Resources
From the National
Education
Association (NEA)The NEA offers publications on topics such as thinking skills, reading and writing, parent involvement, and many more. Although geared for K-12, many of the publications can be adapted for younger children, and many are offered in Spanish. Some of their publications include:
Children of Promise: Literate Activity in Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Classrooms. A how-to look at a successful school-university partnership project for cross-grade, multi-lingual, interactive tutoring in reading and writing.
Motivation for Learning: How Parents Can Help. A package of 25 printed leaflets designed to elicit parental support in motivating their children to learn.
Empowering At-Risk Families During the Early Childhood Years. This book contains strategies for empowering at-risk families.
Schools and Families Working Together filmstrip. Focuses on problems confronting today's families.
Public Education Leaflets (in Spanish and English). Reproducible leaflet masters on 35 different subjects designed to promote school/parent/community partnerships.
For a catalog of publications and materials, contact:
NEA
1201 16th St., NW
Washington, DC 20036-3290
(202) 833-4000
(800) 229-4200
(203) 933-5276 FaxCorrection: In the Resources section of Bulletin No. 49, Mental Health, the telephone number of Zero to Three was incorrectly listed as (703) 528- 6848. The number is (703) 528-4300, or (800) 899-4301 if calling out of State.
National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL)
A nonprofit corporation, the NCFL is a primary source of advocacy, training and technical assistance, information, and research for supporting the expansion of family literacy programs throughout the nation. NCFL's family literacy programs include adult literacy, early childhood education, parenting skills education, and regular opportunities for parent and child interaction to address the challenge of breaking the intergenerational cycle of under education and poverty.
A few of the many materials they offer on family literacy are:
A Success Story. 11-minute video that introduces the viewer to family literacy and the services of NCFL.
Using Computers in Family Literacy Programs. This paper discusses strategies and activities that use computers as literacy tools in intergenerational programs.
Generation to Generation: Realizing the Promise of Family Literacy. This book offers practical guidelines for establishing community literacy programs and identifies ways that families can learn together.
The Power of Family Literacy. This booklet presents an overview of the success of the Toyota Families for Learning Program.
A Guide to Funding Sources for Family Literacy. Describes funding sources and how to design a funding package and write a proposal.For more information on these materials, on NCFL Projects, their newsletter, or on the NCFL, contact:
NCFL
Waterfront Plaza, Suite 200
325 W. Main Street
Louisville, KY 40202
(502) 584-1133
(502) 584-0172Zero to Three/National Center
for Clinical Infant Programs
(NCCIP)The NCCIP publishes a bulletin for practitioners, policy makers, teachers, administrators, and researchers concerned with the development of infants, toddlers, and their families. Each issue takes a multidisciplinary approach to a single topic, such as supervision and mentorship in infant' family programs, tensions and challenges in early intervention, emerging literacy, and more. Covers both typically and atypically developing children.
For more information, contact;
Zero to Three
P0 Box 25494
Richmond, VA 23260-5494
(703) 5284300
(703) 528-6848 Fax
(800) 899-4301
(703) 528-0419 TDDAmerican Literacy Guild (ALG)
This organization works to improve literacy in children by beginning with parents and expanding from that base into the school systems, communities, and workplaces. ALG trains teachers, tutors, administrators, and interested parents in teaching reading, writing and spelling to all grade levels. It has publications, videos, and training materials, and provides in-kind assistance in computer, audio-visual, and other equipment.
For more information on this organization, contact:
American Literacy Guild
One Westbook Corporate
Center, Suite 300
Westchester, IL 60154
(708) 236-1750From the Consumer Information Catalog
Help Your Child Learn to Write Well. Simple strategies for adults to help encourage children who are just learning to express their ideas through writing. 1985. #413Z. $0.50
Helping Your Child Use the Library. Highlights programs and activities for children of all ages as well as those with special needs. Tips to get children interested in books. 1989. #415Z. $0.50
Timeless Classics. Lists nearly 400 books published before 1960 for children of all ages. 1993. #419Z. $0.50To order these publications, or for a catalog of additional publications, write to:
R. Woods
Consumer Information Center
Pueblo, CO 81009Wolf Trap
Institute for Early
Learning Through the ArtsThe Wolf Trap Institute places performing artists trained in early childhood development practices in early childhood centers. Family literacy programs are part of this effort. To develop literacy skills, an artist engages children in activities which draw on the visual and physical cues of dance and song. This enhances fine and gross motor skills while children learn word meaning and pronunciation from rhymes, raps, songs, and chants.
