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October 15, 2002
Supporting the Reading First Classroom: Issues and Challenges
By Susan McLester
Reading has once again become front-page news. Here we take a look at the major points at issue and offer practical tips for preparing for change.
No Child Left Behind's Reading First initiative has placed a whole new focus on literacy, and along with it, the onus for stringent measurements of what's working and what isn't. At this juncture, what are the major questions and concerns facing educators, districts, and content producers?
Early Reading First
 | | Stacey Chomori's preschool classroom integrates a variety of approaches to getting youngsters ready for the first grade reading curriculum. |
Stacey Chomori's preschool class is rich in color, organization, and positive energy. On one wall a leafy Tree of Knowledge links the words "families," "students," and "school." Nearby is a dramatic play area with pint-size ironing board, stove, and kitchen table complete with a bowl of plastic fruit. In a corner, well-thumbed paperback books, computers, and digital "smart toys" cluster atop broad tables beneath bright balloon posters and teacher-made displays peppered with questions such as, "What does Anna Alligator begin with?" During a two-hour period one morning last spring I watched in awe as Chomori sang, danced, and acted her students through a succession of rhyming, decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension activities so fast-paced and engaging, it felt like a Broadway revue. Though perhaps not your typical preschool regime, such aggressive literacy-based programs for 3- to 5-year-olds are increasingly being viewed as the solution to the problem of youngsters failing to learn to read by the end of grade three.
Kids such as those I observed in Chomori's class at the Catskill Avenue Elementary School in Carson, Calif., are the particular target of Early Reading First, a $75 million initiative under the No Child Left Behind Act. In this mixed neighborhood of African-American, Samoan, Filipino, Asian, and Hispanic families, where about 90 percent of students qualify for free lunch programs, a widespread lack of proficiency in English means kids are not getting the early exposure to reading at home that will help them successfully master literacy skills in the primary grades. Says veteran teacher Chomori, "The word readiness is not what it used to be. Ten years ago, it meant social skills and oral language. Today, it's that plus phonemic awareness."
Next Page: The Scientific Research Mandate
New Challenges for Vendors
Innovation in the Reading Classroom
Training for Decision Makers
Unknowns and Knowns
Susan McLester is editor in chief of Technology & Learning.
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