Catching Young Readers Before They Fall Chapters

I have continued reading the book, "Catching Young Readers Before They Fall." I am reviewing the last two chapters, 11 and 12.

Chapter 11 focuses on, Sharing Information with Families. It goes over sample questions that teachers may get from parents regarding strategies that parents can use to help their child at home. An example would be, "My child still does not know all his letters and sounds. What can I do to help him at home?" The book suggests answering that question by saying, "I think it is very important to have a partnership between home and school, so I am glad you asked. Not every child progresses at the same rate. You can read books to him at night, play alphabet games, keep a family journal to help build letter/ sound knowledge, etc." (Johnson and Keier, 2010) Some other key points that the book suggests when sharing information with parents is to honor the parent's concern, don't overwhelm the parent with too much information, and always follow through with parents. (Johnson and Keier, 2010)

Chapter 12 focuses on, Teachers Make the Difference. This chapter gives suggestions for how we can make a difference. It also states, "The teacher of a struggling reader will help determine whether that child succeeds or not, based on the teacher's instruction, attitude, and support." Some of the suggestions this chapter gives are, join a teachers as readers book discussion group with other professionals, gently push to include discussions about instruction for struggling readers at team meetings, and keep track of the time that your struggling students are involved in real reading and writing. (Johnson and Keier, 2010)

Overall, I think this is a great book for all teachers. We need to stay educated on ways that we can help educate our students to read. Reading is so important and it is a key skill that everyone needs to succeed in life. We need to catch all of these young readers before they fall!