A step-by-step program that shows parents, simply and clearly, how to teach their child to read in just 20 minutes a day.

SRA's DISTAR is one of the most successful beginning reading programs available to schools. Research has proven that children taught by the DISTAR method outperform their peers. Now, this program has been adapted for use at home. In only 20 minutes a day, this remarkable step-by-step program teaches your child to read--with the love, care, and joy only a parent and child cane share. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

A three-year-old is a real puzzle to parents, sometimes anxious to please and befriend, sometimes strong-willed and difficult to get along with. At the heart of the three-year-old’s personality is often an emotional insecurity—and this causes a host of problems for parents! Drs. Ames and Ilg, recognized authorities on child behavior and development, help parents understand what’s going on inside that three-year-old head, what problems children have, and how to cope with the toddler who is sometimes friend, sometimes enemy. Included in this book: • Jealousy of a new sibling • Toilet training • How to improve a child’s eating habits • Friendships with peers • Common fears • Developing language skills • Nursery school • Books for parents and three-year-olds “Louise Bates Ames and her colleagues synthesize a lifetime of observation of children, consultation, and discussion with parents. These books will help parents to better understand their children and will guide them through the fascinating and sometimes trying experiences of modern parenthood.”—Donald J. Cohen, M.D., Director, Yale Child Study Center, Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Psychology, Yale School of Medicine

From a nationally acclaimed expert on literacy comes practical advice to help parents foster their young child's love of reading

In spite of the wide range of resources and innovative teaching methods schools have had and are using, many students still fail to acquire literacy. Many have specific problems with word and letter symbols. They reverse and invert them, their hearing cannot discriminate fine differences in letter sounds, or they do not perceive patterns easily for their brain to make connections. Their visual and auditory memory may fail them, or their culture may use language that does not align with the standard accepted forms in the text. These children are disadvantaged because their brains work differently and they think and respond differently. This book embraces a different metaphor for teaching literacy that does not compartmentalize the curriculum into separate areas such as spelling, reading, writing, listening, speaking and presenting. Instead, the focus is on assessing their written language as a place to start in planning for success. An unassisted sample of a learner's writing could be said to be an example of what they understand of literacy, whether it be a scribble at three or an essay at twelve. I have proved conclusively that if teacher and student work collaboratively on improving their writing using their reading as a model, their reading ability rises naturally. This customized and individualized teaching method enables authentic teacher/student interactions. This not only allows the teacher to closely tailor their teaching to each student's unique learning needs, but it also brings the student on board in assessing their progress. Teaching a Child to Read and Write Well will clear a path towards mastering literacy that can engage all students and lead to success for all. Give it a go!

Reading for pleasure urgently requires a higher profile to raise attainment and increase children’s engagement as self-motivated and socially interactive readers. Building Communities of Engaged Readers highlights the concept of ‘Reading Teachers’ who are not only knowledgeable about texts for children, but are aware of their own reading identities and prepared to share their enthusiasm and understanding of what being a reader means. Sharing the processes of reading with young readers is an innovative approach to developing new generations of readers. Examining the interplay between the ‘will and the skill’ to read, the book distinctively details a reading for pleasure pedagogy and demonstrates that reader engagement is strongly influenced by relationships between children, teachers, families and communities. Importantly it provides compelling evidence that reciprocal reading communities in school encompass: a shared concept of what it means to be a reader in the 21st century; considerable teacher and child knowledge of children’s literature and other texts; pedagogic practices which acknowledge and develop diverse reader identities; spontaneous ‘inside-text talk’ on the part of all members; a shift in the focus of control and new social spaces that encourage choice and children’s rights as readers. Written by experts in the literacy field and illustrated throughout with examples from the project schools, it is essential reading for all those concerned with improving young people’s enjoyment of and attainment in reading.