The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) — a.k.a. The Nation's Report Card — is a nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. This article contains some of the results of the most recent NAEP assessment in reading and compares them to results from assessments in 2005 and in the first year data were available, usually 1992.

Selecting a reading program can be an intimidating task. This article provides background information on scientifically based research conducted on various reading programs, the findings of the National Reading Panel, and some resources for learning more about reading programs.

With so many choices these days, finding a book for a child can be overwhelming. Here's some encouragement and advice that will help make this process an easy one.

Reading aloud to children in any language prepares them to learn to read English. Learn about the benefits in this article.

This brief from the American Federation of Teachers examines the strengths and weaknesses of Direct Instruction, one of five promising reading intervention programs they evaluated (also see Early Steps, Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction, Lindamood-Bell, and Reading Recovery in this section).

This brief from the American Federation of Teachers examines the strengths and weaknesses of Early Steps, one of five promising reading intervention programs they evaluated (also see Direct Instruction, Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction, Lindamood-Bell, and Reading Recovery in this section).

This brief from the American Federation of Teachers examines the strengths and weaknesses of Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction, one of five promising reading intervention programs they evaluated (also see Direct Instruction, Early Steps, Lindamood-Bell, and Reading Recovery in this section).

This brief from the American Federation of Teachers examines the strengths and weaknesses of Lindamood-Bell, one of five promising reading intervention programs they evaluated (also see Direct Instruction, Early Steps, Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction, and Reading Recovery in this section).

This brief from the American Federation of Teachers examines the strengths and weaknesses of Reading Recovery, one of five promising reading intervention programs they evaluated (also see Direct Instruction, Early Steps, Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction, and Lindamood-Bell in this section).

Teaching reading is a complex process that draws upon an extensive knowledge base and repertoire of strategies. This article argues that many novice teachers are underprepared to teach reading effectively, and examines some of the reasons why.

Family literacy programs help parents improve both their parenting and literacy skills while providing young children with early childhood education. The parenting component often includes in-home visits and enrichment activities. Learn more in this overview of the components of family literacy programs.

The best family literacy programs share certain curricular components, but are tailored to meet the needs of the diverse families they serve. This digest describes how Even Start has led to the development of many different family literacy programs.

As difficult as life has been for illiterate Americans in the past, the economy of the near future will offer even fewer jobs for workers with poor reading skills. The Information Age and the advance of technology into daily life make the job prospects for poor readers bleaker than ever.

For parents to be comfortable interacting with schools, they must often bridge language and culture differences. Here are recommendations for getting involved that open the lines of communication.

Children with disabilities can benefit from the same language and literacy activities as all young children: being read to, having rich conversations, and playing games with sounds. However, children with disabilities may need these activities to be modified or intensified for maximum benefit. Find out about activities for struggling readers in these suggestions for parents.

Peer tutoring, cross-age tutoring, and small learning groups have been shown by research to be effective for teaching reading to students with and without learning disabilities. This articles affirms that using a variety of grouping formats is preferable to whole class instruction or ability grouping.

Effective writing instruction for students with disabilities incorporates three components: adhering to a basic framework of planning, writing, and revision; explicitly teaching critical steps in the writing process; and providing feedback guided by the information explicitly taught. Learn more about methods for using these components in this article.

Many children are raised with a home language different from the language at school, and this has given rise to many misconceptions about language learning. This will help parents learn the facts, and get information about helping their second language learner.

Children who have difficulty learning to read often run into one or more of three stumbling blocks: difficulty with the alphabetic principle, with comprehension, and with fluency. Find out about these stumbling blocks in this overview.

Millions of children spend a part of the day in child care while their parents work. These settings – in centers and in homes – are places where children can learn and grow.

The number of children in child care is quickly increasing. Early childcare can lay the foundations for reading, and help prevent reading problems from developing. This article describes the current state of child care, and the challenges we face in improving its quality.

When communities work together, they can improve the reading achievement of their children. Learn what efforts need to be made with preschool and school-aged children in order to improve reading achievement in America.

Beginning readers are not usually fluent, but classroom practices can help them develop this important skill. This article describes both direct and indirect methods for increasing fluency through classroom instruction.

With one-on-one conversation, dramatic play, and engaging read alouds, preschool teachers can promote children's language and literacy development. Learn about research studies on the characteristics of preschool environments that prepare children to become readers.

