Reading Rockets News

In Focus

NEW! Adventures in Reading: Family Literacy Bags

Looking for a way to spark your students' at-home reading? Try these theme-based family activity packs designed by Reading Rockets to inspire conversation, creativity, and hands-on fun centered around books. Just download and print the colorful activity sheets, add the recommended fiction and nonfiction books, assemble everything into a zip top bag, and send home with your students.
See our family literacy bags >
Read related article on family literacy bags >

Knock, knock. Who's there? Jokes and riddles.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Banana in my cereal.

Yep. That's our six year old at the dinner table. She so desperately wants to make up her own side-splitting knock knock jokes, but she's not quite there yet. She loves jokes and all things silly, but she's just not at the point of being able to come up with her own word play to make up a (really) funny one…
Read more in our blog Sound It Out >

Comprehension: Getting the Meaning Off the Page

Comprehension is why we read and the ultimate goal in all reading instruction. Watch this panel of reading experts discuss the building blocks of comprehension, what good instruction looks like, assessing comprehension in kids with dyslexia, and more. You'll also see inside a third grade classroom that's having success using the "Theme Scheme" strategy to help students make connections with the text. Excerpted from our webcast Make Reading Count.
Go to video clip >
See full webcast >

These articles, selected from our section on comprehension, provide insight into the complex nature of comprehension and teaching strategies that really work:

• What Is Reading? Decoding and the Jabberwocky's Song
• Seven Strategies to Teach Students Text Comprehension
• Reading Aloud to Build Comprehension
• Improving Reading Skills in the Science Classroom

Browse all articles on comprehension >

School Psychologists: New Roles in Helping Struggling Readers

School psychologists play a critical role in the lives of children who are struggling to learn. And that role is changing and expanding — for example, more and more school psychologists are involved in assessment and placements that impact students from the very beginning of their school lives.

For parents

School psychologists are highly trained in both psychology and education to help children be successful academically, socially, and emotionally. Learn more about their role and the kinds of support and services they offer.
What Is a School Psychologist? >

For school psychologists

Find out how you can be an effective school-wide literacy leader in support of teachers, specialists, teachers, parents, and kids.
School Psychologists and Student Reading Achievement >

For everyone

School psychologists working in districts that use Response to Intervention (RTI) can offer expertise at many levels, from system-wide program design to specific assessment and intervention efforts with individual students.
Role of School Psychologists in RTI >

Webcast Hot Topics: Cast Your Vote!

Reading Rockets is planning new professional development webcasts for 2009 and we want your feedback on topic ideas. If you would like to share your thoughts, please take a moment to complete this brief survey. Let us know which topics are of interest to you as a parent or educator, and enter the drawing to win a 1-GB USB flash drive.
Take the survey >

Follow Us on Twitter

Connect with Reading Rockets on our new Twitter page. You'll find links to the newest articles on reading and writing, highlights from the literacy calendar, inspiring quotes from children's book authors, dispatches from literacy events, and more.
Go to Reading Rockets on Twitter >

Books & Authors

Every Picture Tells a Story: Our Interview with Eric Rohmann

"It's not a linear thing — it's more like a spider web." That's how Caldecott-winning illustrator and author Eric Rohmann describes his very fluid creative process. To capture the look and feel for My Friend Rabbit, Rohmann experimented with clay models, paper cutouts, watercolor, and finally woodcut — whose chunky, energetic lines felt just right.
Watch Eric Rohmann video interview >

First People: Honoring Native Americans

"The world is full of stories, and from time to time they permit themselves to be told." Celebrate storytelling traditions during American Indian/Alaska Native Heritage Month with this lively collection of pourquoi stories, trickster tales, and familiar legends.
Go to booklist >

Listen in as Narragansett storyteller Tching shares Rabbit's Wish for Snow — a winsome tale that explains how willow trees and rabbits came to look the way they do.
Go to audio >

For more Native American book recommendations and links to classroom activities and other web resources, browse our sister site Colorín Colorado.
Go to Colorín Colorado booklist >

The Circle Goes Round: Family Stories

Eat together, play together, laugh together, dream together. That's what families do, and families of all colors and kinds are celebrated in this joyful gathering of books just right for bedtime, story time, anytime.
Go to booklist >

Daily Children's Literature Quiz

Where does the old man find an amazing number of cats and kittens? Enter today's children's literature quiz for a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to Amazon.com! Congratulations to last month's winner, Debbie in Alabama.
Go to quiz >

For Teachers

Wikipedia in Simple English

There's a new version of Wikipedia out, and it uses something called Simple English. That means that most pages within the site rely mostly on the 1000 most common and basic words in English. The grammar is simple and sentence length is short. Teachers of young kids or English language learners may find these pages easier than the basic Wikipedia pages!
Go to Simple English site >

