Reading Rockets offers a wealth of reading strategies, lessons, and activities designed to help young children learn how to read and read better. Our reading resources assist parents, teachers, and other educators in working with struggling readers who require additional help in reading fundamentals and comprehension skills development.

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Techniques for Teaching Reading Effectively

If reading came naturally, teaching would be a much easier job. Children would learn to read as readily as they learn to speak. Teachers would only need to give students the chance to practice their skills.

But children don't learn to read just from being exposed to books. Reading must be taught. For many children, reading must be taught explicitly and systematically, one small step at a time. That's why good teachers are so important.

Click below to find information for classroom teachers on:

Reading 101: What you should know about print awareness, the sounds of speech, phonemic awareness, phonics, informal assessment, fluency, vocabulary, spelling, writing, and text comprehension
Who's at risk for not learning to read
What else matters in teaching reading, such as classroom management, differentiated instruction/grouping, and working with parents
Glossary of basic terms in reading instruction
No Child Left Behind and how this act affects what you do

Researchers have made a lot of progress in determining how to teach reading more effectively, but it really comes down to the effectiveness of each individual teacher. Teachers make the difference.

Our goal at Reading Rockets is to provide teachers with the information you need to apply findings from research to help all students learn to read, particularly those for whom reading does not come easy.

"I work for a Head Start Program and we enjoy your ideas and children's book recommendations."
~ Audrey T.

Reading Rockets is a national multimedia project that offers research-based and best-practice information on teaching kids to read and helping those who struggle. It is an educational service of public television station WETA in Washington, D.C.

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© Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. Reading Rockets is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. Reading Rockets® is a registered trademark of WETA.

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