Knowing that students with certain family backgrounds and experiences are more likely to have trouble learning to read means that efforts can be made with these children to prevent difficulties from developing. For example, children with a family history of difficulties or with little exposure to books are at increased risk.

Schools that promote reading success make first grade count and step in immediately of there's a problem. Read about these and other ways principals can help every child in their schools become a reader.

Historically, we used the term "reading readiness" to describe the early years as preparation for reading. Now, we use the term "emergent literacy" to characterize these early activities as part of a continuum of reading development, rather than as preparation for it. Find out how to support children's emergent literacy in this discussion of perspectives on development.

Historically, we used the term "reading readiness" to describe the early years as preparation for reading. Now, we use the term "emergent literacy" to characterize these early activities as part of a continuum of reading development, rather than as preparation for it. Find out how to support children's emergent literacy in this discussion of perspectives on development.

When reading is an enjoyable part of everyday life, children will develop positive attitudes about reading. These tips for parents demonstrate how to make reading a part of life for preschool and school-aged children.

Students with reading difficulties do not seem to need qualitatively different instruction from children who aren't struggling, but certain students may need more intensive support from a reading specialist. This overview of how children with reading difficulties should be served in school includes an argument for schools to employ reading specialists.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a law that ensures certain rights for children with disabilities and their families. Parents have a certain role to play in the process of getting children the help they need. Find out what parents of children with disabilities can expect in this list of rights and responsibilities.

NICHD research on children with learning disabilities has shown that deficiencies in processing letter-sounds are at the heart of most reading problems. This article illustrates how letter-sound processing works, and describes strategies for teaching children this skill.

IRA and NAEYC believe that achieving high standards of literacy for every child in the United States is a shared responsibility of schools, early childhood programs, families, and communities. But teachers of young children, whether employed in preschools, child care programs, or elementary schools, have a unique responsibility to promote children's literacy development, based on the most current professional knowledge and research.

Early childhood programs and elementary schools in the United States operate in widely differing contexts with varying levels of funding and resources. Regardless of the resources available, professionals have an ethical responsibility to teach, to the best of their ability, according to the standards of the profession.

The following are recommended teaching practices from the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Because early intervention is so important, children who require special services need to be assessed at a young age. Here are six stages in the assessment process, from child-find to program evaulation.

Developmentally appropriate research-based literacy instruction in the primary grades includes attention to a variety of areas. Learn what reading instruction looks like in such areas as word identification, writing, and spelling in this overview.

Individual children may come to school with conditions that make them more likely to experience trouble learning to read. Find out more about these conditions, such as cognitive, hearing, or language problems.

A school in which students are performing at a much higher (or much lower) level than might be predicted using such standard measures as family SES is often described as an "outlier."

Children who speak nonstandard dialects of English may be at greater risk for reading difficulties.

How much a child is spoken to, and has the opportunity to speak, can play a great role in how reading difficulties develop.

Families differ enormously in the level to which they provide a supportive environment for a child's literacy development.

If 40 percent of all third-graders are not reading adequately today, reducing this substantially by the time children being born today reach third grade will be an enormous undertaking.

Three main accomplishments characterize good readers. Find out what these accomplishments are, and what experiences in the early years lay the groundwork for attaining them.

Reading ability is determined by many factors, and requires the development of certain skills through early reading instruction to attain initial success and build on it.

The statement "research says" can be used to mean a variety of things. Find out a classification system for the reliability of research findings so that you can evaluate the strength of research-based recommendations for instruction.

Children who are learning English as a second language have been taught to read both with and without using their native language as a base for learning. More research is needed to determine the effectiveness of different types of instruction, but read what the research does show about what works with English language learners.

To become life long readers, children in second grade and up need excellent instruction and experience with a wide variety of engaging texts. Here is a list of recommended areas for reading instruction in second grade and beyond.

Early experiences with sounds and letters help children learn to read. This article makes recommendations for teaching phonemic awareness, sound-spelling correspondences, and decoding, and includes activities for parents to support children's development of these skills.

Reading is essential to success in our society. The ability to read is highly valued and important for social and economic advancement. Of course, most children learn to read fairly well. In this report, we are most concerned with the large numbers of children in America whose educational careers are imperiled because they do not read well enough to ensure understanding and to meet the demands of an increasingly competitive economy.