Teaching with Primary Sources

Primary sources can really help bring historical events into real life for young learners. The Library of Congress offers teachers a huge range of resources on just about every topic. Their mission is to invite learners to read, think, and use their knowledge. Start at this page and be prepared to get inspired!
Go to primary sources website >

No English: Book and Resource Guide

Our sister site, Colorín Colorado, recently added a wonderful resource to their collection: an author interview with Jacqueline Jules, author of the book No English. The story is about a second-grade girl's efforts to befriend a new student from Argentina despite their language barrier. Jules created a 24-page teacher's guide to accompany the book. A terrific resource for any teacher of second-language learners.
Go to teacher's guide >
Purchase book >

Ideas for Parents

Parents' Choice Winners for 2008

Since 1978, Parents' Choice has identified the best material for children: books, toys, music and storytelling, magazines, software, videogames, television, and websites. A panel of educators, scientists, performing artists, librarians, parents, and kids identify the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels.
Go to Parent's Choice Awards >

When to Worry

Parents often ask whether they should dismiss their concerns about their child's development or bring it up with their child's preschool teacher. Get Ready to Read offers advice to parents about becoming good observers and how to take action.
Go to Get Ready to Read >

Math Madness, Even for the Little Ones!

Whether they recognize it or not, young children use math skills throughout their daily routines and activities. Zero to Three has some ideas for ways parents can reinforce these early important math skills, without the aid of a calculator!
Go to article >

Research & News

Chronic Absenteeism: Present, Engaged, and Accounted For

A new report out by the National Center for Children in Poverty reminds us how important it is for kids to show up to school each day. According to their research, coming to school matters, a lot. For example, among poor children, chronic absence in kindergarten predicts the lowest levels of educational achievement at the end of fifth grade. The issue is particularly true for Latino students.
Go to report >

Making Friends: How Parents and Teachers Can Help

Inclusive classrooms offer students the opportunity to become friends with students with varying disabilities. These friendships and interactions can be fostered by teachers and parents. A new "snapshot" report from the Frank Porter Graham Center at UNC offers some suggestions about measures to deepen friendships among very young children and children with disabilities.
Go to report >

Reading Coaches: A Guide to Getting Started

The Center on Instruction has released a suite of materials designed to prepare reading coaches who work with teachers to improve reading instruction in K-3. The materials can be used in a variety of formats, and include a facilitators and participants guide, as well as a PowerPoint presentation.
Go to reading coach resources >

Featured Partner

National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)

NASP supports school psychologists to help children and youth succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. Join NASP each year in promoting School Psychology Awareness Week (November 10-14 in 2008) and "Making a Difference" in our children's lives.
Go to NASP website >

Memorable Quote

You become a reader because you saw and heard someone you admired enjoying the experience, someone led you to the world of books even before you could read, let you taste the magic of stories, took you to the library, and allowed you to stay up later at night to read in bed.
— Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook

A Sneak Peek at What's Coming Up

Did you know our website is always updated on the first of each month? Stop by on December 1 and you'll discover resources for parents and teachers about spelling and vocabulary, books as gifts for the holidays, exclusive interviews with beloved children's book author Mem Fox and illustrator Helen Oxenbury — and much more.
Go to home page >

About Reading Rockets

Reading Rockets is a national educational service of WETA, the flagship public television and radio station in the nation's capital. The Reading Rockets project is comprised of PBS television programs, available on videotape and DVD; online services, including the websites ReadingRockets.org, ColorinColorado.org, LDOnLine.org, and AdLit.org; and professional development opportunities such as teleconferences and webcasts.

Reading Rockets is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. The goal of the project is to provide information on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help. Learn about easy ways you can link to us to let others know about the many free resources available from Reading Rockets.

All the best from Reading Rockets:

• Noel Gunther, Executive Director
• Christian Lindstrom, Director, Learning Media
• Shalini Anand, Technical Web Manager
• Kelly Andrews, Project Coordinator
• Lydia Breiseth, Project Associate
• Katie Chase, Associate Editor
• Tina Chovanec, Director, Reading Rockets
• Kevin Coonce, Intern
• Kelly Deckert, Associate Manager, Online Media
• Laurie Fry, Publicist
• Ashley Gilleland, Producer
• Sun Kim, Web Associate
• Alan Lundy-Ponce, Director, Learning Media Websites
• Joanne Meier, Ph.D., Research Consultant
• Laura Schreiber, Project Associate
• Rachael Walker, Outreach Consultant

Newsletter editors: Joanne Meier and Tina Chovanec