For information about Wolf Trap activities, contact:
Miriam Flaherty, Director
Wolf Trap Institute
1624 Trap Road
Vienna, VA 22182
(703) 255-1900From the U.S. Department of Education
The Department of Education has many publications dealing with literacy. Some of the literacy topics include: ESL, education for the homeless's, literacy and new technologies, literacy and disabilities, workplace literacy programs, and many more. Most publications are free. For a list of their publications, contact:
Division of Adult Education and Literacy Clearinghouse
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-7240
(202) 205-8973 FaxThe Department of Education also publishes an adult literacy newsletter, the A.A.L. Points Bulletin. Subscriptions are available free of charge upon request from:
Division of Adult Education and Literacy Clearinghouse
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-7240
(202) 205-8973 FaxParents as Teachers (PAT)
The PAT program acknowledges parents as the the first teachers of their children. As a result, and to help parents better understand their child's development, PAT offers training to parents through special parent educators in the areas of language, cognitive, social-emotional, and motor development. Training includes home visits, parent group meetings, screening in all areas, referrals, and other parental support activities. For more information on the program, contact:
PAT National Center
9374 Olive Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63132
(314) 432-4330
(314) 432-8963 FaxInternational Reading
Association (IRA)
PublicationsThe IRA publishes material on early reading/emergent literacy, comprehension, adult literacy, motivation, reading for special students, for parents, assessment tools, how to use television as a reading tool, and many other topics. Some of their publications include:
Magazines for Children. Guidebook to more than 125 children's periodicals, aimed at infants up to teenagers. Includes age and subject index. #153.
Emerging Literacy: Young Children Learn to Read and Write. Shows how children learn to read and write with ease and enjoyment. #351.
Developing Active Readers: Ideas for Parents, Teachers, and Librarians. Gives strategies on selecting the proper book and ways to introduce children to libraries. #727.
Readability: Its Past, Present, and Future. Examines methods of readability, including readability formulas for languages other than English. #795.
Computer Applications in Reading. Addresses a variety of issues related to computer use, including evaluating and selecting software and integrated learning systems. #785.
The IRA also offers Parent Booklets with practical suggestions for helping children establish good literacy habits, Parent Brochures for developing a reading environment in the home, and recommends booklists. Some publications are available in Spanish and French.
For more information on these materials, or for a catalog of publications, contact:
IRA
800 Barksdale Road
P0 Box 8139
Newark, DE 19714-8139
(800) 336-READ
Educational Resources
Information Center(ERIC)/
Clearinghouse on
Reading and Communication Skills (RCS)
FAMILY LITERACY
CENTERThe Family Literacy Center of ERIC /RCS helps educators with family reading and communication skills. Topics include professional resources, parent involvement, adult literacy, communication, assessment, writing, bilingual materials, staff development, and more. Some of their many resources include:
Parents and Children Together magazine. This is a read-along book let with a cassette tape for children, ages 4 to 10, and their parents. Each issue encourages parents to read and write with their children, strengthen family relationships through communication, and speak with and listen to their children. #CO1, $75/year; $7/ea.
101 Ideas to Help Your Child Learn to Read and Write. In English and Spanish. 1989. #G08, $6.50.
!LEAMOS!LET'S READ. Bilingual Parent Meeting Leader's Guide. #PM45.
Parent Booklets (co-published with the IRA) describes how parents can help their child become a reader.
ERIC/RCS also has newsletters and publications, information and references on selected topics (ERIC DIGESTS), and performs searches of the ERIC computer database (ERIC/ RCS FAST Bibs). Contact:
ERIC/RCS
Indiana University
P0 Box 5953
Bloomington, IN 47407
(812) 855-5847
(800) 925-7853
(812) 331-2776 FaxReading is Fundamental
RIF is a national, nonprofit organization whose purpose is to help young people discover the joy and acquire the habit of reading. It offers parent guides and family facts brochures, posters, bookplates, buttons, and flyers (in english and Spanish). Some of their many brochures are:
Building a Family Library with ideas for creating an inexpensive home library and helping children build their own collections;
Encouraging Soon-to-be-Readers describing how to excite preschoolers about books and help them to develop the skills that lead to reading;
Upbeat and Offbeat Activities to Encourage Reading listing playful projects and activities to help preschoolers and beginning readers build skills.Most brochures are $.50.ea. or $15/100. For more information on RIF, or their materials, contact:
RIF, Inc.
Publications Department
600 Maryland Ave., SW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20024-2520
(202)287-3220
(202)287-3196 FaxNational Association
for the Education of
Young Children
(NAEYC)Some of the materials NAEYC offers on literacy are:
Helping Children Learn About Reading. This pamphlet tells how to make learning to read a meaningful part of children's lives. #520.
More Than the ABCs: The Early Stages of Reading and Writing. Organize your home or classroom so children experience reading and writing as a joyous and meaningful part of life. #204.
Reading and Young Children video. A discussion of what teachers can say to parents who want their children to learn to read in preschool. #808.
Bulk and discount rates are available. For more information on these publications, or other materials, contact:
NAEYC
1509 16th St., NW
Washington, DC 20036-1426
(202) 232-8777
(800)424-2460
(202) 328-1846 FaxFrom Scholastic, Inc.
Read to Me: Raising Kids Who Love to Read, by B.E.Cullinan. Offers parents tips on how to find time to expand their child's imagination, how to teach their child to love books, and how to help their child do better in school.