The development of oral language is one of the child's most natural – and impressive – accomplishments.

Children go through certain phases of reading development from preschool through third grade – from exploration of books to independent reading. Find out what children at the second grade phase should be able to do, and what teachers and families can do to support their development at this stage.

Children go through certain phases of reading development from preschool through third grade – from exploration of books to independent reading. Find out what children at the first grade phase should be able to do, and what teachers and families can do to support their development at this stage.

Children go through certain phases of reading development from preschool through third grade – from exploration of books to independent reading. Find out what children at the kindergarten phase should be able to do, and what teachers and families can do to support their development at this stage.

Children go through certain phases of reading development from preschool through third grade – from exploration of books to independent reading. Find out what children at the third grade phase should be able to do, and what teachers and families can do to support their development at this stage.

Helping kids learn to read is a great goal for community groups. An important step for all groups is to not only define how to help, but also to identify the children in the community who could must benefit from what you do. This article provides tips for finding and serving these children.

Whether reading to a child, sharing reading, or listening to a child read aloud, there are many strategies a tutor can use to improve the skills of a young reader. Learn about the strategies – from modeling to KWL – that are useful for tutoring children in grades one through three.

Whether a tutor is reading aloud, talking, or writing with a child, there are strategies for making these interactions even more valuable. Learn about these strategies in these tips for tutoring preschool and kindergarten children.

This article provides background information about after-school programs and what they offer.

When schools are community learning centers, their doors don't lock at 3:00 p.m. Learn facts about the importance of and need for extended day and summer programs in schools.

Learn how children develop oral language skills through interactions with their caregivers and families by reading sample conversations with preschoolers.

Learn how children develop oral language skills through interactions with their caregivers and families by reading sample conversations with toddlers.

Learn how children develop oral language skills through interactions with their caregivers and families by reading sample conversations with crawlers and walkers.

Even in infancy, children's experiences contribute to later reading success. These tips provide families with ideas for language and literacy activities for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and primary grade children.

Invariably, it is difficulty linking letters with sounds that is the source of reading problems, and children who have difficulties learning to read can be readily observed.

While the ability to read words accurately is a necessary skill in learning to read, the speed at which this is done becomes a critical factor in ensuring that children understand what they read.

Some children encounter obstacles in learning to read because they do not derive meaning from the material that they read.

Recent research has provided a clearer picture about reading difficulties and how to prevent them. This position paper of the International Dyslexia Association argues for reform in teacher preparation to reflect these research-based understandings.

Recent research has provided a clearer picture about reading difficulties and how to prevent them. This position paper of the International Dyslexia Association argues for reform in teacher preparation to reflect these research-based understandings.

A child's background and prior experiences can contribute to increased risk of reading problems. However, the are four factors that hinder reading development regardless of a child's background. Find out what they are in this brief overview.

Creative writing plays an important role in a child's literacy development. This article makes suggestions for the instruction and evaluation of children's stories.

From webbing to semantic feature analysis, this article describes strategies for teaching vocabulary that replace memorizing definitions with building concepts.

Learning how to read requires several complex accomplishments. Read about the challenges children face as they learn how sounds are connected to print, as they develop fluency, and as they learn to construct meaning from print.

Play is the work of children – through play and interaction, children learn how to talk, listen, read, and write. Read about typical behaviors of emergent and beginning readers, and how each of these behaviors relate to reading and writing.

Learn how children develop oral language skills through interactions with their caregivers and families by reading sample conversations with babies.

Effective school reading programs in schools share certain characteristics, from sound methods and materials to quality professional development and administrative practices. Learn about eight features of research-based school reading programs.

This article provides tips parents can use to find a high quality program for their children.

Preschoolers who are getting ready to read expand their knowledge of the building blocks of oral and written language, and their use and appreciation of language. Learn activities parents can use at home to support children's growth in each of these areas.

Preschoolers who are getting ready to read expand their knowledge of the building blocks of oral and written language, and their use and appreciation of language. Learn activities parents can use at home to support children's growth in each of these areas.

Preschoolers who are getting ready to read expand their knowledge of the building blocks of oral and written language, and their use and appreciation of language. Learn activities parents can use at home to support children's growth in each of these areas.

