literacy Archives – Rebecca Reads

Thirty Million Words by Dana Suskind

January 13, 2016 by Rebecca Reid

Thirty Million Words by Dana Suskind is about the literacy project of the same name that focuses on improving children’s access to language from day one. In the first three years of life, children should hear 30 million words to improve their chances for learning and growth for their entire life!

I enjoyed reading the research and hearing the personal stories from the authors about ways in which a broad exposure to vocabulary helps children for many years. It was fascinating to learn how exposure to language in the first years makes such a difference in all the years that follow. It is not preschool or early intervention programs that make a difference: rather, the change come when kids were exposed before the age of three!

After sharing the studies and research that has proven their point, the authors then provide ideas on how parents can help their children be exposed to even more language from the start. Their three-fold mission emphasizes the need to “tune in” (that is, pay attention), “talk more” (that is, narrate regular daily life), and “take turns” (that is, listen and respond to the noises and words the child makes). I loved this reminder. Since I have a new baby right now, I’ve delighted in seeking extra ways to interact with her.

The sweet smiles she gives me in return are a fine reward for the time I take to try and expose her to 30,000,000 words before her third birthday!

Thirty Million Words is highly recommended!

Note: I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher for review consideration.

Reading Magic by Mem Fox

March 5, 2013 by Rebecca Reid

Mem Fox is a successful children’s book author and literacy expert. But her expertise in Reading Magic (Harcourt 2001) comes across as personal and passionate, mostly because she writes foremost from her position as a mother. Her main point in writing this book is to read aloud to our children, making it a fun time and a game, as parents let their children learn from the words that surround them in their daily lives.

I loved reading this book. Nothing Ms Fox said was surprising or new to me. Back in 2009, I started a project to read my then 26-month-old son 1000 books before he started kindergarten. Just over 18 months later, we’d read 1000 different books together (that I’d recorded, at least) and he was reading on his own. Everything Ms Fox suggests is thus backed up by our application of it! It was not a struggle. It was fun. Continue Reading

1000 Books: Project Completion

January 30, 2012 by Rebecca Reid

About two years ago (December 2009), I started a project I titled “1000 Books” in which I hoped to read 1000 different books with my son before his sixth birthday (fall 2013): picture books, chapter books, or essentially any books that we read in full. Originally, I said I wanted to read the books by his fifth birthday, but then I panicked because that was too soon and changed it to his sixth birthday. The purpose of this goal was to nurture his natural interest in reading, to expose him to a variety of good books, and to help him gain the literary exposure necessary to learn to read at age 5 or 6.

It’s been quite the wonderful experience for us.Continue Reading

Kid’s Corner: Suggestions Needed for Early Chapter Books for Older Beginning Readers

November 5, 2010 by Rebecca Reid

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My mother teaches English as a Second Language to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders at a public middle school. Although for the most part these kids are intelligent and have been successful in school in the past, most are learning English for the first time after moving to the USA from every continent. She has had students from China, Korea, Europe, Russia, Mexico, and even rural Africa. A few are a bit more advanced, having taken English classes in their native country. But they are all in her class because they cannot read English at a middle school level.

Since reading more helps one become a better reader, it’s important that they have reading material available to them, not just for academic subjects but for fun. However, being in the public school system, my mom is limited by the school library, which is, in her words, “pathetic.” Beyond other issues, it only has books at a middle school reading level. She’s been given the chance to spend some money (certainly not enough) on lower reading level books to support her students, but she needs some help finding the perfect books to spend the money on.

She’s hoping to find some books that will help her students feel confident about their reading, even though it’s below their peers’ level. The books will give them the experience they need to gain vocabulary and reading competence. The books need to be no higher than a third-grade reading level, but the subject matter must be appropriate for a middle school student: interesting, entertaining, and certainly not something with a babyish-cover that would embarrass them in the middle of an ever-judgmental middle school crowd.

I have not read most of these books, since my son is below the early reader age and early chapter book age. In addition to those below (which are mostly early chapter books), early readers that do not say “I can read!” and First steps to reading!” on them might be useful for the lowest level kids. Any suggestions that you may have, or comments on these books that you have read, would be appreciated!

I found the interest levels and reading levels (which refer to grade levels) from the Scholastic Teacher Book Wizard tool, a nice resource for discovering books before you buy them. Many of the books I’ve listed say “interest level grades 3 to 5;” I’d be interested to know whether they might also appeal to grades 6 to 8. Please comment if you know!

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