Conventional wisdom tells us that children learn to read in school, but researchcontinues to show how much the skills that influence a child's reading success are being established long before they arrive in those pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms.
For a taste of what this research means and its implications for schools and early childhood programs, Early Ed Watch spoke with Gabrielle Miller, a former teacher and national expert on early literacy interventions whose work has included running several initiatives for Reading is Fundamental and developing programs for the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, MD. Miller is now national executive director for Raising A Reader, a non-profit organization whose aim is to instill a love of reading among parents and children, especially those in poverty or who are otherwise disadvantaged. By working with Head Start centers, childcare centers, school districts and other community groups, the organization circulates 100 books each year to participating families. Family book reading and library usage has gone up among participants and a study in San Francisco County in 2003 showed that preschool children in the program scored higher than their peers on assessments of pre-reading, comprehension and book knowledge.
Early Ed Watch podcast – January 24, 2011
Podcast: Parents, Books and the Roots of Literacy
With our guest Gabrielle E. Miller, National Executive Director of Raising A Reader.
Please log in below through Disqus, Twitter or Facebook to participate in the conversation. Your email address, which is required for a Disqus account, will not be publicly displayed. If you sign in with Twitter or Facebook, you have the option of publishing your comments in those streams as well.
The Early Education Initiative seeks to promote a high-quality and continuous system of early care and education for all children, birth to age 8. While much of our focus is on pre-K up through 3rd grade, we also examine the need for high-quality infant and toddler care and better policies to support new parents.
Our forum on LinkedIn is a space for school district leaders, early childhood educators, policymakers and other interested parties to discuss their struggles, questions and achievements in creating a “before birth and up through third grade” system. It grew out of an event held at the New America Foundation on March 2, 2011.
Join the Conversation
Please log in below through Disqus, Twitter or Facebook to participate in the conversation. Your email address, which is required for a Disqus account, will not be publicly displayed. If you sign in with Twitter or Facebook, you have the option of publishing your comments in those streams as well.