Reading regularly with a parent or caregiver improves young children’s language development, early reading skills, and school readiness. Hearing the varied and complex words in children’s books builds children’s vocabulary, which helps with early reading.1When adults read with young children and engage them in rich conversations, children:
- Develop larger vocabularies
- Learn to read more easily
- Grow stronger emotionally2
Children who have books in their homes and are read to during the first years of life are more likely to have higher literacy skills in kindergarten.3 Having books in the home builds early literacy by:
- Improving children’s reading performance
- Helping them learn the basics of reading
- Allowing them to read more and for longer periods of time
- Improving their attitudes toward reading and learning.4
National Assessment for Educational Progress
)NC Child Health Report Card 2018
)Scholastic, Kids & Family Reading Report
)What Can We Do About It?
What supports reading with children?
- A comprehensive, state-wide plan for promoting early reading with children
- Smart use of technology
- Research-based practices and programs that improve adults’ knowledge and skills of how to best read with children
Featured Resources
What Works for Third Grade Reading: Reading with Children
This brief considers why early reading with children matters for third grade reading proficiency, outlines its connection with other factors that impact early literacy, and highlights options that have been shown to move the needle on children’s social-emotional health outcomes. It is one of 12 new working papers that offer research-based policy, practice and program options to states and communities working to improve third grade reading proficiency.
Research Basis for Pathways Measures of Success Framework
This resource provides data definitions of the Measures of Success and shares the research for each measure, demonstrating the connections between the measures and third-grade reading proficiency. A list of sources is included for each group of measures.
What Works for Third Grade Reading: An Overview of the NC Pathways to Grade-Level Reading
The paper provides an introduction to a series of 12 working papers that offer research-based policy, practice and program options to states and communities working to improve third grade reading proficiency. Read this document first before delving into the papers.
Choosing the Most Promising Early Literacy Interventions (Webinar)
A webinar hosted by Munro Richardson, Executive Director of Read Charlotte and NCECF board member, about the indicators and which early literacy interventions hold the most promise for improving outcomes for children