Generation to Generation: Realizing the Promise of Family Literacy, shows how to set up a community-based family literacy effort.
For more information on these publications, their beginning reader series, or other publications, contact:
Scholastic, Inc.
630 Broadway
New York, NY 10003
(212) 343-6100
(800) 325-6149
From Literacy
Volunteers of America, Inc. (LVA)LVA is a national, nonprofit educational organization providing materials and services to assist in the development of volunteer literacy programs in Basic Literacy and English as a Second Language. Areas include tutor training, program organization, and management of programs in corrections, library, adult basic education, and others. In the family literacy area, LVA offers:
How to Add Family Literacy to Your Program, which includes a detailed appendix of LVA affiliates and current family literacy programs and procedures, and the training module: Reading with Children, with leader's guide, video, and handbook.
For more information on LVA, contact:
LVA
5795 Widewaters Parkway
Syracuse, NY 13214
(800) LVA-8812
(315) 445-8006 FaxFrom New Readers Press
New Readers Press is the publishing division of Laubach Literacy Action, which is the largest volunteer adult literacy organization in the world. New Readers Press offers over 400 audio, visual, computer-based formats, and titles in print on subjects such as reading, newspaper literacy, pleasure reading, spelling, writing, workplace literacy, family literacy, life skills, teacher resources, ESL, Spanish language, staff development and training, and much more. All materials are developmentally appropriate and some are in Spanish. Some of their resources include:
Family Reading: An Intergenerational Approach to Literacy, their family literacy series where adults lear to read to children while developing their own literacy skills, has manual for trainers, a training video, teacher's guide, photocopy masters, children's books, and adult reading selections.
You and Your Child's Teacher, to help parents understand ways of communicating with school personnel.
Let's Work it Out series, designed to help parents improve both their reading and parenting skills, this can be used in any ABE, literacy, or parenting program.
Your Home is a Learning Place, shows parents and other caregivers how to help children learn basic skills at home.
Family Literacy and the School, for public school teachers and administrators to help raise awareness of literacy as a local issue and to enhance their communication skills with parents.
Read To Me Books, designed specifically for new readers, focus on reading to children.
Un Buen Comienzo ( A Good Beginning), is a month-by-month guide to a baby's first year of life. Contains traditional Spanish nursery rhymes, songs, and poems to emphasize parent-child closeness and communication.For more information on these resources, or for a copy of their resource catalog, contact:
New Readers Press
Department AS94
P.O. Box 888
Syracuse, NY 13210-0888
(800)448-8878American
Foundation for the
BlindThe AFB offers Mentors-in-Training Workshops for braille literacy. The workshops are intended to provide experienced special education and rehabilitation teachers with skills in mentoring and in providing in service training in braille literacy to less experienced teachers in their home areas. Workshop participants will also be linked with a national network of experienced teachers of braille.
Call AEB to request a work shop application at (404) 525-2303 or (212) 620-2113 (Voice mailbox for AEB National Initiative on Literacy.) Or contact:
AFB
100 Peachtree Street
Suite 620
Atlanta, GA 30303
African American Family Reading List, 2nd EditionCo-published with the National Education Association, this "user friendly" publication is directed at parents to encourage family reading. It will inspire in children a love of reading and ensure that they learn about their proud heritage.
For information on this publication, or other publications, contact:
National Black Child
Development Institute, Inc.
1023 15th St., NW
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 387-1281
(202) 234-1738 FaxBEGINNING WITH BOOKS
LIBRARY PROGRAMMING FOR INFANTS,
TODDLERS AND PRESCHOOLERS
by NANCY N. DESALVOEarly contact with books can make lifelong readers, and this book describes how to accomplish that. It lists 24 actual programs appropriate to the play level and stimulation needs of each age group from infancy to 5 for developing an early appreciation for books.
Written by a Coordinator of Children's Services at the Farmington, Connecticut, public library, the author includes ways to engage parents in the programs; shows how to tie, in toys with books, films, and tapes; and describes how to influence at-home reading. 181 pg. 1993.
For more information on this book, contact:
The Shoe String Press, Inc.
2 Linsley Street
North Haven, CT 06473-2517
(203) 239-2702
(203) 239-2568 FaxU.S. DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
ACF/ACYFIHSB
Washington, DC 20201
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Donna E. Shalala
SecretaryProduction Staff: Mary Jo Bane
Assistant Secretary
Administration for Children and FamiliesRossie Kelly, head Start Bureau The Head Start Bulletin is published six times a year by the Head Start Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services. David Siegel
Acting Director
Office of public AffairsRichard E. Swartz, Art Director Editorial inquiries should be addressed to: head Start Bulletin, P.O. Box 1182, Washington, DC 20013 Olivia A. Golden
Commissioner
Administration of Children, Youth and FamiliesLarry McSwain, Production Helen H. Taylor
Associate Commissioner
Head Start BureauPurpose: To enhance communication among the Head Start Bureau, Head Start programs, and interested national, regional, and state organizations and agencies.
OFFICIAL BUSINESS
PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE $300