. Your toddler enjoys repetition and it helps her become familiar with the way stories are organized.
Tips for Reading to and with Young Children in School, Kindergarten - Third Grade
- Keep reading to your child even when he can read. Read books that are too difficult or long for him to read alone.
- Try reading books with chapters and talk about what is happening in the story. Encourage your child to make predictions about what will happen next and connect characters or events to those in other books and stories.
- Talk with your child about reading preferences that are beginning to develop. Ask whether she likes adventure stories, mysteries, science fiction, animal stories, or stories about other children. Encourage her to explain the reasons for preferences.
- Talk with your child about favorite authors and help him find additional books by those authors.
- Take turns reading a story with your child. Don't interrupt to correct mistakes that do not change the meaning.
- Talk about the meaning of new words and ideas introduced in books. Help your child think of examples of new concepts.
- Enjoy yourself and have fun. The most important thing you can do to help your child become a successful reader is communicate that reading is valuable and enjoyable.
- Talk with your child about stories using the notions of the beginning, middle, and end of the story to organize thinking and discussion.
- Ask your child to tell why a character might have taken a specific action. Ask for information from the story to support her answer.
Tips for reading to and with Children in Grades Four - Six
- Take turns reading a book with your child.
- Ask your child to compare a book to another familiar book. How are the characters alike or different? Do the stories take place in similar settings? How are the illustrations the same or different?
- Ask what part of the story or book your child liked best and why.
- Ask if your child liked the ending of the story. Why or why not?
- Ask your child what type of mood the story or chapter in a book creates. Ask how the author creates the mood. For example, does she use certain words, events, or settings that create a particular feeling?
- If your child has read more than one book by the same author, ask how the books are similar or different.
-- From the National Education Association
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