First Steps on Road to Reading

Question: When should parents start their children on the road to reading?

Answer: When their children are as young as 6 weeks old.

And what can parents do to nurture the skills their babies will later need to become successful students?

Sing songs or recite poems that help children make the connection among words, letters and spoken sounds--the most fundamental step to literacy.

Such advice fills the pages of “Starting Out Right,” a new book by the National Research Council, an arm of the private, nonprofit National Academy of Sciences.

The council released a landmark study last year that recommended a mix of early phonics training and lots of stories for young readers. Now its editors have pared that 344-page study into “Starting Out Right,” an easy to read, 145-page guide for parents, teachers, school officials and anybody else who cares about teaching children to read.

The need for such practical advice is obvious in California. Recent national tests showed that California ranked second to last among 39 states in an assessment of fourth-grade reading skills, and that only 20% of those students were considered proficient readers at their grade level.

Although “Starting Out Right” does not present anything startlingly new and some of its ideas may seem simple, the recommendations are actually backed up by a broad swath of research from linguists, psychologists and other scholars.

“There are lots of books that give parents and teachers advice on how to help children learn to read,” said Catherine Snow, co-editor and an education professor at Harvard University. “This book is different in that all the recommendations are based on research.”

Teachers who have read it call it a valuable resource.

“It’s very practical,” said Kathy Terrell, a reading specialist from Northern California. “It parallels everything we have been doing in our early literacy classes. I like it a lot.”

The book does not take either of the polarized sides in the phonics versus whole language debate that has so divided the education community in California and elsewhere. Instead, it embraces elements of both strategies--sounding out words and being immersed in literature--as it advocates activities to supplement basic classroom instruction.

The book is organized by age groups, starting with birth to age 4.

One of the most important skills for children during the early years is the ability to recognize the sounds in words, according to the authors. Parents can recite nursery rhymes to boost this awareness and take advantage of everyday occurrences to explore language--for example, asking a child at the market which sounds are the same in peach and tea.

Preschools can play an equally useful role. They can create special play centers or areas that are stocked with reading and writing materials. For example, an area of building blocks also could have maps and photos of buildings and construction sites. A pretend house could include menus, travel brochures, computer keyboards and other items.

In kindergarten, instruction can continue to be a part of play.

Teachers can take children on field trips to new places that help build vocabulary and real-world knowledge. For example, a visit to a farm might be followed by a class discussion in which children use new words such as “tractor” and “planting” to describe what they have seen.

First-grade teachers can help children discriminate the sounds in words by playing the “Name Game,” in which children say their names, clapping and pausing as they hear each syllable.

Children also can practice writing at this time by creating simple books one page at a time. Teachers can kindle students’ imaginations by having them make lists of the things they like to do, their favorite foods, the names of their pets and other details from their lives.

In second and third grades, teachers can do many things to build comprehension skills, including a strategy known as reciprocal teaching, which focuses on dialogue between adults and students.

The authors of “Starting Out Right” say parents also can use the book in selecting preschools that emphasize language and literacy. And, of course, parents can use it to help their children read at home.

“I really hope the book sets the stage for better communication about what teachers and parents are doing with children to prevent reading difficulties,” said co-editor Susan Burns.

The book is being sold at a few local bookstores, including Midnight Special in Santa Monica and Vroman’s in Pasadena.

It also can be purchased for $14.95 by calling (800) 624-6242 or is available for free over the Internet at https://www.nap.edu.

* SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LIVING: A slew of stories about fun and funny birthday celebrations is worth checking out. E3