Effective Early Literacy Practice: Here's How, Here's Why

Finally—one concise book to show educators which early literacy research really warrants attention, why it's so important, and how to help young children learn to read in real classrooms. This volume captures the best early literacy knowledge from highly respected leaders in the field and turns those key concepts into strategies to use now with diverse learners at different skill levels. Education professionals will get the latest research on these hot topics:

• classroom environment
• environmental print
• English language learners
• comprehension
• invented spelling
• shared storybook reading
• assessment of early literacy skills
• the home connection
• Early Reading First

With real classrooms in mind, the contributors match actual teaching experiences to the research in every chapter. Teachers will enjoy having the detailed vignettes, sample activities, and helpful guidelines and ideas for creating rich classroom environments conducive to learning. With the strategies outlined, educators will effectively teach young children the individual literacy skills they need, show them how to put the skills together to solve the puzzle of reading, and keep them motivated to learn.

Andrea DeBruin-Parecki was nationally recognized for her work in the field of family literacy. She developed the Adult–Child Interactive Reading Inventory (ACIRI), a reliable and valid tool that measures the interactive reading skills of an adult and a child during storybook reading (available from Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.). She designed family literacy programs and has acted as a consultant across the country. In addition to the ACIRI, she created the Early Literacy Skills Assessment, a comprehensive, reliable, and valid tool in the form of a children's storybook that measures phonological awareness, the alphabetic principle, comprehension, and concepts about print. She had expertise in the areas of emergent literacy, assessment, literacy within at-risk and minority populations, and the motivation of at-risk populations. She was a Fulbright Senior Specialist in Guatemala. Her work related to literacy development in young children and families has been published and presented at national, regional, and state conferences.

Susan B. Neuman, Ed.D., is a professor in educational studies specializing in early literacy development. Previously, she directed the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement. Her research and teaching interests include early childhood policy, curriculum, and early reading instruction from prekindergarten to Grade 3. In her role as Assistant Secretary, she established the Reading First program and the Early Reading First program and was responsible for the implementation of all activities in Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Act.

Linda Espinosa, Ph.D., has had experience as a preschool teacher, child care center director, elementary school principal, central office administrator, State program director, and corporate Vice President of Education. Her practical experience and research interests focus on the design and evaluation of optimal learning environments for young children who are at risk for school failure. Dr. Espinosa has worked extensively with low-income Hispanic/Latino children and families throughout the state of California. She completed her B.A. at the University of Washington, her Ed.M. at Harvard University and her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at the University of Chicago.