Engaging Children with Print: Building Early Literacy Skills through Quality Read-Alouds

Preschool teachers and early childhood professionals know that storybook reading is important, but they may not know how to maximize its benefits for later reading achievement. This indispensable guide presents research-based techniques for using reading aloud to intentionally and systematically build children's knowledge of print. Simple yet powerful strategies are provided for teaching preschoolers about book and print organization, print meaning, letters, and words, all while sharing engaging, commercially available books. Appendices include a detailed book list and 60 reproducibles that feature activities and prompts keyed to each text.

Amy E. Sofka, MEd, is presently serving as Project Director for two federally funded research studies: Preschool Experiences in Rural Classrooms (Project PERC) and Project Sit Together and Read (STAR), both conducted within the Center for the Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning at the University of Virginia. She has worked together with Dr. Justice on Project STAR since 2005. Ms. Sofka is the author of several articles and chapters describing approaches to supporting children’s development within preschool settings, and has coauthored tools to assess teacher implementation of these approaches.