Preschoolers who are getting ready to read expand their knowledge of the building blocks of oral and written language, and their use and appreciation of language. Learn activities parents can use at home to support children's growth in each of these areas.

Learning the meanings of new words (vocabulary) helps children to read more complex books and stories and to learn wonderful new things. Children learn new words by being read to and by reading on their own; the more children read, the more words they are likely to know.

School-aged children build skills in a variety of areas to become successful readers. Learn activities parents can use at home to expand their knowledge of letter/sound relationships and skills in decoding, writing, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension of a variety of texts.

Children can use what they know about letter-sound matches to decode (figure out) written words.

Children who identify quickly and correctly most of the words in the books that they are reading usually comprehend what they are reading.

School-aged children build skills in a variety of areas to become successful readers. Learn activities parents can use at home to expand their knowledge of letter/sound relationships and skills in decoding, writing, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension of a variety of texts.

Provide your child with the opportunity to learn that written words are made up of letters that match the sounds in spoken words.

Preschoolers who are getting ready to read expand their knowledge of the building blocks of oral and written language, and their use and appreciation of language. Learn activities parents can use at home to support children's growth in each of these areas.

With this overview, learn why reading aloud to children from an early age is so important, and how to make it a motivating and meaningful experience.

The development of children with learning disabilities can look different from the development of other children. Find out what preschool behaviors might be warning signs of learning disabilities.

With little or no direct instruction, almost all young children develop the ability to understand spoken language. While most kindergarten children have mastered the complexities of speech, they do not know that spoken language is made up of discrete words, which are made up of syllables, which themselves are made up of the smallest units of sound, called "phonemes." This awareness that spoken language is made up of discrete sounds appears to be a crucial factor in children learning to read.

Thousands of children have a learning disability, and many more fail in school because of difficulties in learning to read. An analysis of decades of research about how young children can best learn to read indicates that, in most cases, these difficulties can be prevented. The following are concrete strategies teachers can use to help students build a solid foundation for reading.

There are about 400,000 words in a dictionary. Only 13 percent of these words are truly exceptional, in that they must be memorized by sight.

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.

Choosing a child's book is a match-making process because not all children will love the same books. These guidelines for choosing books for children of different ages will help you find books that are right for your child.

School reform efforts are successful when all students are challenged to succeed and their teachers are provided meaningful opportunities for growth within the context of a collaborative school culture. Learn more about success school reform in this description of the lessons learned from a national study.

When schools screen large numbers of students, they may under- or over-identify students with disabilities. Find out how school-based screening can be used effectively.

To many students, revision means correction. This article defines revision and suggests ways teachers can encourage their students to truly revise their work.

Early literacy activities help young children develop many skills. One of these skills is phonological awareness. Learn about phonological awareness and how parents can help children develop it.

Statistics show that family support for reading – including reading aloud to children – has a major impact on reading success. However, research has uncovered a variety of reasons why many families aren't as involved as they could be.

There are often challenges to creating strong family and school partnerships. Here are tips for schools to face these challenges in order to make parents feel more comfortable and get more involved in their children's education.

It's a fact! Children whose parents are involved in their education have better grades, a more positive attitude toward school, and more appropriate school behavior than those with less involved parents.

Reading motivation isn't a simple matter of desire to read, because there are many different reasons for this desire. This article describes several motivations for reading, both intrinsic (internal) and extrinsic (external.)

CORI is an approach to reading instruction that helps children learn about scientific subjects while exploring non-fiction books. Read about the steps involved in using this approach to instruction.

Children who read for pleasure become lifelong readers. This advice for parents describes how to instill in children a love for books.

One of the earliest efforts in the recent trend to synthesize what we know from reading research, Marilyn Adams' 1990 book, "Beginning To Read" was a landmark review of the research on phonics and reading acquisition. Read her description of what she did and what she learned as she went through the process of producing this report.

One of the earliest efforts in the recent trend to synthesize what we know from reading research, Marilyn Adams' 1990 book, "Beginning To Read" was a landmark review of the research on phonics and reading acquisition. Read her description of what she did and what she learned as she went through the process of producing this report.

Children progress through certain stages of spelling development. Knowing this progression allows teachers to compel development through their instruction. Find out strategies for doing so in this article, such as promoting the use of invented spelling in the early stages.

A spelling program has many components. Some of the main components that each grade level should introduce are highlighted below.